Tech Law

McNaul Ebel represents a wide variety of clients in matters relating to intellectual property licensing and channel development. Our attorneys structure, negotiate, and document arrangements to acquire, develop, protect, and distribute technologies both domestically and internationally. We have broad experience working with licensing and distribution agreements, OEMs, consulting and service agreements, joint ventures and strategic alliances, and Internet and e-commerce arrangements. Specifically, our experience with IP licensing and channel development includes the following recent transactions:

• Customized master license agreements between a leading visualization technology company and Fortune 500 customers
• Multi-year service and license agreements between consumer data analytics company and international OEMs
• Distribution, partnership and vendor agreements for social network to monetize aggressively growing membership base
• Video content license and distribution agreements between international hotel company and content producers and distributors
• Channel agreements and secured rights to data feeds in dozens of municipalities for radio solutions company
• Development and license agreement between video game developer and major semiconductor company

Our attorneys also have substantial experience in litigation and arbitration involving the licensing and development of intellectual property rights.

We represent companies that threaten established business models. Laws impacting these companies don't keep pace. We understand the changing face of these business innovations, current regulatory trends, user-generated content issues, site misconduct, and how to minimize the inherent risks of cloud computing, social media, and delivering applications over the Web while maximizing the benefits.

Our experience with online business models includes the following recent transactions:

• Development of terms of service for video-sharing social network, to include sharing of advertising and content-licensing revenue with community members
• Expansion of social network's goodwill associated with trademarks through non-traditional licensing and supporting guidelines, coupled with a protocol for community policing
• Planning, implementation and launch of branded services on iPhone and iPod Touch platforms for several information service companies
• Representation of various new Internet ventures yet in stealth mode, seeking to establish new businesses that push the envelope on existing approaches in the areas of commodity valuation, mental health services, information localization and information delivery

Some of our brashest and most innovative clients are independent video game developers who are defining what it means to be "cross platform." Our work for these clients includes corporate organization, publishing and distribution agreements, licensing agreements, and outward facing user terms.

Our attorneys understand the importance of building a brand and have experience in all facets of trademark protection and practice. We assist our clients with the development of trademark protection strategies; performing trademark searches; preparing, filing, and prosecuting trademark applications in the United States and internationally; preparing, filing, and prosecuting trademark oppositions and cancellations; and representing clients in litigation and arbitration involving trademark and trade secret protection. Our trademark clients include a broad range of national and international businesses, including prominent and emerging social networks, video game developers, consumer products companies, transportation providers, and hotels.

In addition to representing startups and emerging companies, we represent many founders of emerging technology companies in connection with their intellectual property assignments, restricted equity issuances, and noncompetition and confidentiality agreements. We understand the issues unique to founders of rapidly growing companies. We help them assess and negotiate the agreements they are asked to deliver, whether at formation, financing, exit, or severance. Where appropriate, we assist the founders in striking the right balance between the scope of technology that they assign or retain, limit the restrictions they place on the futures of those technologies, and determine how to maintain controlling ownership interests.

Although our business and technology practices are based on representing entrepreneurs and companies, we also represent angel investors on a transactional basis. As investors’ counsel, we help our clients define, structure, and close investments in startup and emerging companies. We also assist investors with conducting due diligence investigations of prospective investments. Sometimes, we organize and form entities that will make a given investment or series of investments.

Our experience as investors’ counsel includes the following recent transactions:

• Representation of venture fund in connection with initial organization and management structure, initial financing and investments in portfolio companies
• Representation of lead investor in connection with purchase of Series A Preferred Stock of cloud-based IT management service
• Representation of serial entrepreneurs in connection with making investments in startups in which they assume executive roles