Canadian Lawyer InHouse

SEPTEMBER 2017 30 INHOUSE W hen Joel Schuster joined Avigilon Corporation three-and-a-half years ago, the fast-moving industry of video ana- lytics was booming. The company's patent portfolio was growing fast and there was a need to monetize and track it more closely. Avigilon, founded in Vancouver, B.C., designs, develops and manufactures secu- rity surveillance products including video analytics, network video management soft- ware and hardware. The company employs about 1,200 people worldwide. As chief legal offi cer, senior vice president and corporate secretary, Schuster oversees the entire legal department and external counsel in connection with transactions, litigation, intellectual property (including trademarks, copyrights and patents) and general legal matters. He also monitors and advises on legal development strategic matters and oversees the company's tax and HR functions. Technology plays a huge role in getting work done in the company's legal depart- ment. "We're always looking for ways we can work more effi ciently and better and tech- nology is a great way to work faster," he says. He oversees a team of approximately 30 individuals, including legal, tax and HR functions — 10 are lawyers. The group is split between two groups, one in Vancouver and one in Washington, DC. Schuster has built the legal department around internalizing outside services, such as employment law, patent agents and tax specialists, reducing external spend while improving internal responsiveness and quality of work. "Quality, timeliness and being business- minded are key elements to Schuster's ap- proach to in-house law," says Roch Ripley, partner with Gowling WLG in Vancouver, who nominated Schuster. In three-and-a-half years with Avigilon, Schuster has worked on a number of key mat- ters, including generating and monetizing an IP portfolio of more than 750 patent assets that cover the various technologies Avigilon works within, most notably video analytics. When Schuster started with the compa- ny, it had a "very modest" patent portfolio. He has also led numerous large transac- tions and the launch of a global patent licens- ing program in early 2016, leading to new licence agreements with numerous licensees. "Right away, we made the decision to bol- ster that to protect our innovations and we have a patent licence program. So we go out to other companies in the industry and we license the patents so we share in the upside as video analytics are adopted across the in- dustry; we can share in the profi t," he says. Schuster has implemented a number of other technology practices in Avigilon's le- gal department. Last year, he oversaw the implementation of a global task manage- ment system called QuickBase, allowing members of the team to check the status and timing of every project being worked on by the legal department. "Other people in the company can see where we're at in a project at any time," he says. Additionally, Schuster oversaw the imple- mentation of a patent research system and a patent document system to support the company's IP department and more than 750 patent assets. Schuster has also overseen the implemen- tation of a document and fi le management system, Worldox, to combine in a scalable location the entire department's documents. Finally, within the HR role, Schuster over- saw the implementation of SuccessFactors, an HRIS system used by the company to inter- face with its employees and their records. Schuster is a member of the bar of Mas- sachusetts and British Columbia. IH Monetizing and tracking a growing patents portfolio By Jennifer Brown Category: Law Department Leadership Department size: Large Company: Avigilon Corporation Joel Schuster, chief legal offi cer, senior vice president and corporate secretary. RAMESH PURADCHITHASAN

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