In the United States, designs can be protected by design patents, copyright, trademarks, and trade dress. A design patent covers the ornamental aspects of a useful object. In a design, any aspects which are merely functional are not protectable by a design patent. For example,...
Most of the time, litigation is considered a last resort, largely because of its cost and the fear of a loss before an unsympathetic judge or jury. Although there are usually good reasons to avoid litigation, approaching a dispute in fear of litigation usually results...
For over twenty years I have been representing various early-stage startups in Silicon Valley. Startups require significant capital, and banks are hesitant to lend funds to small businesses without collateral or personal guarantees. Therefore, most startups look for early-stage high-risk capital to fund their business,...
When buying for growth, to best capture the value that drove the deal and to optimize having your M&A transaction succeed, you, the buyer, must clearly understand and decisively act upon the following: IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU ENGAGE IN EARLY PRE-CLOSING PREPARATION FOR AN IMMEDIATE...
Commercial agreements often provide for contingencies, or options, pursuant to which one party may sell off or convert its interest in a company, parcel of real property, intellectual property or another asset. Unless the company, property or asset in question has an agreed-upon or readily...
When one company wants to acquire another company, there are a number of different legal forms that the acquisition can take. Two of the common methods of acquisition are asset acquisition and a merger. In an asset acquisition, an acquirer purchases the assets of the...
The European Union was first to take the initiative to protect consumer’s privacy rights following the Facebook privacy scandal, by enacting the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). California followed suit and recently announced The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), a comprehensive new set of rules...
In representing start-up companies and founders in private equity financings for 20 plus years, two of the most frequent questions that I am asked are “What are pre-money and post-money valuations?" and "How is the price per share calculated in a financing?” When raising capital...
Preparing your company for a future successful sale to best capture optimal value and to keep your transactional costs modest requires pro-active preparation, coupled with a broad general understanding of: (i) the pre-sale, sale, and post-sale transaction process; and (ii) the differing roles and motivations...
The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued over 10 million utility patents to this date under its current numbering system, which dates back to 1836. That’s 10 million patents and counting! Let's step back and get a perspective on it - that's an enormous number,...