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Editor's Corner: IP Management in New Companies

By Timothy D. Casey,
September 01, 2003

In the course of performing due diligence investigations on new technology companies (usually within the context of a potential venture capital investment), an attorney may uncover a number of common mistakes related to such companies' management of their intellectual property. When these mistakes are serious enough, discovery of them can jeopardize the investment, lower the company's or the asset's valuation, or allow the venture capitalist to extract other concessions. Given the current scarcity of venture funding, new companies cannot afford to take risks with the most significant asset they might possess ' especially where such risk is purely as a result of mismanagement. Accordingly, these mistakes are important from the perspective of both the technology companies and their potential venture capitalists ' as well as their respective counsel. The article below captures 10 of the most common intellectual property management mistakes made by new companies.

In the course of performing due diligence investigations on new technology companies (usually within the context of a potential venture capital investment), an attorney may uncover a number of common mistakes related to such companies' management of their intellectual property. When these mistakes are serious enough, discovery of them can jeopardize the investment, lower the company's or the asset's valuation, or allow the venture capitalist to extract other concessions. Given the current scarcity of venture funding, new companies cannot afford to take risks with the most significant asset they might possess ' especially where such risk is purely as a result of mismanagement. Accordingly, these mistakes are important from the perspective of both the technology companies and their potential venture capitalists ' as well as their respective counsel. The article below captures 10 of the most common intellectual property management mistakes made by new companies.

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