IP and Business Law Issues for your Startup

The objective of this meeting is to provide a forum for discussion of the critical legal issues facing the founders, investors, and managers of technology companies. The presentation will be followed by a question and answer (Q&A) session moderated by Bill Byrnes, where you will be invited to present your own legal questions and seek guidance from the panel. While not intended as a substitute for securing your own legal counsel, previous attendees have found this to be a particularly valuable forum for seeking initial understanding of the issues that confront startup companies.

Any questions or topics that attendees would like addressed by the panel or in the Q&A session can be e-mailed in advance to Bill Byrnes at [email protected].

Panel:

James Morris has over 20 years’ experience in patent prosecution and opinion work in the electrical, electromechanical, computer, software, and optical arts. He also works with companies and research institutions in the biomedical, medical device, and bioinformatics fields. He represents a full spectrum of business entities including multinational companies, medium-size companies, and individual inventors.

James regularly evaluates other competitors’ technologies and patent portfolios and advises clients on potential risks and opportunities. He has particular expertise in semiconductors, memory, semiconductor manufacturing, analog and digital circuits, optical switches, software, and computer related inventions. He also has a particular interest in business method patents and has obtained a number of such patents in the U.S. and abroad.

James has successfully argued a number of cases before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences and has also represented clients in mediations and negotiations.

Prior to joining the firm, James worked as an electrical engineer. He held positions as an audio/visual systems designer, hardware design engineer, and research and development engineer. During his engineering career, he designed control systems for presentation facilities, audio and video systems, motor control circuits, memory systems and associated control circuits, and remote digital controllers.

James also worked on image processing and prepress systems and did research on human visual perception in connection with development of electronic color prepress image processing and editing systems.

Education

Queens College of The City University of New York, B.A., Physics

City College of The City University of New York, B.E., Electrical Engineering

Suffolk University Law School, J.D., cum laude

Professional and Civic Activities:

American Bar Association

Boston Patent Law Association

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Massachusetts Bar Association

James is a member of the Firm's Executive Committee. He was also the firm’s first technology specialist in 1988.

Partner, Deputy Chair, Business Department- Boston

Mark Haddad has an extensive corporate practice for a client base that ranges from investment funds to startup and portfolio companies to large public companies. His work for them encompasses both transactional and governance issues.

Mark advises start-up companies – primarily those in the cleantech, high tech and life sciences sectors – on corporate formation, venture capital financing, and general corporate matters. He also represents private equity, venture capital and angel investors in portfolio investments with start-up and other companies.

For publicly held companies such as CRA International, Inc. and ABIOMED, Inc., Mark offers guidance on general corporate matters, securities filings in compliance with the federal securities laws, and corporate finance (including public offerings and private placements). His transactional practice has particular emphasis on representing both buyers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other strategic transactions. As part of this work, he counsels public companies regarding defensive measures, including the adoption of stockholder rights plans.

Education:

• Harvard Law School, J.D., 2000
• University of Buffalo, B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa

Moderator: William R. Byrnes, Esq. [email protected].

Bill's legal practice assists entrepreneurial companies with the legal issues they face with a focus on day-to-day commercial issues involving customers, vendors, and other third party relationships.

Bill received his undergraduate degree in English Literature and Creative Writing from Boston University, a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, and a L.L.M. degree in Taxation from Boston University Law School, Graduate Tax Program. He is also a Boston Entrepreneurs' Network board member.