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CBM » Attorneys »
Dr. Siegmar Pohl

Dr. Siegmar Pohl

Of Counsel

San Francisco

415.989.5900

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Expertise

Dr. Pohl's expertise covers commercial agreements in the high-tech, IT, media and entertainment industries. In particular:

Licensing

• Negotiate international technology and software licenses and support agreements, equipment purchase and support agreements; developed a comprehensive flowchart for software developers and distributors concerning Open Source license requirements.

Intellectual Property

• Responsible for copyrights, clearings and chain-of-title opinions.
• U.S. and European trademark law.
• Research and development contracts.

Project Finance

• Responsible for structuring international co-production and co-financing deals; advises on combining European and U.S. soft money/subsidies; negotiates international production, distribution and licensing deals; provides legal opinions for banks on innovative financing and securitization.

Corporate Transactions

• Entity formation
• Conduct and supervise due diligence activities for share and asset purchase and sale transactions (M&A) with IP/IT-related issues; “corporate housekeeping.”

Commercial Contracts

• Draft and negotiate international commercial contracts including supply and purchase contracts, maintenance, manufacturing contracts and other cooperation

His recent experience includes:

• Represented the world’s leading solar inverter manufacturer in structuring a $20 million investment to build a production facility in Denver, Colorado, including its corporate structure, international taxation, and commercial contracts.
• Provided legal advice for high-tech clients in cross-border technology and corporate transactions.
• Negotiated technology and know how license as well as research and development agreements.
• Structured international co-financings of film projects including tax incentives.
• Structuring software (and system) license agreements.

Presentations and Publications

• Trends in Project Finance in the US - The Example of Financing Solar Energy Plants in California, published in European Private International and Comparative Law Review, Vienna (April 2010). » Read article
• Speaker at the Chamber of Commerce in Frankfurt, “Legal Framework for Market Entry for Solar Companies in the U.S.” (March 26, 2010).
• Speaker at the Second Annual German American Energy Conference at the House of German Business in Berlin: “Market Entry US – Legal Aspects and Case Study – SMA Solar Technology AG” (March 23, 2010).
• Organizer and speaker at the workshop “Cleantech Investments: Structuring and Financing Alternative Energy Projects” at the German American Lawyer’s Association’s (DAJV) Annual Conference in Berkeley, California, on August 14, 2009.
• Speaker at the SIIA Software Summit and CODiE Awards Conference, San Francisco (May 2009).
• Speaker at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Roundtable “Opportunities for Solar Energy in the USA” in Frankfurt, Germany (April 3, 2009).
• “Going Global: Essential International Law for Business Transactions,” NBI Seminar, San Francisco, California (November 2008).
• "Legal Aspects of Doing Business in the US," Symposium & Workshop at the occasion of the Official Visit of the Saxon Minister of State for Environment and Agriculture to California, San Francisco (October 2008)
• Featured Speaker at Institute for International Film Financing San Francisco Town Hall, “International Co-Financing Using Tax Incentives and Soft Moneys from Europe” (July 2008).
• Contracts in Advertising - Professional Drafting and Negotiation, Cornelsen, 2007
• Challenges of Copyright Law in the Digital Age: The German Legislator's Attempt to find a Solution - Second Basket, commentary, Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) World Intellectual Property Report, 07/2006, p 32-34, and BNA World Communications Regulation Report, 07/2006, p 31-33
• Deregulation of 'New' Telecom Markets in Germany, BNA World Communications Regulation Report, 07/2006, p 7-8
• At the Interface to Market Power - The Perpetual Case Microsoft Before the European Court of First Instance, Börsen-Zeitung, Dr Siegmar Pohl, LL.M., Tom Pick, LL.M (May 3, 2006)
• Sponsorship in German, International sales and Marketing Practice Manual (10 March 10, 2005
• New Frontiers, Advertising, Marketing and Branding Law Journal, (October/ November 2004)
• Nutzung von engen Spielräumen - Betriebsstättenproblematik bei internationalen Koproduktionen, Blickpunkt: Film, Spezial: Film Fonds 2003, October 2003, S 7
• Medienfonds - Quo Vadis?, MultiMedia und Recht, October 2003, 621
• Die Risikobewertung bei der Freisetzung gentechnisch veränderter Organismen - Eine vergleichende Studie des Rechts der Vereinigten Staaten und der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, 2002 (Schriften zum Technikrecht)
• The Licensing Regime under German Telecommunications Law: Implementation and Interpretation, Comment, co-author with Karl H. Pilny, Computer and Telecommunications Law Review, Vol. 4, 1997