There are two major factors that differentiate tech company formations from non-tech company formations: equity and intellectual property (IP). Part 1 of this two-part post dealt with equity considerations, especially equity incentives and equity financing, that impact choice of entity and equity structure in tech startups. This installment addresses the second differentiating factor – IP. IP is not unique to tech companies. Non-tech companies have valuable patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. Content companies, such as publishers, are just as IP-centric as tech companies. Much ..read more

Forming a tech company is like forming a non-tech company, but different. There are two factors that drive the differences: equity and IP. It is essential that entrepreneurs and the lawyers who help form their companies understand and can work with these differences. Part 1 of his two-part article addresses the impact of equity on tech company formation, including the choice of entity and various starting agreements. Part 2 will take up the IP considerations in tech formations. The same… At one level, forming a tech company is like forming any other company. “Tech company” isn’t a type of lega ..read more

The International Intellectual Property Association is out with their 2020 report (covering 2019). “Core Copyright Industries” are computer software, books, music, motion pictures, television and radio, newspapers, video games, and magazines and journals. This sector contributes significantly to our economy, as well as our culture. So kudos to those companies, to individual creators, and to the copyright lawyers who represent them! Key stats include: Contribution to GDP: $1.59 trillion (7.4% of the US economy) Employment: 5.7 million workers (3.8% of the US workforce) Avg. Annual Growth 2016 ..read more

Forming a tech company is like forming a non-tech company, but different. There are two factors that drive the differences: equity and IP. It is essential that entrepreneurs and the lawyers who help form their companies understand and can work with these differences. Part 1 of his two-part article addresses the impact of equity on tech company formation, including the choice of entity and various starting agreements. Part 2 will take up the IP considerations in tech formations. The same… At one level, forming a tech company is like forming any other company. “Tech company” isn’t a type of lega ..read more

Collaboration is a way of life for many content and technology creators, both individuals and companies. Co-authorship. Co-development. Co-ventures. The law, or at least some IP lawyers, tends to discourage one possible result such collaborations, namely the co-ownership of intellectual property. In the case of copyright, the fear of joint ownership may be unwarranted, or at least overstated. A recent Google Search on “joint intellectual property” yielded the following among the top five results: “Avoid jointly owned intellectual property” “The Perils of Joint IP Ownership” “IP – the problem o ..read more

SaaS (Software as a Service) is obviously a hot business model and this article from Forbes, while more general than specific to SaaS companies, is worth reading. A couple of topics resonated with me: Investors will insist that your IP be buttoned-down, that rights in your IP be clear. But beyond clear ownership of IP and having appropriate protection (copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, etc.), your IP strategies should be informed by and reinforce your competitive advantages. Identify the key content and functionality of your software (and services) and develop your IP strategies acco ..read more

Below is a link to an article titled “10 Intellectual Property Strategies for Technology Startups”. It’s a decent overview article, long on basics and light on real “strategies,” but this is passage stuck out for me: “Technology startups frequently ignore the value of non-patent intellectual property…Trade secrets, cybersecurity policies, trademarks, and copyrights can all be forms of IP that can be protected.” Setting aside some confusing language about “forms of IP” (vs. types of IP protection), I agree that some tech startups can be too patent-focused. Software companies, in particular, can ..read more

Intellectual property (IP) is often misunderstood and undervalued. I’m all for promoting awareness of IP and unlocking its economic potential. A recent article in Entrepreneur Magazine, How Intellectual Property Can Create an Income Stream Even When You’re at Work, seeks to do this and to an extent succeeds. But, IP as the “ultimate side hustle,” as the author contends? Not so fast. Monetizing IP and IP rights is a bit more complicated than one might conclude from this article. First, let’s remove trademarks and patented inventions from the equation. Not because they’re not valuable – quite th ..read more

On the “Startups & Early-Stage Companies” page of my website, I describe some of the services I provide to those clients. They include entity formation & capitalization, early financing transactions, intellectual property protection and management, employment law (especially Employment Agreements, Policies, and Equity Compensation), various commercial transactions and agreements (customer, vendor, distributor, et al.), privacy and data security policies, and other blocks that make up a solid legal foundation for a young company. That foundation is somewhat different for a three-person ..read more

This week, a BNI colleague asked why I enjoy working with entrepreneurs. I replied that entrepreneurs are interesting…innovative, risk-taking, etc. And that’s true. But this article from Inc. Magazine nails a central trait of entrepreneurs that I didn’t mention: RESOURCEFULNESS, including the drive and ability to move forward without access to all the “necessary” resources. This is not just grit or perseverance – it’s the capacity to adapt and to make progress with whatever resources are at hand. My start-up and early-stage clients never have all the resources they want and need at a ..read more