Articles Tagged with intellectual property

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Many startups in the tech sector are idea-rich and cash-poor, meaning that their most valuable (and often only) asset is their intellectual property that may have the potential to be worth a substantial amount of money. While some startups are able to move their ideas from concept to deployment with relatively little labor involved, many of these ideas require the assistance of developers, programmers, engineers, and marketers, all of whom are skilled professionals who can easily command salaries well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

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For this reason, many startups are faced with the issue of how to pay their employees during the development and launch phase, before they are generating any revenue. Of course, one option is to borrow the money or to seek investors – a solution that has significant pros and cons which should be considered. Another very popular option is to offer employees equity shares in a company in lieu of cash compensation. In some cases, this may take the form of equity for a lower salary than they would normally expect, while in others an equity share may be the only compensation they receive.

There are many issues that tech entrepreneurs and founders should consider when offering equity as compensation. These include the following:

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Starting a business entity is a complicated issue that can be compounded by things such as founder’s stock and each founder’s respective contribution. Equity considerations can be extremely important in starting a business, especially when one founder contributes intellectual property (IP) rather than cash or labor.

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What is Founder’s Stock?

Awarding a company founder stock is a relatively common practice in business formation, particularly in situations in which a startup is new and not yet generating income.  Doing so gives the contributing founder a measurable property interest in the newly formed entity. Typically, these stocks have a very low face value so that the founder receives a large amount of stock respective to his or her contribution.

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Start-ups are popping up all around the country. As our society continues its shift towards a strong, tech-driven economy, more and more individuals are looking to find the “next big thing,” especially in the tech industry. Entrepreneurs are more and more motivated by success stories such as those of Uber, Facebook, and Airbnb.

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But tech start-ups, while popular, are just one of the types of businesses that are appearing in the commercial landscape. 514,000 people became new business owners in 2012. As the US economy continues to improve, that number continues increasing.  Venture financing is a driving force behind the dynamic growth of small businesses such as start-ups. The National Venture Capital Association estimates that venture capital firms manage nearly $193 billion in total capital.

Vesting Schedules

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Federal and state government contracts can be a lucrative source of business for private companies in a variety of industries, including defense contractors, medical researchers, software developers, and other companies that operate in the technology sector. In many cases, government initiatives drive innovation, and many items and inventions that we use on a daily basis were originally developed pursuant to a government contract.

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While government contracts can be an excellent source of business for many private companies, it also carries with it inherent risks, including the loss or dilution of a company’s intellectual property rights. There are several statutory provisions that govern the way these rights are allocated, which tend to provide contractors with significant protections. That being said, it is still extremely important for parties contracting with the government to ensure that the contract that they sign preserves their rights in any intellectual property produced.

The specific types of rights that may be at issue depend largely on the type of intellectual property that is produced while fulfilling the contract. For example, certain types of IP may be eligible for copyright protection while other may be protected by registering a patent. Regardless of the specifics, it is extremely important that parties working with the government consult with an experienced attorney to ensure that their IP rights are protected.

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According to IT research and advisory firm Gartner, worldwide software revenue totaled $407.3 billion in 2013. More and more players are trying to break into the software market, and the ease of delivery through the Internet has significantly lowered the barrier for entry for many smaller companies. Two of the main ways of delivering software to consumers are (1) licensing the software to the consumer for download on a device and (2) providing it as a subscription service through the cloud. Below is some basic information regarding these two models and the ways in which they differ.

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For more information, contact the Structure Law Group to discuss your situation with one of our San Jose business law attorneys.

Software Licensing

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The term “intellectual property,” or “IP,” refers to intangible property that is the creation of a person’s mind. IP is given certain aspects of property rights by law. One way of looking at IP, is that it is the property right one possesses in information. McCarthy’s Encyclopedia of Intellectual Property defines “intellectual property as “an all-encompassing term used to designate as a group all of the following fields of law: patent, trademark, unfair competition, copyright, trade secret, moral rights, and the right of publicity.” For example, moral rights, also called the right of attribution, require that I attribute the quoted language to its source. Otherwise, I would not only be guilty of plagiarism, but also copyright infringement.

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While intangible, intellectual property can be extremely valuable and in some cases may be a company’s sole asset. Some examples of the types of intellectual property that often has significant value include software code, techniques of manufacture, client lists, artistic works, works of authorship and formulas. For example, the Google search-engine algorithm and the recipe for Coca-Cola are each valuable forms of IP, the former being protected by a patent and the latter as a trade secret.

Intellectual property can be legally protected in several ways, including the use of legal instruments such as patents, copyrights, or trademarks. This area of law can be extremely complicated, so it is important for anyone seeking to protect their IP to discuss their options with an experienced attorney.

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At the end of June 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) published several opinions, including the highly-publicized decision that ruled all bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. While most of America was focused on the equal rights decision, there were two additional decisions regarding the use and protections of patents and copyrights that may be highly important to business owners and entrepreneurs.

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Kimble v. Marvel Enterprises

Owners of patents may license their invention to others to use, to sell, to manufacture with, or to advertise for sale. In return for the license, the patent owner collects royalties. Some patent holders have long-lasting royalty agreements with companies that depend upon the technology to operate.

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For many new and existing businesses, their intellectual property (IP) may be by far their most valuable asset. Intellectual property can include literary works, software code, processes, formulas, manufacturing specifications, marketing plans, or designs.  In some cases, a company’s ideas may literally be their only asset – consider, for example, an individual with the idea for the next smartphone app that will be downloaded by hundreds of millions of people. She, and any company that she forms to develop that app, have the asset of that idea before even a single line of code is written. Of course, it is only natural to want to protect that asset from misappropriation by other parties. In many cases, the best way to achieve this goal is to use a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with any other parties with whom the idea may be discussed.

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What is a Non-Disclosure Agreement?

Fundamentally, NDA agreements are contracts between two or more parties that outline information that they wish to share with each other but not with other parties. There are two main types of NDA agreements, which are:

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Many business owners rely on ideas, formulas, inventions, and other types of intellectual property (IP) in order to make a profit. In fact, IP can be one of the most valuable assets of a company. Your specific product, brand, and other identifiers are often the components that define you and set your business apart from others. Therefore, protecting your IP is extremely important to the success of your venture. In order to prevent others from misappropriating your valued intellectual property, you always want to obtain formal legal protections.

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There are many options for protecting your IP, and choosing the right one may be confusing for business owners who are not familiar with the relevant laws. Many business owners receive denials for their applications for patents, trademarks, and copyrights and do not know what their options are from there. Fortunately, an experienced business attorney can help you achieve trade secret status for your IP, which may actually be more beneficial than other protections in several ways. Continue reading ›