Several bills moving their way through the United States Congress would establish or substantially amend certain federal statutes pertaining to protecting, enforcing, and exploiting trade secrets and copyrights created in the United States. Some legislation is aimed at establishing a private right of action for trade secret theft under federal law and to prevent trade …Read more

The California legislature has taken another step in the enormous task of protecting children in the digital world.  And Governor Brown has endorsed its efforts.  On September 23, 2013, Governor Brown signed California’s minor “eraser law,” which is the first of its kind in the country and will require web companies like Facebook, Twitter, and …Read more

In 2002, California became the first state in the union to enact a data breach notification law.  The statute requires California businesses or businesses that own or license computerized data that includes personal information of California residents to disclose when there has been a breach of a security system used to protect that data.  Since …Read more

Another important aspect of intellectual property (“IP”) due diligence is evaluating how the target company has managed its relationships with third party technologist or university professors, and whether infringement claims could possibly arise from those relationships.  Requesting and reviewing documents that memorialize the terms and conditions under which the target company has worked with third …Read more

Another important aspect of intellectual property (“IP”) due diligence is evaluating how the target company has managed its relationships with technologists, and whether misappropriation claims could possibly arise from those relationships.  Requesting and reviewing documents that memorialize the terms and conditions under which the target company vets prospective technologists is a crucial step when evaluating …Read more

An important aspect of any intellectual property (“IP”) due diligence effort is to evaluate how the target company has managed its relationships with its personnel and whether infringement claims could possibly arise from those relationships.  Requesting and reviewing the documents that memorialize the terms and conditions under which the target company retains consultants, vets prospective …Read more

In 1972 Atari released its simulated table tennis game, Pong.  My parents purchased a copy for our family.  My sister and I spent hours playing against one another.  The only feature you could adjust was the speed of the ball, but we were transfixed to the television set recreating famous tennis matches we had seen …Read more

You’re the CEO of a software company.  You’ve identified a new start-up company that claims to have developed a mobile application that could provide your company, indeed your entire industry, with an exciting new platform to deliver products and services to fast moving customers globally. Your board of directors has authorized you to move forward …Read more

As we discussed last week, intellectual property (“IP”) due diligence comes up in many different types of transactions, including licensing transactions, joint development agreements, M&A deals, and venture capital investments.  Anytime an acquisition or investment is based, in part, on the target’s or issuer’s IP – and in the San Francisco Bay Area it frequently …Read more

Your software company has been approached by a start-up company that has developed a mobile application that could provide your company, indeed your entire industry, with an exciting new platform to deliver products and services to customers globally.  As a CEO, your first instinct is to lock up the start-up’s technology quickly because you don’t …Read more