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Intellectual Property / Data Privacy

PREVENTING WHAT’S YOURS FROM BECOMING WHAT’S THEIRS

We are dedicated to safeguarding what you have built. We’ll guide you through every step of protecting and benefiting from your IP, from initial documentation and registration, into profitable commercialization, and, where desired, an eventual sale. We’ll vigorously defend your IP while negotiating potential transactions, all in an effort to help you gain maximum value from your assets. Our attorneys will assist you in navigating through a complex and rapidly-evolving landscape of data privacy risk and regulation.

Intellectual Property and Licensing

For our early stage clients, proper attention to intellectual property rights often begins before the company has been formed. We advise early stage clients on rights and obligations that founders may have with respect to former employers, or with respect to intellectual property that may have been jointly created or was created in a university setting.

We advise on and draft agreements with employees and consultants that cover non-disclosure, invention assignment and work-for-hire. We also provide advice on internal policies and procedures to ensure that confidential information and trade secrets will be accorded maximum possible protection. When access to critical intellectual property assets is provided to potential investors, strategic partners and acquirers, we assist in developing strategies and nondisclosure agreements designed to provide sufficient information to get deals done, while minimizing the risks that intellectual property may be compromised if a transaction is not completed.

We clear and register trademarks and copyrights and assist in enforcing such rights against infringement. We advise with respect to acquisition strategy for domain names and the interplay between domain names and trademark rights. While we do not do patent work in house, we engage and collaborate with highly skilled, cost effective patent counsel to advise our clients on patent strategy and to draft and file patent applications.

Licensing is a central issue for many of our clients, and our attorneys have licensing expertise across a diverse spectrum of industries. From IT to mobile media to publishing to biotech, we have a breadth of experience in the nuanced issues that must be addressed and negotiated in order to enable our clients to derive the full benefit from their intellectual property assets.

Website and e-commerce issues arise for virtually all of our clients, and our attorneys are well-versed in this evolving area of the law. We routinely advise on issues including development agreements, advertising agreements, hosting contracts, domain names and in the legal issues surrounding contests and games.

Privacy and Data Security

Data is a significant asset for many of our clients, bringing both opportunity and risk. Our attorneys are actively involved in advising our clients in the rapidly-developing area of privacy and data security.  Among other things, we can work with you to assess your existing internal data privacy policies and procedures and help you develop additional policies as appropriate to facilitate compliance with regulatory requirements.  We also can review your relationships with your outside vendors to help ensure that you have documentation in place that addresses each party’s legal obligations regarding the protection and handling of personal data, and we can help you assess potential sources of risk, develop a risk management strategy, and address compliance issues if they arise.

In The Words Of Our Clients

Paul and the team of attorneys he works with are quite simply the best. Every person we have worked with at the Paul Ellis Law Group has been bright, creative, and experienced. They are chess players – they are able to look at the entire board and foresee potential issues and recommend actions to guard against them. They are careful, they think through each move and see how it might affect future moves.

Paul and his team have created tremendous value for our company by making sure we protected our IP at a crucial time and making sure that our formation documents protected the integrity and continued viability of the Company in the event of co-founder turmoil (which came to pass). At the time, these measures seemed like overkill. Now we know better. My partner and I have sheepishly admitted to others that we love our lawyers – we do.

Jennifer SclarCEO, Clear Health Analytics

Whenever I have consulted with Paul Ellis, he has engaged me in a conversation where his expertise and experience with early-stage companies plays a major role. What is of equal significance for me in our exchanges is that Paul really listens. As a result, his contributions are thought-provoking as well as thoughtful.

Consulting with Paul inevitably takes me further in my resolve and leads to a successful outcome because he reflects with genuine consideration for the other person.

Roger ShepherdPresident & CEO, panOpticon

We've worked with Paul and his team ever since our startup first incorporated, and his services were invaluable in every stage of our company -- from the initial organization through to fundraising, stock issuance and everything else. He understands the challenges facing young companies and brings the knowledge, the experience and, above all, the personal involvement that makes such a difference. You get the sense that he really cares about your success.

Daniel GelenterCEO, Dittach LLC

Conferences and Panels Featuring Our Attorneys

Legal Essentials for Startups 2015 – Part 4: Intellectual Property Protection

Thursday June 25, 2015
Paul Ellis, Organizer
Jessica Friedman, Panelist