Law and Innovation

Fresh and interesting article posted on  IPWatchdog.com  about the valuation of intellectual property as a strategic business asset in the hands of Unicorns, a startup with a valuation exceeding $1 billion. Happy reading!   "It seems that not a day goes by without a commentary about Unicorns, a Silicon Valley-coined term used to describe a startup (pre-exit) with a valuation exceeding $1 billion. The number of Unicorns, the vast majority of which are US software companies, has recently crossed the 150 mark, according to the TechCrunch Unicorn leaderboard . Topping the US Unicorn list are high flyers like Uber at $51 billion and Airbnb at $25.5 billion, followed by companies that are mostly concentrated in three industries: Consumer Internet, E-commerce and Software. Unicorns have captured the attention of investors, analysts and other market observers who are trying to understand the factors driving the formidable valuations commanded by these mythical ventures...

Following an article on what startup should do in order to protect a mobile application idea (see here ), it may also be important for startup to register a trademark as a username on social media/networks websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, Instagram, etc. Indeed, we are living in a world where the next Facebook, Google+ is about to come. Ello, for instance, the ad-free social networking service created by Paul Budnitz and Todd Berger in March 2014 could be the next one. If you don’t want a “competitor-user” stealing your username and misusing your brand, you should be the first to secure and reserve it; and read this article! Ello's  smiley face logo Let’s start with a crazy scenario. You just graduated, have a brilliant idea that’s solving an important daily problem, and are one of the best startups ready for the battlefield at the next TechCrunch Disrupt in front of a panel of expert judges, press, and an online audience of millions. Fantastic! Wha...

Fresh and interesting article posted on TechCrunch about the actual meaning of a startup.  Happy reading and New Year! "If you regularly read technology media, and I honestly can’t recommend it, you will run into occasional references to “startups.” Many consider startups to be small companies determined to grow quickly in the hopes of becoming the next passé giant whose corporate campus costs so much to maintain that it eventually has to stop serving chilled sake by robot on Thursdays. Everyone has their own definition of just what a startup is, and nearly everyone is wrong. But what the hell is a startup? I ask because it seems that a wide class of corporations are  regularly assigned Startup Status  that do not deserve it. Is Uber a startup? Of course not. Is the company that your crazy uncle started in the basement to help people better glue the fins on their toy rockets a startup? No, that’s a failure waiting to happen. Is the 14-person, o...

In today's knowledge economy, intellectual property (hereafter "IP") rights are very important and powerful.  Unfortunately for (young) entrepreneur's, it's not always the first thing that will cross your mind when you start a business. Indeed, you get excited by your project, you have a multitude of activities and issues that you have to deal with, you start to spread your idea everywhere, etc. However, if you want to protect your smartphone application (hereafter “app”) and generate profits, you should really read this article! In this article, two questions will be analyzed. In terms of IP rights protection: (1)     What should a startup do when starting a business? For instance, should you patent your smartphone application  [5] ? Do you need a trademark? A short summary of  Apple trademark applications icon 'strategy' will also be explained.   (2)     What can a sta...