On November 3, 2016, we presented at the Chicago Tax Club’s symposium regarding tax planning and intellectual property (IP) planning within a multinational corporation. The presentation covered various areas, including the importance of coordination between IP and tax groups when engaging in IP planning, the differences in the IP arena and the tax arena with respect to IP matters that can impact tax planning positions, and tax planning with IP holding companies. From a tax controversy perspective, we discussed being prepared for an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audit with respect to IP planning, with a focus on contemporaneous documentation to support the taxpayer’s position, having audit ready files (including adhering to document retention policies), reviewing IRS audit materials (e.g., International Practice Units) to understand what the IRS may ask for during the audit, and being cognizant of the various privileges (e.g., attorney-client, tax practitioner and work product) and recent positions taken by the IRS with respect to whether certain advice provided by accountants is privileged.
The Interplay Between Tax Planning and IP Planning
By Jennifer M. Mikulina and Kristen E. Hazel on November 4, 2016

As head of the Firm's global Trademark Prosecution Practice, Jennifer M. Mikulina focuses her practice on trademark and copyright counseling, prosecution, licensing and enforcement. She counsels companies in a wide variety of industries, including consumer goods, food products, digital currency, health care services, insurance, hospitality/restaurant services and software/online services. Jennifer works closely with members of the Firm’s corporate advisory, health law and tax practice groups on the intellectual property aspects of transactions, including strategic alliances, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and license arrangements for public and privately held companies. Read Jennifer Mikulina's full bio.

Kristen E. Hazel has extensive experience representing clients in US and international aspects of federal tax matters, including international acquisitions and divestitures, international joint ventures, and capital plan design and implementation. Her work includes both inbound and outbound transactions. Kristen is the co-chair of the Firm's Captive Insurance Affinity Group. She regularly counsels clients with respect to the tax aspects of organizing, operating and defending captive insurance companies. Read Kristen Hazel's full bio.
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