Work This Way: A Labor & Employment Law Podcast | How Employers Can Protect Intellectual Property with Bryan Baysinger of Maynard Nexsen
The Briefing: Millions at Stake – How 2 Live Crew Beat Bankruptcy to Reclaim Their Music
Williams Mullen's Trending Now - An IP Podcast - Intellectual Contracts
Protecting IP Through Employment Law
The phases of launching a startup move fast, such as branding, prototypes, pitches, and investor decks. But amid the excitement, intellectual property (IP) strategy often gets left behind. The result? Costly mistakes that can...more
A founder’s success may hinge on selecting a group of like-minded and passionate individuals to join the business. After all, as Steve Jobs reminds us, “a small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and...more
In patent infringement litigation, ownership isn’t just about who invented the technology. It’s about who holds the legal right to enforce it. That right depends on the language used in assignment agreements, license...more
In Causam Enterprises, Inc. v. ITC, No. 23-1769 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 15, 2025), the Federal Circuit addressed whether Causam was the owner of the asserted patent and, thus, had Article III standing. The central issue was whether...more
As technology becomes more prevalent in business, the need to understand intellectual property has become of paramount importance. Broadly speaking, intellectual property describes intangible assets that are subject to...more
Many companies engage outsourced developers to assist with writing software code, whether for mobile apps, SaaS products, or websites. However, many template MSAs, Service Agreements, or Development Agreements have IP...more
Founders tend to be laser-focused on building, launching and scaling their startups as fast as possible, eager to see their passion project transform into a thriving business. Yet, in the rush to get to market, founders too...more
It is not often you get a chance to undo the mistakes of your youth. If you are a musician who signed away the rights to your songs in publishing or record deals in the late 1980s or early 1990s, now is the time to get those...more
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, especially large language models, are transforming many aspects of legal work, including contract drafting. They can generate polished-looking text in seconds and even assist in assembling...more
Raising capital is a defining moment for any startup, but the groundwork for a successful financing is laid long before you meet your first investor. We’ve seen that the companies best positioned to attract investment are...more
Launching a startup is exhilarating, but the path to building a successful business is riddled with pitfalls that can derail even the most promising ventures. We’ve seen thousands of early-stage companies navigate their...more
Hosts Tina and Jennie welcome their colleague Bryan Baysinger, head of Maynard Nexsen’s Intellectual Property practice group, to discuss how employers can protect their IP in the modern workplace. From remote work and...more
Patent diligence in the context of M&A and other types of commercial transactions typically involves confirmation of a patent’s chain-of-title ownership, from initial inventors through to the current assignee-owner. The...more
Well-known and respected business consulting and advisory firm Ocean Tomo reports that within the last quarter century, intellectual capital has emerged as the leading asset class for businesses comprising the S&P500. ...more
In a recent ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the court refused to register a work where its sole author was an artificial intelligence (AI) tool. This holding is in line with the Copyright Office’s...more
Want to learn more about drafting, negotiating, and understanding intellectual property and technology contracts and have 10 minutes to spare? Grab your morning coffee or afternoon tea and dig into our Tech Contract Quick...more
The 90s hip-hop group 2 Live Crew won big in their copyright case against Lil’ Joe Records. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg break down copyright termination rights, bankruptcy, and what it means for artists reclaiming their...more
Precedential and Key Federal Circuit Opinions - 1. BACKERTOP LICENSING LLC [OPINION] (23-2367, 23-2368, 24-1016, 24-1017 Prost, Hughes, and Stoll) - Hughes, J. The Court affirmed the District Court’s orders (1)...more
For nearly all companies, but particularly companies in the technology sector, the intellectual property ("IP") they create are the crown jewels of the business. Without the IP, the company has nothing to sell....more
Precedential and Key Federal Circuit Opinions - LKQ CORPORATION v. GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC [OPINION] (2021-2348, 5/21/24) Moore, Lourie, Dyk, Prost, Reyna, Taranto, Chen, Hughes, Stoll, and Stark - Stoll,...more
An Illinois federal district court granted partial summary judgment in a trademark dispute against Ledo Pizza System, Inc. (“System”) and Ledo Pizza Carryouts, Ltd. (“Carryouts”), a franchisor of pizza restaurants...more
In a split opinion issued Tuesday, and based on language in an assignment clause of a contract, the Federal Circuit overturned a district court's summary judgment that Core Optical lacked standing to sue Nokia, Cisco, and...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a district court’s decision in a patent dispute for a lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the plaintiff lacked constitutional and statutory standing....more
Update: The USPTO has now announced that February 5th, 2024 will now be the date for the Assignment Center to replace the Electronic Patent Assignment System (EPAS) and Electronic Trademark Assignment System (ETAS)....more
As any good trademark practitioner knows, a “naked” consent agreement is one in which one party provides consent to the registration of another party’s mark without an explanation of why confusion is unlikely, or what the...more