CPA, CFF, CFE with 40+ years of experience as a financial damages, royalty, licensing and valuation expert witness. Retained in 160+ matters for plaintiffs and defendants in courts and arbitration. Calculates lost profits, unjust enrichment, reasonable royalties (Georgia-Pacific) and statutory damages in copyright, trademark, trade dress and patent infringement, DMCA, trade secrets, right of publicity, breach of contract, royalty audits, False Claims Act, fraud, malpractice, wrongful termination and personal injury. Results: $39M jury verdict, Sonate v. Beyond Meat (trademark); $315M claim, UMB Bank v. Sanofi; $66.7M DMCA, MBC v. Create New Technology; $7.3M opinion upheld by the CA Court of Appeal as not speculative. Plaintiffs' expert in music copyright cases against Spotify and Pandora. A federal court found his work based on "solid data and sound accounting methodology." Chief Audit Officer of Beats by Dr. Dre through its $3B sale to Apple; KPMG partner; led national fraud and royalty auditing at Ernst & Young and KPMG and wrote both firms' royalty audit methodologies; earlier at Disney, Unocal and Occidental Petroleum. 1,500+ forensic contract investigations and $3.3B+ in royalty recoveries. Author of two books (Oxford University Press, LexisNexis). 2017 California CPA of the Year; 2012 Certified Fraud Examiner of the Year; Vice Chair ('16-'17), ACFE Board of Regents. Industries: pharmaceuticals, medical devices, music, film, video games, toys, apparel, consumer products, software, hardware, security, energy, construction and machinery. Clients: Microsoft, Dolby, Qualcomm, Sony, Disney, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Mattel, McDonald's, NBA, NFL, WWE, Shark Tank, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Amgen, Medtronic, Fate Therapeutics, GM, Chrysler, Harley-Davidson, Sears, Ross, DKNY, Everlast, IGT, IMG, Tessera, Philips, Diageo, UMB Bank and Bank of America.
Areas of Expertise:
- Complex Financial Litigation
- Patents
- Copyrights
- Trademarks
- False Advertising
- Malpractice
- Royalty Auditor Competence
- Royalty Disputes
- Wrongful Termination
- Construction Defect
- Film Distribution
| - Unfair Competition
- Oil & Gas Pipelines
- Personal Injury
- Product Liability
- Breach of Contract
- Business Interruption
- Class Action
- Lanham Act
- Trusts & Estates
- USITC
- DMCA
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View Sidney Blum's Consulting Profile.
By: Sidney Blum
Royalty auditing is a niche service that has exploded in popularity over the last 20 years. The primary purpose of a royalty audit is to test whether a licensee has complied with a license agreement or statutory requirement. The royalty auditor is hired by an intellectual property owner (aka, licensor) or minerals owner to inspect the books and records of a licensee primarily to determine if usage-based monetary amounts have been paid as contractually required. In addition to monetary damage calculations, most royalty audits examine for breach of contract in a wide variety of areas, such as intellectual property protection, record keeping, distribution channels, and permitted usage.
Sidney P. Blum
This book navigates readers through the nuances of drafting the best possible financial terms for license and other self-reporting agreements and shows how proper monitoring and auditing should occur once a deal is in place. The 2014 Edition includes updated information on how to properly write the financial aspects of royalty contracts to protect the licensor, licensee, and other concerned parties. Additional sample terms and "real-world" agreements have also been included.
Sidney P. Blum
This book navigates the nuances of drafting financial terms for license and other self-reporting agreements and shows how proper monitoring and auditing should occur once a deal is in place. This book will modernize and remold how agreements are written and will greatly enhance the bottom line of licensors and other contractors. Lawyers involved in drafting license and other self-reporting contracts typically understand boilerplate provisions but not the financial nuances that are subject to high degrees of interpretation that eventually costs their clients significant money and business relationships.