Negotiation with Insight and Balance
At Merion Point, we believe that successful licensing isn’t just about leverage—it’s about understanding the other side, building trust, and recognizing the right moment to make a deal.
Our negotiation philosophy is rooted in balance. While we advocate fiercely for our clients, we approach each negotiation with a mindset of openness, listening, and strategic patience. We know how to identify a deal window—and how to act fast when it opens. We also understand that a well-timed question or a moment of empathy can bridge gaps that force won’t.
“Every question from a licensee is an opportunity. When there’s trust, deals move.”
Global Perspective, Human Approach
Licensing is global—and so are the challenges of communication, culture, and decision-making. We’ve negotiated across borders and industries, and we’ve learned that people make deals, not spreadsheets.
We make time for real conversations, not just transactions. Whether it’s over lunch or in a boardroom, we build relationships that drive results. Our work spans geographies, but we never lose sight of the human connection required to create durable, meaningful agreements.
“Even if a deal isn’t made today, we want to be remembered as someone they trust tomorrow.”
Humility, Discipline, and the Willingness to Do the Work
There’s no shortcut to credibility. At Merion Point, we’ve built ours by doing the hard, unglamorous work that others skip—from reading the industry patents, analyzing market data, to picking up the phone and collaborating with others across disciplines.
We believe the best IP advisors are part lawyer, part technologist, and part business strategist—and we pride ourselves on being all three. Our approach is thorough, strategic, and grounded. We don’t posture. We prepare. And we show up ready to deliver value, not just opinions.
“Success comes from being willing to do the things most people aren’t.”
Shival Virmani is the founder and president of Merion Point, an IP advisory and licensing firm. Over his 25-year career spanning government, private practice, and publicly traded technology companies, Mr. Virmani has secured more than $1.4 billion in licensing revenue and negotiated significant transactions with some of the world’s leading companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Ericsson, Google, Amazon, Xiaomi, Huawei, Kyocera, TCL, Sharp, Fujitsu, Texas Instruments, NEC, Panasonic, ZTE and Sony.
Mr. Virmani guides clients through the full IP value chain and lifecycle—from identifying infringement, valuing portfolios, and modeling royalties, to developing a licensing strategy and negotiating license agreements—primarily across the handset, semiconductor and consumer electronics markets worldwide.
Before launching Merion Point, Mr. Virmani led the mobile licensing program at InterDigital. Prior to InterDigital, Mr. Virmani directed licensing businesses at SanDisk (previously acquired by Western Digital) and Rockstar Consortium, and held IP leadership roles at Vonage and Infineon. He began his career at the USPTO in 1996, then moved to the USITC’s Office of Unfair Investigations as an Investigative Staff Attorney before being hired by McDermott Will & Emery, an Am Law 100 firm.
Mr. Virmani has also been recognized in the IAM 300 for various years from 2015-2025. He holds a J.D. from Tulane University, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from George Mason University, a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech, and has an executive certification in finance and accounting from Wharton. He also teaches Patent Licensing & Strategy as an adjunct professor at Villanova University Law School and is a frequent speaker on patent monetization at industry conferences.
At Merion Point, SEP licensing is not an afterthought—it is a core specialty. Founder Shival Virmani has spent more than a decade structuring and executing licensing programs that have generated substantial revenue across cellular, Wi-Fi, video-codec, and memory standards. His experience is defined by results: he has closed high-value transactions with many of the world’s most significant and experienced SEP licensees.
Currently, Mr. Virmani serves on the boards of Neo Wireless, involved in 4G/5G SEP licensing, and OP Solutions, focused on VVC patent development and licensing.
What sets Merion Point apart is its perspective. Having represented and worked closely with leading SEP holders, patent pools, and private-equity funds, Shival brings a balanced, realistic understanding of the business and legal dynamics that drive outcomes. This perspective enables Merion Point to position clients credibly—grounding FRAND arguments in defensible, data-driven analysis that is both commercially sustainable and, when necessary, enforceable.
The firm’s work spans the full lifecycle of SEP licensing. Merion Point provides valuation and royalty modeling expertise, designs and executes global licensing campaigns, and partners with outside counsel to develop enforcement strategies that reinforce negotiating leverage. The practice also advises on SEP declarations and the strategic considerations involved in joining a patent pool.
Shival Virmani is the founder of Merion Point, an IP advisory firm specializing in patent licensing strategy, execution, and enforcement. With a career spanning roles in licensing, litigation support, and portfolio monetization, Shival brings a rare combination of legal acumen, technical insight, and business strategy to every engagement.
At Merion Point, he works with established corporations, private equity funds, law firms, licensing entities, and individual inventors, helping clients turn intellectual property into a meaningful source of value. His expertise spans the full lifecycle of patent monetization—from identifying infringement and assessing market potential to negotiating license agreements and supporting litigation.
In addition to leading licensing programs, Shival is also available to serve as an expert witness in patent disputes, particularly those involving Standard-Essential Patents (SEPs) and FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory) terms.
Currently, Mr. Virmani serves as the President of Merion Point. He is also a board member of Neo Wireless, which licenses and enforces 3G and 4G SEPs, and OP Solutions, which develops patents and applications for the Versatile Video Coding (VVC) standard. Finally, Mr. Virmani is an adjunct professor at Villanova Law School, where he teaches a course on Patent Licensing and Strategy.
At Merion Point, we help organizations unlock the full value of their intellectual property. From patent licensing and enforcement to litigation support and strategic advisory, we partner with clients to develop and execute durable, credible, and business-aligned IP programs.
Whether you’re looking for an extra pair of hands to strengthen an existing program or to stand one up, Merion Point brings experience, discipline, and credibility to the table.
We don’t posture. We prepare.
There are no shortcuts in patent licensing—and we don’t look for any. While relationships are important, they do not necessarily close deals on their own. More work often needs to be done. At Merion Point we dig deeper than most: dissecting entire portfolios, tracking market and legal trends, and working directly with the decision-makers who move deals forward.
Merion Point blends three disciplines—law, technology, and business strategy—so every recommendation is legally sound, technically grounded, and commercially realistic. We don’t offer opinions for their own sake; we roll up our sleeves and deliver results.
Global Mindset. Human Connection.
Licensing spans borders—and so do the complexities of culture, communication, and decision-making. After negotiating across continents and industries, we’ve learned that solid facts and clear strategy close deals. Glossy decks, baseless spreadsheets, and posturing do not.
At Merion Point, we invest in candid conversations that establish trust and deliver results. Even if a deal doesn’t close today, we want to be the firm stakeholders turn to tomorrow and for years to come.
Many of our clients already have licensing programs in place. They come to us when they need a trusted, strategic partner—someone who brings experience, long-term thinking, and strong results without the overhead of hiring a full-time executive. We integrate smoothly into existing structures and elevate what’s already working, and bring a deep and extensive expertise in SEP and FRAND licensing matters to the table.
For companies who don’t have an in-house licensing teams, we can help your organization build a program from the ground up. Our process involves assessing infringement and market value, creating a IP strategy and portfolio plan, and pursuing targets. We are comfortable collaborating with your existing legal counsel and presenting to potential licensees on your organization’s behalf.