Intellectual Property

Start-ups, particularly those in the technology or life science sectors, rely heavily on the ownership and protection of intellectual property to establish and preserve their value. Potential investors, acquirers and commercial partners, among others, will scrutinize this asset to determine the value of a company. They will focus on whether a company actually owns the intellectual property it claims to own and whether the intellectual property can serve as a foothold against larger, established companies in its sector. As a result, from inception start-ups should focus on establishing a clear “chain of ownership” of their intellectual property and be thoughtful about the types of intellectual property protection they utilize. For more information, please review the following memoranda on Common Intellectual Property Issues, Patents and Trade Secrets, and Trademarks Matters.

Goodwin Procter Client Alerts

• America Invents Act Expected to Be Signed Into Law
• Supreme Court Decides Clear and Convincing Evidence Necessary for All Patent Validity Challenges
• Contractors Should Expect Government to Impose Strict Invention Ownership Requirements in Response to Supreme Court’s Stanford v. Roche Decision
• Supreme Court Clarifies Standards of Proof of Inducement in Global-Tech Appliances v. SEB
• Therasense Decision Raises Bar for Proving Inequitable Conduct