Silicon Valley Lawyer Kristie Prinz recently sat down for an interview with Beau Fernald, Fractional COO and Principal of Aware Insights LLC to discuss the topic of software implementation.

One of the most common drafting mistakes in digital health and software contracts is failing to sufficiently define the parties’ mutual expectations for a software implementation. Most digital health and software contracts, in fact, are completely silent on the issue, regardless of the time, financial or other requirements of the implementation, which may be extensive. While Beau is not a digital health or software lawyer and brings a different operational perspective to the issue of software implementation, he offers some additional insight on software implementation mistakes that digital health, SaaS, and software companies make, the consequences of those mistakes, and best practices on how to avoid them altogether. Beau strongly agrees the contention that software implementation understandings need to be articulated and memorialized in a writing to avoid subsequent misunderstandings that may result in a legal dispute.

For more information on Beau Fernald, you can view his professional profile at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beaufernald/. The Aware Insights LLC website is at: https://awareinsights.com.

I am excited to announce that my firm is adopting a number of new options for working with our clients. We received feedback asking for new fixed rate and subscription packages for specific business scenarios, and in response to that feedback we have designed a variety of new packages designed around those requests. These options are available for viewing upon request. Existing clients who are working with us already under another billing arrangement will be able to switch to a new plan at any time upon request. I am confident that these new options will address new business needs of the technology and life sciences communities we serve. If you have an idea for a billing arrangement that the firm has not yet developed, we invite you to submit your ideas for consideration at kprinz@prinzlawoffice.com.

The Federal and Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced today a settlement with Twitter, Inc. (“Twitter”) in which Twitter agreed to pay $150 million for its alleged misuse of user account security data, specifically email addresses and phone numbers, for advertising purposes.  The government alleged that the misuse of account data was in violation of a 2011 FTC Order against Twitter, which prohibited the company from misrepresenting the extent to which it maintains and protects the security, privacy, confidentiality, or integrity of any nonpublic consumer information.  The government alleged that the misuse of consumer data also violated the EU-US Privacy Shield, and the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield.

The FTC press release is attached here.  The complaint is attached here, and the stipulated order is attached here.

In addition to the paying a $150 million fine, the government announced that Twitter has agreed to the following:

Twitter will not profit from deceptively collected data;

• Users will have other options to multi-factor authentication such as apps or security keys that do not require the provision of phone numbers;
• Notify all users that Twitter misused the phone numbers and emails collected for targeted advertising and to provide users with information about Twitter’s privacy and security controls;
• Implement and maintain a comprehensive privacy and information security program which requires an assessment of the potential privacy and security requirements of new products;
• Limit employee access to users’ personal data; and
• Notify the FTC if it experiences a data breach.

With this enforcement action against Twitter, the FTC is clearly making a statement to businesses that they need to truthfully disclose the purposes for which data used for advertising purposes is collected, and that failure to disclose this information will have potential federal regulatory consequences.

 

Best Practices for Negotiating Master Services Agreements in an Uncertain Economy

Date & Time: April 6, 2020, 10-11:30 a.m. PST Price: $125 Early Bird, $150 General Admission, $175 Last Minute & On-Demand Register on Eventbrite With the rapidly developing changes affecting businesses due to the worldwide spread of the coronavirus infection, and the widespread fear of the potential economic fallout, what are some of the best practices your business should be implementing immediately in negotiating master service agreements with customers and service providers? The Prinz Law Office is sponsoring a webinar on “Best Practices for Negotiating Master Services Agreements in an Uncertain Economy” which will provide an overview on how companies should approach the negotiation of master service agreements (“MSAs”)  in the current economic climate, and steps you can be taking to protect your business in uncertain times. At this webinar, you will learn the following:

• What terms should be in a well-drafted MSA?
• What special concerns do you need to address in uncertain times?
• What steps can you take to protect your company against the risks of doing business in uncertain times?

Silicon Valley Tech Transactions Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be presenting this webinar. Ms. Prinz is a technology transactions attorney in Silicon Valley who has been representing early stage and mid-market technology companies for more than 21 years. Ms. Prinz is a nationally-recognized speaker, media contributor, and author on software, technology, and intellectual property-related issues. She publishes the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog and the new Silicon Valley Privacy Law Blog. Ms. Prinz is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. This program is intended for in-house counsel and attorneys, as well as IT professionals, consultants, and other businesspeople working in the technology industry. Register on Eventbrite

Best Practices for Negotiating SaaS Agreements in an Uncertain Economy

Date & Time: April 20, 2020, 10-11:30 a.m. PST Price: $125 Early Bird, $150 General Admission, $175 Last Minute & On-Demand Register on Eventbrite With the rapidly developing changes affecting businesses due to the worldwide spread of the coronavirus infection, and the widespread fear of the potential economic fallout, what are some of the best practices your business should be implementing immediately in negotiating SaaS agreements with customers? The Prinz Law Office is sponsoring a webinar on “Best Practices for Negotiating SaaS Agreements in an Uncertain Economy” which will provide an overview on how companies should approach the negotiation of SaaS agreements in the current economic climate, and steps you can be taking to protect your business in uncertain times.  At this webinar you will learn the following:

• What terms should be in a well-drafted SaaS contract?
• What special concerns do you need to address in uncertain times?
• What steps can you take to better protect your company against the risks of doing business with customers in uncertain times?

Silicon Valley SaaS Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be presenting this webinar. Ms. Prinz is a SaaS, software and technology transactions attorney in Silicon Valley who has been representing early stage, small, and mid-market software companies for more than 20 years. Ms. Prinz is a nationally-recognized speaker, media contributor, and author of the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog and the new Silicon Valley Privacy Law Blog.  Ms. Prinz has developed particular expertise in the fields of SaaS and digital health transactions.  She graduated from Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. This program is intended for in-house counsel and attorneys, as well as salespeople, founders, and other executives working with SaaS companies.

Negotiating Consulting Services Agreements in an Uncertain Economy

Date & Time: December 30, 2020, 10-11:30 a.m. PST Price:  $150 General Admission, $175 Last Minute & On-Demand Register on Eventbrite Silicon Valley Business Lawyer Kristie Prinz will present a webinar on December 30, 2020 on “Negotiating Consulting Services Agreements In an Uncertain Economy. What are the key risks in a consulting services relationship during an uncertain economy? How do you negotiate terms to minimize these risks? Silicon Valley Law Kristie Prinz will address in this webinar: Key Terms in a Consulting Agreement Common Risks in an Uncertain Economy Where Relationships Can Go Wrong How to Negotiate Terms that Minimize the Risks Silicon Valley Lawyer Kristie Prinz has been advising technology and life science consultants on negotiating consulting services agreements for more than 20 years. Ms. Prinz is a frequent speaker on negotiating and drafting technology-related agreements, and she is the author of the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog. Ms. Prinz started her Silicon Valley career at the Palo Alto office of the New York-based IP law firm of Pennie & Edmonds LLP, where she worked in the biotech and IP licensing groups . Following the sudden closing of Pennie & Edmonds LLP, she launched The Prinz Law Office, where she represents life sciences and technology companies and consultants on their technical negotiations and agreements. Ms. Prinz is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice law in the states of California and Georgia. To register, please click here 

Secrets to Developing a Blog that Effectively Markets Your Law Practice

Silicon Valley Lawyer Kristie Prinz will present a webinar on “Secrets to Developing a Blog that Effectively Markets Your Law Practice” on Monday, June 8th at 10 a.m. PST.  The webinar will provide an overview of what lawyers should consider when they decide to launch a law blog. At this webinar, you will learn the following:

• What makes an effective law practice blog?
• What are the essential elements of an effective law blog?
• What are the best practices for developing a law practice blog?
• What are the best practices for managing a law blog?

Silicon Valley Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be presenting this webinar. Ms. Prinz is the author of The Virtual Rainmaker Blog and a Silicon Valley software and technology transactions attorney who has been representing early stage, small, and mid-market software companies for more than 20 years. Ms. Prinz has launched multiple Silicon Valley-focused law blogs in her career and has developed particular expertise in the development, marketing and promotion of law practice blogs. She graduated from Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. This program is intended for lawyers and law students who are interested in the development and marketing of a blog to promote their legal practice. To register, please sign up at the following link

Best Practices for Negotiating SaaS Agreements in an Uncertain Economy

Date & Time: December 8, 2020, 10-11:30 a.m. PST Price:  $150 General Admission, $175 Last Minute & On-Demand Register on Eventbrite With the continued economic uncertainty resulting from COVID-19 and ongoing disruptions to large sectors of the worldwide economy, what are the current best practices to adopt in the negotiation of SaaS agreements? Silicon Valley SaaS lawyer Kristie Prinz will present a webinar on December 8, 2020 at 10 a.m. PST on “Best Practices for Negotiating SaaS Agreements in an Uncertain Economy.”  The program will provide an overview on how companies should approach the negotiation of SaaS agreements in the current economic climate, and steps you can take to better protect your business in the negotiation process. At this webinar you will learn the following: What are some of the key considerations you should be addressing in your SaaS negotiations in an uncertain economy? What are the best practices for successfully addressing those concerns? What steps can you take to better protect your company in SaaS negotiations? Ms. Prinz is a SaaS, software and technology transactions attorney in Silicon Valley who has been representing early stage, small, and mid-market software companies for more than 20 years. Ms. Prinz is a nationally-recognized speaker, media contributor, and author of the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog.  Ms. Prinz has developed particular expertise in the fields of SaaS and digital health transactions.  She graduated from Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. To register, please click here

Best Practices for Negotiating Development Agreements in an Uncertain Economy

Date & Time: April 13, 2020, 10-11:30 a.m. PST Price: $125 Early Bird, $150 General Admission, $175 Last Minute & On-Demand Register on Eventbrite With the rapidly developing changes affecting businesses due to the worldwide spread of the coronavirus infection, and the widespread fear of the potential economic fallout, what are some of the best practices your business should be implementing immediately in negotiating software, website, and technology development agreements? The Prinz Law Office is sponsoring a webinar on “Best Practices for Negotiating Development Agreements in an Uncertain Economy” which will provide an overview on how companies should approach the negotiation of development agreements  in the current economic climate, and steps you can be taking to protect your business in uncertain times. At this webinar, you will learn the following:

• What terms should be in a well-drafted development agreement?
• What special concerns do you need to address in uncertain times?
• What steps can you take to protect your company against the risks of entering into development transactions in uncertain times?

Silicon Valley Tech Transactions Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be presenting this webinar. Ms. Prinz is a technology transactions attorney in Silicon Valley who has been representing early stage and mid-market technology companies for more than 21 years. Ms. Prinz is a nationally-recognized speaker, media contributor, and author on software, technology, and intellectual property-related issues. She publishes the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog and the new Silicon Valley Privacy Law Blog. Ms. Prinz is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. This program is intended for in-house counsel and attorneys, as well as developers, consultants, and other businesspeople purchasing or performing development services.

Best Practices for Negotiating Master Services Agreements in an Uncertain Economy

Date & Time: April 6, 2020, 10-11:30 a.m. PST Price: $125 Early Bird, $150 General Admission, $175 Last Minute & On-Demand Register on Eventbrite With the rapidly developing changes affecting businesses due to the worldwide spread of the coronavirus infection, and the widespread fear of the potential economic fallout, what are some of the best practices your business should be implementing immediately in negotiating master service agreements with customers and service providers? The Prinz Law Office is sponsoring a webinar on “Best Practices for Negotiating Master Services Agreements in an Uncertain Economy” which will provide an overview on how companies should approach the negotiation of master service agreements (“MSAs”)  in the current economic climate, and steps you can be taking to protect your business in uncertain times. At this webinar, you will learn the following:

• What terms should be in a well-drafted MSA?
• What special concerns do you need to address in uncertain times?
• What steps can you take to protect your company against the risks of doing business in uncertain times?

Silicon Valley Tech Transactions Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be presenting this webinar. Ms. Prinz is a technology transactions attorney in Silicon Valley who has been representing early stage and mid-market technology companies for more than 21 years. Ms. Prinz is a nationally-recognized speaker, media contributor, and author on software, technology, and intellectual property-related issues. She publishes the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog and the new Silicon Valley Privacy Law Blog. Ms. Prinz is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. This program is intended for in-house counsel and attorneys, as well as IT professionals, consultants, and other businesspeople working in the technology industry. Register on Eventbrite

The Intersection of Technology and Legal Practice: Addressing Current Technology Issues without Allowing Them to Overwhelm Your Practice

Date & Time: April 17, 2020, 10-11:15 PST Price: $99 Early Bird, $125 General Admission, $150 Last Minute & On-Demand Register Silicon Valley Technology Lawyer Kristie Prinz will present a webinar on April 17, 2020 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST on “The Intersection of Technology and Legal Practice: Addressing Current Technology Issues without Allowing Them to Overwhelm Your Practice,” which will provide an overview for lawyers and law firms who are not technology law practitioners on best practices to manage the use of technology in their legal practice. At this webinar, you will learn the following:

• What you need to know before starting a website or software development project;
• Best practices for managing hosting and maintenance relationships;
• Best practices for retaining and managing technology vendors; and
• Recent legal developments impacting law practices.

Silicon Valley Technology Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be presenting this webinar. Ms. Prinz is a SaaS, software and technology transactions attorney in Silicon Valley who has been representing early stage, small, and mid-market software companies for more than 21 years. Ms. Prinz is a nationally-recognized legal speaker, media contributor, and author of the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog and the soon-to-be-launched Silicon Valley Privacy Law Blog.  In addition to her legal practice, Ms. Prinz serves a consultant to law firms and law firms on technology, Internet, marketing and advertising, professional development, and public speaking-related issues. Ms. Prinz graduated from Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. This program is intended for small to mid-sized law firms and lawyers who are trying to manage the use of technology in their law practices without getting completely overwhelmed by it.

Best Practices for Negotiating SaaS Contracts & Managing SaaS Customer Relationships

Date & Time: October 8, 2019, 10-11:15 PST Price: $125 Early Bird, $150 General Admission, $175 Last Minute & On-Demand Register on Eventbrite Watch on Demand The Prinz Law Office is sponsoring a webinar on “Best Practices for Negotiating SaaS Contracts & Managing SaaS Customer Relationships” which will provide an overview of how SaaS companies should be drafting customer agreements and what steps they should be taking to manage the SaaS customer relationship after the agreement is signed. At this webinar, you will learn the following:

• What makes an effective SaaS customer contract? • What are the essential terms in a well-drafted SaaS contract? • What are the common issues that arise in SaaS negotiations? What are the best strategies to resolve them? • What are the best practices to manage the customer relationship?

Silicon Valley SaaS Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be presenting this webinar. Ms. Prinz is a software and technology transactions attorney in Silicon Valley who has been representing early stage, small, and mid-market software companies for more than 20 years. Ms. Prinz is a nationally-recognized speaker, media contributor, and author of the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog. Ms. Prinz has developed particular expertise in the fields of SaaS and digital health transactions.  She graduated from Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. This program is intended for in-house counsel and attorneys, as well as salespeople, founders, and other executives working with SaaS companies.

Legal Developments Impacting the Software Industry 2019

Date & Time: November 21, 2019, 10-11:15 PST Price: $125 Early Bird, $150 General Admission, $175 Last Minute & On-Demand Register on Eventbrite Watch On-Demand The Prinz Law Office is sponsoring a webinar on “Legal Developments Impacting the Software Industry in 2019” which will provide an overview of what software companies need to know about key legal developments in 2019 and practice steps they should be taking in response to those developments.  At this webinar you will learn about:

• Key state law developments impacting the industry, including but not limited to the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”), which goes into effect January 1, 2020;
• Federal Regulatory activity impacting the software industry, particularly with respect to the Federal Trade Commision (“FTC”); and
• Cases and trends in litigation impacting the software industry.

Silicon Valley SaaS Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be presenting this webinar. Ms. Prinz is a SaaS, software and technology transactions attorney in Silicon Valley who has been representing early stage, small, and mid-market software companies for more than 20 years. Ms. Prinz is a nationally-recognized speaker, media contributor, and author of the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog. Ms. Prinz has developed particular expertise in the fields of SaaS and digital health transactions.  She graduated from Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. This program is intended for in-house counsel and attorneys, as well as founders, executives, and service providers working with software companies.

Best Practices for Negotiating SaaS Contracts & Managing SaaS Customer Relationships

Date & Time: March 31, 2020, 10-11:15 PST Price: $125 Early Bird, $150 General Admission, $175 Last Minute & On-Demand Register on Eventbrite On-Demand The Prinz Law Office is sponsoring a webinar on “Best Practices for Negotiating SaaS Contracts & Managing SaaS Customer Relationships” which will provide an overview of how SaaS companies should be drafting customer agreements and what steps they should be taking to manage the SaaS customer relationship after the agreement is signed. At this webinar, you will learn the following: • What makes an effective SaaS customer contract? • What are the essential terms in a well-drafted SaaS contract? • What are the common issues that arise in SaaS negotiations? What are the best strategies to resolve them? • What are the best practices to manage the customer relationship? Silicon Valley SaaS Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be presenting this webinar. Ms. Prinz is a software and technology transactions attorney in Silicon Valley who has been representing early stage, small, and mid-market software companies for more than 20 years. Ms. Prinz is a nationally-recognized speaker, media contributor, and author of the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog. Ms. Prinz has developed particular expertise in the fields of SaaS and digital health transactions.  She graduated from Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. This program is intended for in-house counsel and attorneys, as well as salespeople, founders, and other executives working with SaaS companies.

Best Practices for Drafting Master Service Agreements & Managing the Service Relationship

Time: Friday, March 8, 2019, 10-11 a.m. PST Early Bird Price: $125, General Admission Price: $150, On-Demand Price: $175 Register on Eventbrite View On-Demand Are your customers signing a master services agreement which is actually protecting your business? What should you be doing after agreement is signed to manage the customer relationship? The Prinz Law Office is sponsoring a webinar on “Best Practices for Drafting Master Services Agreements & Managing the Service Relationship” which will provide an overview on how companies should be drafting master service agreements (“MSAs”) and what steps they should be taking to manage the relationship after the agreement is signed. At this webinar, you will learn the following:

• What terms should be in a well-drafted MSA?
• What drafting problems do you typically find in a MSA?
• What do companies need to know about managing the service relationship after the contract is signed?

Silicon Valley Tech Transactions Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be presenting this webinar.  Ms. Prinz is a technology transactions attorney in Silicon Valley who has been representing early stage and mid-market technology companies for more than 20 years.  Ms. Prinz is a nationally-recognized speaker, media contributor, and author on software, technology, and intellectual property-related issues.  Ms. Prinz is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. This program is intended for in-house counsel and attorneys, as well as IT professionals and other businesspeople working in the technology industry.

Best Practices for Drafting SaaS Contracts & Managing SaaS Customer Relationships

Date & Time:  February 19, 2019, 10-11:00 PST Price: $125 Early Bird, $150 General Admission, $175 On-Demand Register on Eventbrite Watch On-Demand What terms should be included in a well-written SaaS contract?  How do you know if your SaaS contract is really protecting your business?  What should you be doing after the SaaS contract is signed to manage the SaaS customer relationship? The Prinz Law Office is sponsoring a webinar on “Best Practices for Drafting SaaS Contracts & Managing SaaS Customer Relationships” which will provide an overview of how SaaS companies should be drafting customer agreements and what steps they should be taking to manage the SaaS customer relationship after the agreement is signed.  At this webinar, you will learn the following:

• What terms should be an in a well-drafted SaaS customer contract?
• How do SaaS companies overcome common negotiating hurdles over terms?
• What are the common drafting problems with SaaS customer contracts?
• What do SaaS companies need to know about managing the customer relationship after the contract is signed?

Silicon Valley Software Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be presenting this webinar.  Ms. Prinz is a software and technology transactions attorney in Silicon Valley who has been representing early stage and mid-market technology companies for more than 20 years.  Ms. Prinz is a nationally-recognized speaker, media contributor, and author on software, technology, and intellectual property-related issues.  Ms. Prinz has developed particular expertise in the fields of SaaS and digital health transactions.  Ms. Prinz is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. This program is intended for in-house counsel and attorneys, as well as salespeople, founders, and other executives working with SaaS companies.

Best Practices for Drafting SaaS Contracts that Reduce the Customer Sales Cycle & Avoid Disputes

Date & Time: October 26, 2017, 10-11:30 PST General Admission Price: $199; On-Demand Price: $199 View On-Demand Are  your SaaS customers really signing an agreement that is effective for your business?  How do you know if your SaaS contract is not just ineffective but is actually negatively impacting your business? The Prinz Law Office is sponsoring a webinar on “Best Practices for Drafting SaaS Contracts that Reduce the Customer Sales Cycle & Avoid Disputes” which will explore these topics of concern for SaaS companies.  At this webinar, you will learn the following:

• What makes an effective SaaS customer contract?
• What terms should SaaS customers expect?
• Common challenges with customer negotiations.
• What drafting problems frequently result in stalled contract negotiations? Customer disputes?
• How can better drafting close deals faster?  Avoid subsequent customer disputes?

The speaker for this webinar will be Prinz Law Office founder and SaaS lawyer Kristie Prinz.  Ms. Prinz’s practice focuses on advising early stage and small to mid-sized businesses on the negotiation and drafting of complex commercial transactions in the software, hardware, Internet, health technology fields of practice, as well as other related high tech and life sciences fields.  Ms. Prinz is a regular speaker, media contributor, and author on technology law, intellectual property and entrepreneurship issues.  Ms. Prinz has developed particular expertise in advising SaaS companies in negotiating and drafting their customer agreements.  Ms. Prinz is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. This program is intended for anyone working at or launching a SaaS company. Having a law degree is not a pre-requisite for attendance.

Best Practices for Drafting SaaS Contracts that Reduce the Customer Sales Cycle & Avoid Disputes

Date & Time: March 24, 2017, 10-11:30 PST General Admission Price: $199 Register on Eventbrite Are  your SaaS customers really signing an agreement that is effective for your business?  How do you know if your SaaS contract is not just ineffective but is actually negatively impacting your business? The Prinz Law Office is sponsoring a webinar on “Best Practices for Drafting SaaS Contracts that Reduce the Customer Sales Cycle & Avoid Disputes” which will explore these topics of concern for SaaS companies.  At this webinar, you will learn the following:

• What makes an effective SaaS customer contract?
• What terms should SaaS customers expect?
• Common challenges with customer negotiations.
• What drafting problems frequently result in stalled contract negotiations? Customer disputes?
• How can better drafting close deals faster?  Avoid subsequent customer disputes?

The speaker for this webinar will be Prinz Law Office founder and SaaS lawyer Kristie Prinz.  Ms. Prinz’s practice focuses on advising early stage and small to mid-sized businesses on the negotiation and drafting of complex commercial transactions in the software, hardware, Internet, health technology fields of practice, as well as other related high tech and life sciences fields.  Ms. Prinz is a regular speaker, media contributor, and author on technology law, intellectual property and entrepreneurship issues.  Ms. Prinz has developed particular expertise in advising SaaS companies in negotiating and drafting their customer agreements.  Ms. Prinz is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. This program is intended for anyone working at or launching a SaaS company. Having a law degree is not a pre-requisite for attendance.

Best Practices for Drafting SaaS Contracts that Reduce the Customer Sales Cycle and Avoid Disputes

Date & Time: Thursday, March 29, 2018, 10-11:30 PST Price: $199 Register on Eventbrite Are  your SaaS customers really signing an agreement that is effective for your business?  How do you know if your SaaS contract is not just ineffective but is actually negatively impacting your business? The Prinz Law Office is sponsoring a webinar on “Best Practices for Drafting SaaS Contracts that Reduce the Customer Sales Cycle & Avoid Disputes” which will explore these topics of concern for SaaS companies.  At this webinar, you will learn the following:

• What makes an effective SaaS customer contract?
• What terms should SaaS customers expect?
• Common challenges with customer negotiations.
• What drafting problems frequently result in stalled contract negotiations? Customer disputes?
• How can better drafting close deals faster?  Avoid subsequent customer disputes?

The speaker for this webinar will be Prinz Law Office founder and SaaS lawyer Kristie Prinz.  Ms. Prinz’s practice focuses on advising early stage and small to mid-sized businesses on the negotiation and drafting of complex commercial transactions in the software, hardware, Internet, health technology fields of practice, as well as other related high tech and life sciences fields.  Ms. Prinz is a regular speaker, media contributor, and author on technology law, intellectual property and entrepreneurship issues.  Ms. Prinz has developed particular expertise in advising SaaS companies in negotiating and drafting their customer agreements.  Ms. Prinz is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. This program is intended for anyone working at or launching a SaaS company. Having a law degree is not a pre-requisite for attendance.

What Companies Need to Know About the Legal Risks of Business Blogging

Price: 75.00 Special: Free Viewing Click here to view Companies are increasingly launching blogs to advertise and promote their businesses.  While the benefits of adopting a business blog can be extensive, companies may also face legal consequences if they start posting to a blog without first having a good understanding of the legal issues they may encounter through their activities.  This program is designed to educate companies on what they need to know about the legal risks of business blogging. The speaker for this event is Kristie Prinz, the Managing Principal of the intellectual property and e-commerce boutique firm, The Prinz Law Office, located in Los Gatos, CA.  Ms. Prinz is a frequent speaker on blog law issues and recently completed work on a monograph titled “Managing the Risks of Employee Blogging,” which is scheduled to be published by the Science and Technology Law Section of the American Bar Association.  Ms. Prinz is also an avid blogger, currently running two legal blogs, the California Biotech Law Blog and the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog. Ms. Prinz is an active member of the American Bar Association, where she serves as Chair of both the Programs and VOIP Committees of the Science and Technology Section.  She is also active in the Cyberspace Committee of the ABA and California State Bar’s Business Sections and in the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, where she recently finished a three-year term as a member of the board of directors.  Her other activities include currently serving on the Advisory Board for the Silicon Valley Chapter of Licensing Executives Society. Additionally, Ms. Prinz has been a regular contributor to the “Ask the Lawyer” column on intellectual property law for Lawyers.com, is the author of The California Biotech Law Blog and the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog; and is a frequent speaker on intellectual property and ecommerce issues.  Ms. Prinz’s media interviews and appearances include Dow Jones, CNN Radio, American Public Radio’s “Marketplace,” IPO 360, California Lawyer, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, and Sky Radio. Ms. Prinz graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Political Science and Spanish from Furman University, and she is a graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law. Time: approximately 54 minutes

Secrets to Launching an Effective Blog to Promote Your Business

Price: $35.  Special: Free Viewing Click here to view Have you heard stories about how other businesses have launched blogs to promote their businesses?  Are you interested in launching a blog to promote your business as well?  This program will share some of the secrets to launching an effective business blog, addressing such issues as:

• Choosing the best name and subject for a business blog;
• Selecting the best domain name for a business blog;
• Finding the right voice for a business blog;
• Targeting the right audience;
• Choosing the right platform and host;
• Developing the right blog design and layout for a business blog;
• Maximizing the SEO value of a business blog;
• Finding the best content for a business blog; and
• Advertising and promoting a business blog.

The speaker for this program is Kristie Prinz, who is the Managing Principal of Prinz Law Management Consulting.  Ms. Prinz is an avid blogger who recently launched the new  Start-up Law Firm Blog and has two other legal blogs, the California Biotech Law Blog and the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog.  Ms. Prinz is a frequent speaker on blog-related issues, and recently completed a monograph titled “Managing the Risks of Employee Blogging,” which is scheduled to be published by the Science and Technology Law Section of the American Bar Association.  Her consulting practice advises small law firms on a variety of business issues such as building a web presence, blogging issues, small firm advertising and promotion, law firm technology, financing the law firm, and business development. When she is not consulting, Ms. Prinz practices law and is the Managing Principal for The Prinz Law Office, an IP boutique law firm in Silicon Valley, CA.  Her practice includes the drafting and negotiation of intellectual property licenses and related agreements in the high technology and life sciences industries, as well as advising clients across a range of issues in the intellectual property and e-commerce areas. Ms. Prinz is an active member of the American Bar Association, where she serves as Chair of both the Programs and the VOIP Committees of the Science and Technology Section.  She is also active in the Cyberspace Committee of the ABA’s Business Section and in the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, where she recently finished a three-year term as a member of the board of directors.  Her other activities include currently serving on the Advisory Board for the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society. In addition, Ms. Prinz has been a regular contributor to the “Ask the Lawyer” column on intellectual property law for Lawyers.com, and is a frequent speaker on intellectual property and e-commerce issues.  Ms. Prinz’s media interviews and appearances include Dow Jones, CNN Radio, American Public Radio’s Marketplace, IPO 360, California Lawyer, Genetic Engineering  & Biotechnology News, and Sky Radio. Ms. Prinz graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Political Science and Spanish from Furman University, and she is a graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law.

What Every Small Business Needs to Know About Intellectual Property

Price: $25. Special: Free Viewing Click here to view If your small business is not in the life sciences or high technology industry, then you may think that your company has no intellectual property that you should be concerned about.  However, the reality is that most small businesses today have intellectual property, regardless of the industry that they are in. This program was created to educate small businesses on what types of intellectual property they may have in their business and some of the issues that they need to be aware of.  Program highlights include explaining what constitutes a copyrightable work, common copyright issues that arise for small businesses, how to ensure that you own the rights in design materials that you have developed, and  how to protect your business ideas and plans.  The program is primarily intended for business owners who have a “low tech” business and are not regularly dealing with intellectual property issues in their company,  so no prior knowledge of intellectual property is assumed. The speaker for this event is Kristie Prinz, the Managing Principal of the intellectual property and e-commerce boutique law firm, The Prinz Law Office, located in Silicon Valley, CA, who has extensive experience in working with entrepreneurs, start-up companies, and small businesses in the Silicon Valley. Ms. Prinz is a frequent speaker and media contributor on intellectual property-related issues.  Her media interviews and appearances include Dow Jones, CNN Radio, American Public Radio’s “Marketplace,” IP360, California Lawyer, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, and Sky Radio.  She also authors the California Biotech Law Blog and the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog, and has been a regular contributor to the “Ask the Lawyer” column on intellectual property law for Lawyers.com. Ms. Prinz is an active member of the American Bar Association, where she serves as Chair of both the Programs and VOIP Committees of the Science and Technology Section.  She is also active in the Cyberspace Committee of the ABA and California State Bar’s Business Sections and in the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, where she recently finished a three-year term as a member of the board of directors.  Her other activities include currently serving on the Advisory Board for the Silicon Valley Chapter of Licensing Executives Society.  Ms. Prinz previously served as chair of the ABA’s Copyright Licensing Subcommittee for the Intellectual Property Law Section, and has served multiple terms on the Copyright Law and Corporate IP Management Committees for the Intellectual Property Owners Association. Ms. Prinz graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Political Science and Spanish from Furman University, and she is a graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law. Time: approximately 33 minutes.

Social and Professional Online Networking: An Introduction to How Small Firms Can Make the Most of the Tools Available on the Internet

Price: $15.00 Click here to view The Web is increasingly being used not only for social purposes but also for business purposes.  This program  addresses how small law firms and solo practitioners can utilize the Internet and social media to develop and build their practices. This webinar is based on a presentation, which was first featured by The Prinz Law Office Founder and Managing Principal Kristie Prinz at the ABA Business Section Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia,  Canada on April 16, 2009. The program explores how Ms. Prinz has used the Internet to build The Prinz Law Office, and provides some tips on how small firms can begin to build a presence on the Internet. Ms. Prinz is a frequent speaker on blog and Internet law issues and recently completed work on a monograph titled “Managing the Risks of Employee Blogging,” which is scheduled to be published by the Science and Technology Law Section of the American Bar Association.  Ms. Prinz is also an avid blogger, currently running two legal blogs, the California Biotech Law Blog and the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog. Ms. Prinz is an active member of the American Bar Association, where she serves as Chair of both the Programs and VOIP Committees of the Science and Technology Section.  She is also active in the Cyberspace Committee of the ABA and California State Bar’s Business Sections and in the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, where she recently finished a three-year term as a member of the board of directors.  Her other activities include currently serving on the Advisory Board for the Silicon Valley Chapter of Licensing Executives Society. Additionally, Ms. Prinz has been a regular contributor to the “Ask the Lawyer” column on intellectual property law for Lawyers.com, is the author of The California Biotech Law Blog and the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog; and is a frequent speaker on intellectual property and ecommerce issues.  Ms. Prinz’s media interviews and appearances include Dow Jones, CNN Radio, American Public Radio’s “Marketplace,” IPO 360, California Lawyer, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, and Sky Radio. Ms. Prinz graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Political Science and Spanish from Furman University, and she is a graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law. Time: approximately 21 minutes.

What You Need to Know About Nondisclosure Agreements

Price: $45.  Special: Free Viewing Click here to view Nondisclosure agreements are perhaps the most overlooked agreements at any business.  However, companies overlook these agreements at their own peril.  This presentation examines what you really need to be considering in these agreements.  Program highlights include an overview of  the elements that should be in a well-drafted nondisclosure agreement and some of the tricks and traps that businesses often fall into in negotiating these agreements. This webinar is based on a program, which was first presented to several clients in 2008 and 2009 in order to educate them on the issues involving nondisclosure agreements. The program is designed to educate businesses on the important aspects of a nondisclosure agreement and to inform them about some of the issues that they need to watch out for in these types of agreements. The speaker for this event is Kristie Prinz, the Managing Principal of the intellectual property and e-commerce boutique law firm, The Prinz Law Office, located in Silicon Valley, CA, who has extensive experience in negotiating and drafting nondisclosure agreements for high tech and life sciences clients. Ms. Prinz is a frequent speaker and media contributor on intellectual property-related issues.  Her media interviews and appearances include Dow Jones, CNN Radio, American Public Radio’s “Marketplace,” IP360, California Lawyer, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, and Sky Radio.  She also authors the California Biotech Law Blog and the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog, and has been a regular contributor to the “Ask the Lawyer” column on intellectual property law for Lawyers.com. Ms. Prinz is an active member of the American Bar Association, where she serves as Chair of both the Programs and VOIP Committees of the Science and Technology Section.  She is also active in the Cyberspace Committee of the ABA and California State Bar’s Business Sections and in the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, where she recently finished a three-year term as a member of the board of directors.  Her other activities include currently serving on the Advisory Board for the Silicon Valley Chapter of Licensing Executives Society.  Ms. Prinz previously served as chair of the ABA’s Copyright Licensing Subcommittee for the Intellectual Property Law Section, and has served multiple terms on the Copyright Law and Corporate IP Management Committees for the Intellectual Property Owners Association. Ms. Prinz graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Political Science and Spanish from Furman University, and she is a graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law. Time: approximately 26 minutes.

Employee Blogs and Websites: How to Protect Your Company from the Legal Risk of Workers Going Online

Price: $45.  Special: Free Viewing Click here to view Given the popularity of blogging, an increasing number of workers are actively engaged in social media.  While employers can benefit from employee blogging, it also can create new risks for businesses. This webinar was first presented by The Prinz Law Office Founder Kristie Prinz on July 15, 2008 for American Features Syndicate.  The response was so overwhelming that American Features Syndicate asked Kristie to repeat the program again on August 1, 2008. The program is designed to educate companies on the legal risks from employee blogging and to provide them with some best practices to manage those risk. Ms. Prinz is a frequent speaker on blog law issues and recently completed work on a monograph titled “Managing the Risks of Employee Blogging,” which is scheduled to be published by the Science and Technology Law Section of the American Bar Association.  Ms. Prinz is also an avid blogger, currently running two legal blogs, the California Biotech Law Blog and the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog. Ms. Prinz is an active member of the American Bar Association, where she serves as Chair of both the Programs and VOIP Committees of the Science and Technology Section.  She is also active in the Cyberspace Committee of the ABA and California State Bar’s Business Sections and in the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, where she recently finished a three-year term as a member of the board of directors.  Her other activities include currently serving on the Advisory Board for the Silicon Valley Chapter of Licensing Executives Society. Additionally, Ms. Prinz has been a regular contributor to the “Ask the Lawyer” column on intellectual property law for Lawyers.com, is the author of The California Biotech Law Blog and the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog; and is a frequent speaker on intellectual property and ecommerce issues.  Ms. Prinz’s media interviews and appearances include Dow Jones, CNN Radio, American Public Radio’s “Marketplace,” IPO 360, California Lawyer, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, and Sky Radio. Ms. Prinz graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Political Science and Spanish from Furman University, and she is a graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law. Time: 40 minutes.

Leveraging an IP Portfolio in the Development of Partnering Relationships

Price: $25. Special: Free Viewing

Click here to view How do you leverage an intellectual property portfolio and develop the relationships that will enable you to successfully commercialize your IP?  This presentation looks at the process of how to take the IP that you have developed and build the partnering relationships required to create a revenue stream for your organization. This webinar was based on a presentation, which was first featured by The Prinz Law Office Founder and Managing Principal Kristie Prinz on June 10, 2008 at the Ninth Annual Beyond Genome: Tools to Therapies Conference in San Francisco, CA. The program was designed to examine the process of how businesses can commercialize intellectual property through partnering relationships. Ms. Prinz is a frequent speaker and media contributor on intellectual property-related issues.  Her media interviews and appearances include Dow Jones, CNN Radio, American Public Radio’s “Marketplace,” IP360, California Lawyer, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, and Sky Radio.  She also authors the California Biotech Law Blog and the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog, and has been a regular contributor to the “Ask the Lawyer” column on intellectual property law for Lawyers.com. Ms. Prinz is an active member of the American Bar Association, where serves as a Committee Chair for the  Science and Technology Section.  She is also active in the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, where she recently finished a three-year term as the Director of Life Sciences/Biotechnology.  Her other activities include currently serving on the Advisory Board for the Silicon Valley Chapter of Licensing Executives Society.  Ms. Prinz previously served as chair of the ABA’s Copyright Licensing Subcommittee for the Intellectual Property Law Section, and has served multiple terms on the Copyright Law and Corporate IP Management Committees for the Intellectual Property Owners Association. Ms. Prinz graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Political Science and Spanish from Furman University, and she is a graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law. Time: 18 minutes.

Price: $45  Special: Free Viewing   

Click here to view New legal issues continue to emerge in the area of blog law as an increasing number of people take up blogging for either personal or business purposes. This program explores the latest legal issues to develop in blog law, and makes some predictions about where blog law is heading in the future. This webinar is based on a teleconference, which was first presented on July 7, 2009 by The Prinz Law Office Founder and Managing Principal Kristie Prinz to the California Bar’s Business Section, E-Commerce Sub-Committee of the Cyberspace Committee. Ms. Prinz is a frequent speaker on blog law issues and recently completed work on a monograph titled “Managing the Risks of Employee Blogging,” which is scheduled to be published by the Science and Technology Law Section of the American Bar Association.  Ms. Prinz is an avid blogger herself, currently running two legal blogs, the California Biotech Law Blog and the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog. Ms. Prinz is an active member of the American Bar Association, where she serves as Chair of both the Programs and VOIP Committees of the Science and Technology Section.  She is also active in the Cyberspace Committee of the ABA and California State Bar’s Business Sections and in the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, where she recently finished a three-year term as a member of the board of directors.  Her other activities include currently serving on the Advisory Board for the Silicon Valley Chapter of Licensing Executives Society. Additionally, Ms. Prinz has been a regular contributor to the “Ask the Lawyer” column on intellectual property law for Lawyers.com, is the author of The California Biotech Law Blog and the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog; and is a frequent speaker on intellectual property and ecommerce issues.  Ms. Prinz’s media interviews and appearances include Dow Jones, CNN Radio, American Public Radio’s “Marketplace,” IPO 360, California Lawyer, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, and Sky Radio. Ms. Prinz graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Political Science and Spanish from Furman University, and she is a graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law. Time: 28 minutes.

Lorem Ipsum is simply a dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged.

Is an uptick of patent litigation initiated by university tech transfer offices on the horizon?  The Tech Transfer eNews Blog is reporting that law firms are increasingly extending contingency fee deals to universities, and that this move is eliminating the barriers preventing universities from pursuing patent litigation. The article is linked here:

Contingency Fee Deals Removing Barriers to Patent Litigation

I am going to be featured as a speaker for the webinar “Negotiating Software as a Service Contracts” for the Arlington, Virginia-based Clear Law Institute on Thursday, February 25, 2016 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EDT.

I am pleased to announce the opening of my firm’s new San Jose office.  Please check out the press release announcing the opening: Press Release of Silicon Valley Office Opening.

Silicon Valley SaaS Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be present a webinar on “Negotiating SaaS Contracts: Drafting Key Contract Provisions, Protecting Customer and Vendor Interests” on February 8, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. PST for Virginia-based Clear Law Institute.

If you are an attorney and either know you have a poor web presence or, alternatively, are satisfied with your web presence but just seeking to land better clients online and/or further develop your expertise online, then you may be interested to know that I am launching a consulting business, where I will work with other attorneys one-on-one in order to help them achieve their Internet business development goals.  If you are interested in this type of assistance, please contact me at CAvirtualrainmaker@gmail.com or 408.608.8911.

I am pleased to announce that The Prinz Law Office and I are launching a new alternative legal billing solution: the subscription billing model.  We have been following the recent popularity of the subscription model with California companies and believe that it could be a good fit with companies having ongoing firm needs, particularly in the transactional space.  Our new plans will be based on daily and half-daily billing, eliminating traditional hourly timekeeping.  For more information on how a subscription solution might work for your business, please contact me at kprinz@prinzlawoffice.com or 408.884.2854.

SaaS Lawyer Kristie Prinz will present a webinar on “Negotiating SaaS Agreements: Drafting Key Contract Provisions, Protecting Customer and Vendor Interests” on June 11, 2018 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.  The program will be sponsored by Virginia-based Clear Law Institute.  The Prinz Law Office has issued a press release on the program, which is linked here.  For more information on the event, please check the Clear Law Institute website.

Software and Technology Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be present a webinar on “Negotiating SaaS Contracts: Drafting Key Contract Provisions, Protecting Customer and Vendor Interests” on October 26, 2018 for Clear Law Institute. The Prinz Law Office has issued a press release announcing the upcoming webinar, which is linked here. To register for the event, sign up at  https://clearlawinstitute.com/shop/webinars/negotiating-saas-agreements-drafting-key-contract-provisions-protecting-customer-and-vendor-interests-102618/.   Clear Law Institute has made available a discount code for the course: you can receive a 35% discount with the promo code: KPrinz119433.

Silicon Valley Software Business Lawyer Kristie Prinz will present a webinar on “Negotiating SaaS Agreements: Drafting Key Contract Provisions, Protecting Customer and Vendor Interests” on June 11, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. The program will be sponsored by Virginia-based Clear Law Institute.  To register for the event, sign up at the Clear Law Institute website.

How do you identify a poorly written software contract?  Software lawyer Kristie Prinz shares some tips for the layperson on recognizing a bad software contract:

Six Signs You are Reviewing a Poorly Written Software Contract

 

Silicon Valley SaaS Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be featured as a speaker on “Negotiating SaaS Agreements: Drafting Key Contract Provisions, Protecting Customer and Vendor Interests” for a webinar hosted by Arlington, Virginia-based Clear Law Institute on Wednesday, February 21, 2018 from 10-11:15 a.m.  PST.  The firm has published a press release on the event, which is attached here.  To register for the event, please check out the Clear Law Institute website.

Silicon Valley Software Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be featured as a speaker for the webinar “Drafting Software Hosting Agreements: Service Availability, Performance, Data Security, Other Key Provisions” for the Atlanta, Georgia-based Strafford on January 23, 2018.  The firm has published a press release on the event, which is attached here.  To register for the event, please check out the Strafford Publications website.

Silicon Valley Software Law Blog’s Kristie Prinz will be presenting a webinar on “Negotiating Software As a Service Contracts” for Clear Law Institute on Wednesday, January 17th from 10-11:15 a.m.  PST.  The Prinz Law Office has published a press release on the event, which is attached here.  To register, please sign up at the Clear Law Institute website.

Silicon Valley Software Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be co-presenting a webinar on “Negotiating SaaS Agreements: Drafting Key Contract Provisions, Protecting Customer and Vendor Interests” with Kelley Miller of Reed Smith on August 8, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. PST/1:00 p.m. EDT.

To register for this webinar, please sign up at:  https://www.straffordpub.com/products/negotiating-saas-agreements-drafting-key-contract-provisions-protecting-customer-and-vendor-interests-2017-08-08.

Interested in acquiring a SaaS company’s assets? If so, you may want to take the time to contemplate the problems you should anticipate with those assets before commencing negotiations. The firm discusses these issues in more detail in the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog:

Negotiating the Purchase of SaaS Company Assets: Key Problems to Anticipate in any Deal

I have discussed the latest legal developments regarding Uber’s “Greyball” software program at the following Silicon Valley Software Law Blog link:

Investigation Reportedly Launched by Department of Justice into Uber’s Use of “Greyball” Software

Many software agreements contain a variety of disparities between the fee terms in the body of the contract and how the fees are described on the website, in marketing materials, and in other supplemental documents. What are the typical problems that might be found in a software agreement regarding fees and how can those problems be fixed? I address these issues in the following Silicon Valley Software Law Blog posting: Common Software Agreement Fee Drafting Problems and How to Fix Them

As many of you likely know, my firm is very involved with VC Taskforce, and our big spring event is coming up this Thursday: StartUp World 2017. The event is an all-day event being held this year at Pillsbury in Palo Alto, and we are pleased to have more than 25 investors participating, including but not limited to the following VC and angel firms: Agile Venture Capital; Kennet Partners; Keiretsu Forum; Monta Vista Capital; Berkeley Angel Network; Artiman Ventures; TrueBridge Capital Partners; HBS Alumni Angels; Illuminate Ventures; Scale Venture Partners; Blumberg Capital; DaVinci Capital Group; SF Angels Group; Manos Accelerator; Streamlined Ventures; Breakout Labs/Ventures; Ulu Ventures; Wingpact; and Portfolia. Tickets are still available. To register, you can sign up at:

Registration for StartUp World 2017

I would argue that poorly drafted implementation terms constitute perhaps the single most common reason for a legal dispute in the software contracting area, particularly in the enterprise business space. So, what can software companies do to avoid this potential problem? I address this issue in the following Silicon Valley Software Law Blogpost:

Does Your Customer Software License or SaaS Agreement Leave Your Software Company Vulnerable to a Legal Dispute Over Implementation?

If you are in the software business, you will likely be interested in some App Store changes that go into effect as of today, May 1, 2017. I posted about these changes on the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog at the link set forth below:

Apple Implements App Store Affiliate Commission and Pricing Changes

As a developer, can you be criminally prosecuted for developing code that is subsequently used in the commission of a crime? The recent federal prosecution of an Arkansas developer suggests that this is in fact possible and that developers need to be wary of all the possible applications of the code they are seeking to develop before they actually develop it. Could a Software Developer Whose Code is Used for Hacking Be Convicted of a Crime?

Should the use of a moderator on an online platform subject the platform to liability for infringing content posted by users? The Ninth Circuit just issued a controversial ruling on this issue, which is discussed at the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog:

Controversial Ninth Circuit Ruling May Limit the Availability of the DMCA Safe Harbor for Websites Relying on Moderators

If you are in the software industry or a technical services industry, or alternatively, if you purchase software or technical services, do you know what a service level agreement is and when you might need one for a particular relationship? In my blogpost at the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog, I explain the concept of a “service level agreement” or “SLA” and why knowledgeable parties would expect such an agreement:

Service Level Agreements: What is a Service-Level Agreement or “SLA” and When Do You Need One?

The increasing reliance on “smart” devices is creating a variety of new legal issues, including the following: whether or not data collected from a “smart” device should be usable in a criminal prosecution? This fact pattern came up recently in an Arkansas murder case, where an Amazon Echo was in a home where a body was found. This Tech Crunch article discusses some of the interesting legal issues surrounding the use of smart device data in the courtroom:

Can Your SmartHome Be Used Against You in Court?

Is your SaaS contract “borrowed” from a third party’s standard terms or copied off the Internet? Or have you just been signing whatever a larger third party sends you to sign? If so, you may want to consider recent class action litigation against an industry leader, in which it was alleged that the terms of service did not meet the the company’s actual business practices and that customers were not actually consenting to those business practices. This recent example provides a valuable lesson as to why contract terms need to be developed around the company’s own technology, business model, and business terms. Recent Software Class Actions Provide Valuable Lesson on Why SaaS Contracts Should Be Drafted to Fit Company’s Business Model

If you are in software industry, you probably are cognizant of the financial significance of data monetization to the industry. But how informed are you of privacy protection practices in the industry? Software companies may want to take note in light of recent enforcement activity by the FTC and tighten their practices, including drafting of the privacy policy and communication of that policy to end users:

Recent FTC Enforcement Actions Should Serve as Warning to Software Industry about Privacy Practices

This USA Today article strongly condemns Silicon Valley for its treatment of women. While the criticism is probably warranted, is Silicon Valley being held to a different standard than the rest of the country? Should Silicon Valley be held to a higher standard either because of its political leanings or because of the industry itself?

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/silicon-valleys-dirty-secret-the-way-it-treats-women/ar-AAnKS6Q?li=BBnbfcN&ocid=SK2HDHP

Does the First Amendment protect the right of a registered sex offender to post on social media? The Supreme Court is set to hear a case challenging a North Carolina law on this issue.

Sex offender goes to Supreme Court over social media ban

VIZIO has settled a case with the FTC and State of New Jersey for $2.2 million, which alleged that the data tracking of smart TVs, which occurred without viewer’s informed consent was “unfair and deceptive” in violation of the FTC Act and New Jersey consumer protection laws. VIZIO to Pay $2.2 Million to FTC

Silicon Valley Attorney Kristie Prinz will be presenting a webinar on March 24, 2017, which will address “Best Practices for Drafting SaaS Contracts that Reduce the Customer Sales Cycle & Avoid Disputes.”  To register, please sign up at the following link:  Best Practices for Drafting Saas Contracts.

I am pleased to announce that I will be speaking at an upcoming webinar “Negotiating Software as a Service Contracts” on December 19, 2016 from 1 to 2:15 p.m. EST. For more information, please see my firm’s press release on the event:  Press Release on Clear Law Institute Webinar

I am pleased to announce that I will be speaking at an upcoming webinar on “Negotiating Service Level Agreement Key Terms” on December 21, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 PST. For more information about the webinar, please see my firm’s press release on the event published below:   Press Release on Stafford Publications Webinar

Do you know how your company decided on its name? Was a trademark search conducted in conjunction with this choice or was the name simply decided on without giving any thought to potential trademark issues? If your company is like many and made its naming choices without consideration of the trademark aspects of the potential choice, then it could be making a very costly mistake. Not only is it possible that the company may have chosen a mark that will not be protectable down the road, but it is also possible that the company may have chosen a mark that is infringing of a third party mark. Even if the company suffers no legal consequences as a result of a poor choice, the company could end up having to re-brand, which has the potential to be expensive and could negatively impact a carefully built online marketing strategy and presence. If this is your company’s situation, taking action sooner rather than later would be advisable. Making a small investment today into trademarks could save the company a significant amount of headaches down the road. This Forbes commentator shares some additional insights on the issue of protecting your company’s trademarks: Why Do Most Companies Ignore Their Trademarks And Brand Names?

As a transactional firm in the technology and health tech space, the firm often gets retained by clients to engage in negotiations regarding the sale of a company or its core IP assets to a third party after the client has been approached by a third party with a purchase offer. In many of these cases, the offer was completely unexpected but the client is adamant that it wants to close the deal. However, when the firm then proceeds to ask the client directly what it is looking to accomplish with the deal, the client is often unable to answer the question beyond merely stating that it wants to accept whatever is on the table. If you are a business owner or entrepreneur in a similar situation, you would be wise as a first step before you ever sit down with the potential buyer and engage in that first conversation to invest the money in a professional valuation in order to get a clear understanding of what your business or assets to be included in a proposed sale might actually be worth on the open market. If you are hesitant to spend money on such a valuation, consider this: would you buy a house in California, for example, where houses are quite expensive, without having a clear idea of what the house is worth? Maybe in a market where houses are only worth $100k that would not give you pause for consideration, but when you are talking about paying out a few million dollars on what would be considered a “starter” home in another state: would you really do that without knowing the value of the house you were buying on the open market? As a second step, you would be wise to consult a professional business exit planner on all the issues surrounding exiting your business. This article by a professional exit planner gives an excellent perspective on the value that an exit planner can bring to the table before you start engaging in negotiations with a prospective buyer:

Can The Investment Capital You Have Support The Post-Exit Lifestyle You Want?

 

If you are contemplating the sale of your small business or start-up, then you should consider procuring a valuation of your business before you enter into any negotiations. If you are reluctant to invest in such a valuation, consider this: would you enter into negotiations to sell your most valuable personal asset–which for most would be their house–without knowing what it was worth on the open market in advance? While closing such a deal would theoretically be possible, it certainly makes the negotiation go more smoothly with a better outcome when the value of the house is known in advance, which is why recent comparable sales are typically studied before a sales price is ever set and the house is put on the market. The following article recently published by Forbes provides some additional insight on the issue of the role of business valuation in a business sales negotiation:

Valuing A Business For Sale – A Buyer and Seller Standoff

If you are in the middle of negotiating an asset purchase deal, you are likely to come across a number of pages that are labeled as “disclosure statements” or “disclosure schedules.” If you are a small business owner or entrepreneur, you are likely to glance right over these blank pages and ignore them entirely, and if prodded to review them or consider them, you may be tempted to give them as little thought as possible. Is this a good idea? You probably have some inkling that it is not but are not motivated to act any differently. How important can those blank pages be, really? If this applies to you, I recommend you check out this Forbes article that explains exactly what you mistakes you may be committing by not taking the time to really consider the significance of those disclosures you are supposed to be making:

The Importance of Disclosure Schedules in Mergers and Acquisitions

If you are an entrepreneur, start-up, or small business, it is highly likely that you looking to sell all or part of your business.  In my career, I have worked with numerous entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses who consulted me about a deal proposal they received.  In the majority of these cases, the first proposal that the client received was not for a fixed amount of money but actually involved the payment of money in the future upon the occurrence of some sort of milestones–often when the client was later working as an employee or consultant.  If I am retained about an acquisition, it is obviously my job to raise concerns about the risks associated with this type of transaction, but it’s common for the client to become unhappy with me for articulating the concerns.  Why?  Well, the client often feels like I am going to stand in the way of the deal being closed and that I’m not fully considering what is being offered.  If this sounds familiar,  I encourage you to consider this article by Forbes, which provides some great insights as to why the concerns that a law firm may have about this type of deal are very legitimate:

Selling Your Business? Why Earn-Outs are a Mistake

Young start-ups and entrepreneurs often get frustrated when they approach me about advising them on a deal and I ask them for a term sheet, and then encourage them to write one if they don’t already have one.  However, when I ask this question I do it not with the intention of frustrating my client’s progress on the deal or discouraging my client from doing the deal altogether–I do it to make sure that we are not spending their limited resources on negotiating a deal that they aren’t going to close.  This is particularly important when the transactions appears to involve many sizeable documents or any complicating factors, such as the other party being located in a foreign country.  Why?  Well, these deals tend to be expensive to negotiate and draft, and so I don’t want my client to start generating large bills before confirming that a deal is likely to be reached.

Deals with China definitely fall in the category of complicated transactions.  In my career, I have represented clients on several large China transactions  and none have been fast or easy to negotiate.  This article in Forbes linked below provides some excellent advice to anyone contemplating a licensing transaction in China about items that should be covered in the term sheet before negotiations get underway:

9 Tips for China Licensing

 

If you run a start-up or small business, you will likely be approached at some point by a third party that expresses interest in acquiring your business. But how do you know if the interest being expressed is genuine or if it is being made for a reason other than wanting to do a deal with you? And what if that party is a competitor? Obviously, doing deals with a competitor pose a particular risk given the proprietary information that may be shared during due diligence.
This Forbes article linked below provides some excellent advice on considerations you should make when approached by a competitor about a proposed acquisition:

How to Handle an Acquisition Offer from a Competitor

 

It has been my experience that many of the start-ups and small businesses I’ve come across in my practice over the years have been very focused on the pursuit of financing opportunities for their young businesses, but they often overlook collaboration opportunities with larger companies that may be available and be just as beneficial to the growth of the business. In fact, many companies today are establishing divisions that are committed to looking for promising young businesses and to cultivating relationships with those organizations with the intention of doing business with them. So, increasingly collaboration opportunities have become a priority for many larger companies and can provide alternative ways to grow the business. This Forbes commentator agrees that start-ups should consider corporate collaborations in their overall business plan and provides some interesting results from a study on corporate collaborations:

Five Key Lessons to start-ups seeking corporate collaborations

In my practice, it is not unusual for start-ups or small business owners to call me to discuss a deal they are contemplating which will involve sharing equity–even a significant amount of equity–with new business partners. In these cases, the client is typically considering this equity share either because of cash constraints or because they other party or parties are insisting that they must receive this equity to proceed with the relationship. However, in my experience many of the clients who are contemplating such deals have not really taken the time to seriously consider the potential cons of such a deal and to weight them against the obvious pros. If you are considering such a transaction, I would encourage you first to consider how you will feel about the equity grant if the party accepts paid compensation elsewhere and becomes unresponsive with respect to your company. In my experience, this often happens with the party who receives the equity grant, who was expected to provide unpaid services in exchange for the equity. Also, I would encourage you to consider the  possibility that the party cannot work with you or your business partners due to some personality conflict or other disagreement that is not yet apparent. This also frequently happens when new business partners are bought into a business relationship. This Tech Crunch commentator provides some additional insights on considerations that need to be made when it comes to sharing equity in the link below: Don’t Make Founder’s Equity Even

The FTC has today announced its final order in its case against the San Francisco Software company Vulcan over its business practices in distributing its software product and advertising and promotional activities in connection with the product.  The FTC clearly put software companies on notice again that the government is carefully monitoring their business practices for possible deceptive trade practices.  For more information on the specifics of the FTC complaint and order, please check out my blogpost at the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog:

FTC Announces Order Against Vulcan

Are  your SaaS customers really signing an agreement that is effective for your business?  How do you even know if your SaaS company is working with a customer agreement that is sufficiently protecting your business?

The Silicon Valley Lawyer Kristie Prinz is presenting a webinar on June 13, 2016 at 10 a.m. PDT on “Best Practices for Negotiating and Drafting Effective SaaS Customer Agreements” which will explore these topics of concern for SaaS companies.  At this webinar, you will learn the following:

• What makes an effective SaaS customer contract?
• What terms should you include in your SaaS customer contract to protect your business?
• Common drafting problems in SaaS customer contracts
• What drafting problems frequently result in customer disputes?
• How can these drafting problems be avoided?

Ms. Prinz’s practice focuses on advising early stage and small to mid-sized businesses on the negotiation and drafting of complex commercial transactions in the software, hardware, Internet, health technology fields of practice, as well as other related high tech and life sciences fields.  Ms. Prinz is a regular speaker, media contributor, and author on technology law, intellectual property and entrepreneurship issues.  Ms. Prinz has developed particular expertise in advising SaaS companies in negotiating and drafting their customer agreements.  Ms. Prinz is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and is licensed to practice in the states of California and Georgia. To register to attend this webinar, please sign up here: link.

If your company is Silicon Valley-based, then protecting your trade secrets is likely one of your top concerns and you have probably long been frustrated with the seemingly inadequate protections available under the law for trade secrets.  If so, then you will be pleased by Congress’s nearly unanimous passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, which provides new federal legal rights and remedies for trade secret misappropriation.  The Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog explores the significance of this new law in the link below:

Passage of Defend Trade Secrets Act Provides Silicon Valley Companies New Trade Secret Enforcement Tools

If you run a software company, have you ever considered whether your software could be made more accessible to the disabled?  If you have never given ADA compliance or compliance with similar state laws any consideration, now may be a good time to focus resources on the issue as I explain in my Silicon Valley Software Law Blog posting linked below:

Should Your Software Company be Concerned about Product ADA Compliance?

Microsoft has launched a new constitutional challenge against the government over its use of indefinite gag orders when it subpoenas information from customer cloud accounts.  Microsoft is claiming that the orders violate the First Amendment free speech rights and the Fourth Amendment rights regarding unreasonable government search and seizure of property.  Clearly, this action by Microsoft is intended to capitalize on the public outcry against government overreach that lingers after the recent action by the Department of Justice against Apple in the San Bernardino terrorist smartphone encryption dispute. The Silicon Valley Software Law Blog explores this case in more detail at the the following link:

Microsoft Launches New Constitutional Challenge Against Government Over Secret Data Requests

As a tech start-up lawyer, I receive almost daily inquiries from start-ups and entrepreneurs about how to obtain venture capital investment.  I encourage many of those making the inquiries to explore the possibility of angel investment as well.  In general, I find that start-ups and entrepreneurs are less familiar with the angel investment concept than they are venture capital investment and really do not understand the amount of possible investment that can be obtained from an angel or what the process might look like.  This Tech Crunch article by the managing director of Red Bear Angels provides some excellent insight on the angel investment process:

How and Why to Pitch Angel Groups

Does a start-up have the best chance to succeed if based in Silicon Valley?  Or would the same start-up be just as successful, if not more successful, if it were based somewhere else?  This firm has developed a large client base supporting start-ups and tech-focused small businesses outside of Silicon Valley, so we have personal experience in working with young companies which have thrived both from inside the Bay Area as well as outside the Bay Area.  The firm has also seen companies fail in both places.  While location is not necessarily indicative of success or failure, it can definitely be a contributing factor.  There is a perception in the start-up world that technology-focused companies in particular should be in Silicon Valley, and as a result, young companies of all sizes do struggle with the question of whether or not their business should be based in Silicon Valley.  What factors might a company look at to make a decision?    I think this start-up founder, who has just moved his business from San Francisco to San Diego has a unique perspective to share on this subject:

Why I Moved My Startup From San Francisco to San Diego

If you ran a business through the downturn as I did, then you probably experience the same nervousness that I do whenever you hear bad economic news or poor economic forecasts.  However, whether you are building a business or a law practice, it’s important to recognize that many of the lessons we learned in surviving the recession can be applied in any economic time to lay the groundwork to survive and thrive in any economy.   This Tech Crunch contributor, who started a business in the recession, shares some valuable lessons about what he learned in running a business during difficult economic times:

Lessons from starting a company during the last downturn

 

The U.S. Justice Department has announced that the third party who came forward and convinced the FBI that it could unlock the San Bernardino terrorist’s encrypted iPhone successfully unlocked the encrypted iPhone, ending the standoff between Apple and the FBI.  The Silicon Valley Software Law Blog provided an update on the developments below:

Third Party Hacks San Bernardino Terrorist iPhone

If you are a lawyer at a law firm contemplating opening a Silicon Valley office or a start-up contemplating moving the company to Silicon Valley,  it would be prudent to do some serious homework on what you are getting into before taking the plunge.  As many of you know, I relocated out to Silicon Valley from the Southeast sixteen years ago, and I quickly discovered how very different the culture of Silicon Valley law firms and companies was from law firms and companies in the East Coast, Northeast as well as Southeast.  The attitudes and priorities of the people working here were even more different.  At the same time, there is an entrepreneurial spirit that prevails over every aspect of the culture, and tends to infect anyone who comes and stays here, which  if understood, encouraged, and developed can be an incredible asset to an organization.  If overlooked, ignored, and discouraged, the same spirit can be equally detrimental to the success of the organization in Silicon Valley.  What makes law firms and businesses successful in Silicon Valley is more complicated than most organizations understand when they first arrive–and frankly the same could be said about professionals that come here to try their luck at building a career here.  This Tech Crunch contributor has some additional words of caution about the pitfalls of Silicon Valley for organizations looking to cash in on Silicon Valley successes:

Beware the pitfalls of Silicon Valley

The Department of Justice appeared to be reversing course in its case against Apple this afternoon, when it filed a motion to vacate the hearing scheduled for tomorrow in order to explore a possible method of decrypting the terrorist iPhone at issue proposed by a third party over the weekend.  I have written more about this development at the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog.  I have posted the link below:

Government Backtracks in Dispute Against Apple Over Unlocking Terrorist iPhone.

Silicon Valley SaaS Lawyer Kristie Prinz will be presenting a webinar on “Negotiating Software as a Service Contracts” for Clear Law Institute on May 6, 2016 at 10 p.m. PST/1 p.m EST.  To sign up to attend the webinar, please register through the Clear Law Institute website Clear Law Institute Website.

When the Justice Department decided to wage a legal battle against Apple over encryption on the iPhone of one of San Bernardino terrorists, the government moved the encryption debate into the public arena and triggered a public debate over the issue.  Now, it is reported that the government is considering launching a second case over the encryption issue against yet another company.  Who will be the ultimate winner?  I explore the issues surrounding this case and provide my perspective in the following Silicon Valley Software Law Blog posting:

Who Will Ultimately Win in the FBI’s Standoff with the Software Industry?

To what extent should drone activity be regulated by the federal government?  That is the question being raised today by commentators in response to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s approval of the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) reauthorization bill (S. 2658).  On one hand, the bill sets a two year time period for the FAA to create a set of rules that would allow for the commercial use of delivery drones–something that certain prominent members of the e-commerce community have been lobbying for.  On the other hand, however, the bill would require drone manufacturers to obtain manufacturing approval for each make and model of drones placed into interstate commerce, which is raising alarms to proponents of the consumer aviation community, who fear that hobbyists and student drone operators are going to be severely restricted from the operation of drones.  Attached is an article by a Forbes commentator who articulates the concerns of the non-commercial drone operators:

Senate Bill Could Ground Home-Built Drones; No Exceptions For Hobbyists Or Students

In my experience, most entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small businesses want to limit their legal budget to the extent possible.  But at what point will not finding the money to spend on legal fees do more harm than good and end up costing you more money?  In my practice, virtually all of the expensive legal problems I see arise out of spending too little money on legal at the front end, when a problem could have been avoided.  The following scenarios are what I see causing entrepreneurs and start-ups the biggest financial headaches when they did not have sufficient legal support over time: (a) the hiring and firing of employees and contractors; (b) deals with business partners with whom the founder or entrepreneur was at one time good friends with; (c) deals with larger companies who have supplied the contract to be negotiated; or (d) transactions involving the performance of services by a third party. Given the large number of legal problems that seem to arise in these scenarios, I would encourage business people with limited budgets to contemplate obtaining legal counsel in all of those scenarios, to the extent possible.  Forbes put together a list of some additional scenarios in which their advisory team recommends having representation, which list is linked below:

When Should Your Startup Consider Consulting an Attorney?

I would argue that there is a widely held belief among entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley that you can’t build a successful company without venture capital money.  However, the average company in Silicon Valley or the rest of the United States never receives an investment of venture capital.  Are the companies launched without an investment of venture capital more prone to failure?  No, most companies fail in their first few years of business, regardless of whether or not they received venture capital money. Venture capital money just pushes the stakes a lot higher and changes the dynamics of how you build the business, but it is no guarantee of success and can actually be a guaranty of failure if the business is not sufficiently scalable.  This article in Forbes by a serial entrepreneur makes an excellent argument that entrepreneurs should maintain some perspective on the value of venture capital to building their business:

Stop Chasing Venture Capital and Start Bootstrapping a Profitable Business

As a Silicon Valley tech transactions attorney, I regularly receive calls from engineers, developers, and other employees in the technology industry who have concerns about something that an employer has asked them to sign in the past or is asking them to sign at the time of the call.  Inevitably the person calling is torn between needing the job or money on the table with the employer and worrying about how the terms of what they have signed or are being asked to sign will affect future opportunities.  I always caution anyone who comes to me in these situations to be wary of what what he or she is signing and to not shrug off the likelihood of a demand letter being sent to a future employer over a term or condition in the current contract.  But not everyone exhibits the caution he or she should about signing documents and sometimes this lack of caution can backfire.  This Above the Law article is a good example of one such situation:

And This is Why Non Compete Clauses are the Worst

It’s not every day that I get a call from an entrepreneur or start-up looking for representation in conjunction with an open source-based business, but the question of how to develop a profitable company when your business is built around an open source product interests me as a software attorney, since if you know anything about open source, you understand there are going to be hurdles to successful commercialization with such a model.   Obviously,  you will have to pursue a different commercialization strategy than you would with a non-open source product, since you will have an open source license to contend with and will have licensing restrictions. The terms of the open source license you are working with will control what types of revenue streams you can pursue for the product, so understanding early on the opportunities for monetization that a particular license affords is going to be critical before building the business.  Also, the development of a carefully thought-out business model at a very early stage is going to be very important, since the options for building a successful revenue stream are inherently more limited in the open source model.  But what other factors are important to successful commercialization of an open source product?  This TechCrunch article written by a former open source CEO offers some excellent insights on the issue: The Money in Open Source Software

If you are an entrepreneur or you work at a start-up or small business, you have likely spent many hours contemplating how to grow the business to the next level.  If you are honest, it is probably the one thing that is almost always on your mind, even in your so-called leisure time, assuming you have any.   And, if you are like most, you probably have looked to other people to provide those answers, whether as mentors, advisors, service providers, friends, colleagues, or as key employees or consultants.  However, have you ever really given thought to whether relationships with other companies could take your business to the next level?  Strategic alliances with business partners having more experience in your industry, a wider footprint, and more established relationships could make the difference between maintaining growth at the same level and growing at a much more advanced pace.  Obviously, such relationships should be based on a good contractual foundation and not just merely on a handshake, and the partners should be selected very carefully to ensure that the strategic alliance will not prove down the road to instead be a strategic mistake.  The following Forbes article profiles how one small business went about finding such a partner and building such a relationship to grow the company:

Strategic Alliances: An Essential Tool for New Venture Growth

 

If you are in the technology industry, then you are likely familiar with the concept of the “patent troll” and realize that it is almost inevitable your business will at some point be approached by one.  Patent troll demand letters have unfortunately become one of those business realities that every technology business just has to contend with. Once approached, of course, your company will find itself in the difficult position of having to decide whether to negotiate with the patent troll or to play the odds and take the litigation route.  The temptation, of course, is always to negotiate, since litigation comes with a tremendous amount of risk.  Even if you win, the costs to reach the win can be enormous. However, in the event you are tempted to “play the odds” and take on the patent troll,  you may want to consider this profile story of a Danish company that recently decided to make the same decision and just won in the Eastern District of Texas:

Videogame Mouse Firm Offers Lesson in How to Beat a Patent Troll

With all the recent calls for greater FTC regulation of consumer data generally, it’s interesting that there has been very little commentary about the need for greater regulation of taxpayer data.  However, the disclosure of a second data breach since the first of the year affecting a major tax preparation software company suggests that consumers require additional oversight with respect to the protection of their personal financial and tax payment data.

The latest data breach has affected some 8,800 customers of TaxSlayer.  The previous data breach affected some 9450 customers of a competitor, TaxAct.

Where is the outcry over this issue?  Shouldn’t privacy advocates be advocating for customers on this particular issue?

I would argue that personal financial and taxpayer data should be treated with the same level of care attributed to personal health information.  But for some reason, that is not what is happening in this country.

Privacy regulation advocates need to redirect their attention to this issue.  This is one area where we clearly need further government oversight, including over its own management of taxpayer personal financial and taxpayer data.

The Marketwatch story on the data breach is posted below:

Tax Software Firm Warns of Data Breach

 

 

If you are a start-up or entrepreneur and are on the verge of landing your first big business deal, you may be wrestling with the idea of hiring a lawyer for the first time to assist you on negotiating and reviewing your important business contract.  It may be tempting to call the firm you are most familiar with as a first resource and not spend time looking for the right fit, as time is precious and you have a deal to close as soon as possible.  But is that really a good idea? What should you really be looking for in an attorney?  Skillset and expertise are obviously very important, as you want to be working with an attorney or firm that has the knowledge and experience to provide the advice you require.  To start a search, you can frequently get a good idea about your options on the Internet where you can read about various professionals and their backgrounds, years in practice, and other expertise.  Availability is really important too, as you want someone who you can actually reach by phone to discuss your questions and issues as they arise.  Not every lawyer is actually available when you need to speak with him or her.   Moreover, not every lawyer is going to truly be approachable by telephone either.  You want to have some you are comfortable with to discuss your concerns and to feel like that person really has your best interests at heart.  When you are starting out you will likely have numerous questions and you want to feel like you can raise any question you have and that you will get a good answer to your question when you raise it.  You also want someone who is going to be able to provide some legal planning assistance, so that you are putting some thought into how you draft and negotiate your contracts, how you approach legal issues, and how you think ahead to save on legal costs long-term.  The least budget-effective way to manage your legal expenses is to handle them without any sort of planning or thought on streamlining and managing your legal needs early-on.  The bottom line is that you want someone who is on your team and invested in your success.

What should be your other considerations?  This article by Ventureburn provides some excellent additional insights on how to choose the right lawyer or law firm at an early business stage:

7 Things Startups Should Look for in an Attorney

A bill was introduced in Congress today requiring women to register for the draft.

If you have been following the issue of including women in the draft, the debate over the issue really began when the decision was made to officially allow women to serve in combat.  The media publicized over the last few days comments by various military generals making statements to the effect that women should now be included in the draft, and those statements were now followed by a bill being introduced in Congress to make including women in the draft a reality.

As anyone who knows me well might suspect, I have always been a big advocate for women’s rights in the workplace.  I grew up and started my career in the very traditional Southeast before relocating out West to the much more liberal California, and there is no question that there is a very distinct difference in how the workplace views women in the South vs. how the workplace views women in the more liberal West Coast.  It was incredibly frustrating as a young lawyer starting my career to always be confused with the lawyer’s secretary, regardless of how impeccably I dressed, and to have to run through my qualifications to speak with a client every time I was introduced to a new firm client.  And that was just the beginning of the long list of issues I had to deal with in the Southern workplace.  As much as I appreciate my Southern roots, I am grateful for the professional opportunities California has afforded me. I have had the opportunity to achieve career milestones on the West Coast that would never have been available to me in the South.

In light of my background, I’ve always felt that a male-only draft was problematic on a variety of levels.  I absolutely felt like women should be included in any draft just like women have been doing in Israel for many years.  But now that the question is in front of us, we have to decide as a society if the Israeli model should be adopted here or if, alternatively, we should consider eliminating the draft altogether.  Obviously the idea of the young beauty pageant winner getting killed in combat after being drafted during wartime may be difficult for certain sectors of the American public to accept.   But we have already seen instances of young female teachers being slaughtered in the classroom protecting their students so perhaps we as a society are already prepared for dealing with that eventuality.

This is the link to the story:

Bill Would Require Women to Register in the Draft

If your business is like most, you currently work with one or more really difficult customers or clients, whether because you currently generate significant revenue from that customer or client or because you anticipate generating significant revenue from that customer or client in the future.  But is this really the right strategy for your business?  Not only do difficult business partners tend to put a significant amount of stress on a business organization and the workplace itself, but more importantly, from a legal perspective, they tend to significantly increase your legal costs–at all stages of the relationship.  When you are interacting with a difficult business partner, every new business project or opportunity you pursue together is going to require a more complex negotiation than you you would otherwise have, which may very well require the services of a business lawyer to assist with.  Then, after you begin working on the project or opportunity, you are at a significantly higher risk for the difficult business partner to default on the contract or its obligations generally.  Finally, you are at a much higher risk for the relationship to end in some sort of litigation or legal action.  With that perspective in mind, any business person would benefit from the advice provided by this Forbes article linked below:

Stop Letting Difficult Clients Ruin Your Business.

Internet lawyers habitually follow trends and developments in Internet law.  My colleague Santa Clara Law Professor Eric Goldman has just compiled his latest list of what the top Internet developments were in 2015.  Among the items making his list are the well-publicized Ashley Madison database breach, stronger geographic borders on the Internet, and the FTC’s assertion of itself as privacy and security enforcer.  While I’m not sure that my list would be identical to his and he definitely adds his own unique perspective to the list, he gives an excellent summary of Internet trends over the past year in his Forbes article linked below:

Top 10 Internet Law Developments of 2015

 

SaaS attorney Kristie Prinz recently participated in a webinar on “Negotiating Software as a Service Contracts” with Reed Smith’s Kelley Miller.  A recording of that presentation can be accessed through the link attached below:

Negotiating Software as a Service Contracts

This is an interesting Forbes opinion piece on what makes the few start-ups that succeed different than the majority that fail.  As a lawyer representing many entrepreneurs and start-ups, I think understanding the market and having a good grasp of how to market to potential customers is critical.  I also think that you have to be very resilient and take personal responsibility for each mistake that you make and realize that the mistakes are inevitable part of growth and achievement.  If you can’t acknowledge your errors, you can’t address or overcome them.  And if you aren’t resilient, you are probably not going to get very far either once you make that first error.   Finally, I think a focus on generating fast revenue is critical–if you lack that fundamental focus on making money and are affording your start-up a long lag-time before you generate cash, then you are likely to run out of money before you really get launched.  Clearly, there are exceptions based on certain business models, i.e. biotech, but the vast majority of start-ups are going to flounder if they don’t successfully generate cash sooner rather than later.  This is the link to the article:

90% of Startups Fail: Here’s What You Need to Know about the 10%

A debate seems to be developing as to whether or not the Silicon Valley has a tech bubble emerging.  An increasing number of commentators are raising issues about tech company valuations, spending by VC-backed companies, and the excess of capital in the market.  The question  for all of us is what this means exactly for Silicon Valley and the technology world in the foreseeable future.  Check out this link to one of many recent articles raising the issue of whether we are approaching a bubble:

Here’s the Evidence that the Tech Bubble is about to Burst

The increasing popularity of drones apparently has caught the attention of CA lawmakers, who have just introduced SB 142, which would prohibit the unauthorized use of unmanned aerial vehicles over private property.  I guess my question is what to do with all the child-sized violators, who accidentally run the new toy drones that they received from Santa over their next-door neighbor’s property?  I don’t know about you but I definitely noticed the sudden appearance of a number of little toy drones with bright blue glow-in-the-dark lights that were buzzing all over my neighborhood after the holidays this year. . . . The text of the bill is linked below:

SB-142 Bill Text

If you work at a software company and are involved at all with agreements, you may be interested in a recent posting that I wrote at Silicon Valley Software Law Blog on why understanding your technology model is so critical to properly drafting and even reviewing contracts:

Software Licensing vs. Software-as-a-Service (“Saas”) : The Importance of the Technology Model to Contract Drafting

In my capacity as a transactional attorney working alongside many entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small businesses, I get often get brought into to provide legal support to deals that never close.  While there may not be a single, uniform reason why these deals are not closed, I often suspect that the primary reason had to do with the pricing of the services at the heart of the deal.   Pricing often is at the heart of many commercial disputes I see emerge between parties as well.  Forbes ran an interesting piece today on how to set prices as a service provider which addresses this issue of setting the right prices as a young business, which points out some of the considerations that should be contemplated:

Selling Services? Think Price Not Wages

Regardless of your perspective on whether or not Silicon Valley is the land of opportunity for women as well as men, a thought-provoking article was just published by Newsweek about how women perceived in Silicon Valley that is worth taking a look at. It is already the source of considerable commentary on the web, as you might expect.    Of course, it looks at Silicon Valley separate and apart from the rest of the country, which I think is also worth noting.   The article is posted here:

What Silicon Valley Thinks of Women

 

 

As anyone who has ever started a business well knows, one of the great challenges is to stay on focus and avoid distractions that create barriers to your success.  But in Silicon Valley, it is not uncommon at all to see entrepreneurs who seem to have lost their focus and who are chasing goals other than building their business.  A common source of the distraction is the pursuit of financing.  Forbes looks at this issue in a recent article, which is linked below:

Warning to Start-ups

 

Does your company make a point of not consulting outside counsel on pricing and payment terms in its contracts in an effort to save money on legal fees?  If so, you might end up costing the company more money in legal fees than you would otherwise.  I looked at this issue in my recent blog posting to Silicon Valley Software Law Blog:

Careful Drafting of Pricing Terms is Key to all Software Licenses and SaaS Agreement

 

Have you ever wondered why there are so many business models being developed today that seem to rely entirely on commercializing legal content created by lawyers, generally without the prior authorization of the attorney or law firm that created it?  I suspect that nearly every lawyer that gives speeches or writes content to build his or her reputation has had at least one occasion to go on the Internet and find someone selling his or her content on the Internet without any sort of prior authorization.  I particularly find it ironic in the case of the intellectual property practice.  Attorney Keith Lee made some pointed observations about this practice as it applies to legal blogs in his recent Above the Law article linked below:

The Hypothetical that Took Down a Website

The topic of net neutrality has been the subject of controversy for months, but the FCC has recently taken this debate to a new level by adopting new rules that will allow it greater regulatory authority over the Internet.   What does this mean exactly for the public generally and for the business world?  I’ve explained the specifics of what the FCC has done today and shared some thoughts about the practical implications of that action on the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog posting below:

FCC Decision on Net Neutrality

 

If you are considering a licensing offer and are convinced that any such agreement will have to be an exclusive deal, but find yourself coming up with creative language in an attempt to limit the scope of the exclusivity offered, then you may want to step back and proceed with caution as I discuss in my recent blog posting at Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog:

Pitfalls in Negotiating and Drafting Exclusive Licensing Deals: Lessons from Macy’s Dispute with JcPenney’s Over its Martha Stewart Product Line

When you decide to start a business, or get “pushed” into it as many people are when their salaried job suddenly disappears, it’s easy to overlook the importance of choosing a name among all the other decisions you are having to make.  In my recent blog post to Silicon Valley IP Law Blog, I addressed the issue of naming a new business and explained some of the considerations  you should have in choosing the name of your new business:

Practice Tips on Choosing Your Start-up’s Name

If you followed the commentary about the high profile jury verdict in the copyright infringement case against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, the prevailing opinion was that the verdict would have a chilling effect on the development of music going forward.  However, I would argue that the views opined have been said before in conjunction with the copyright infringement decisions where technology was involved.  I explored the lessons to be learned from this jury verdict at the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog in the following link to our posting:

Lessons from Jury Verdict in Case Against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams

If you work for a SaaS company or have ever negotiated a services contract with a SaaS provider, you likely found one of the most contentious issues in your negotiation to have been the negotiation over the parameters of the indemnification clause in the contract.  In particular, the issue of who is liable in a privacy breach and the extent of that liability was likely heavily debated.  If you, like many, struggled with evaluating your actual liability risk in a privacy breach, you may want to check out my posting at the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog, where I report on some actual data from industry insiders that may be very helpful in approaching these negotiations:

Insurance Guidance to Consider when Negotiating a SaaS Indemnification Clause

 

If you are working in the tech community or have opposed the expansion of government surveillance that has been occurring since 9/11, you may be alarmed by the bill that has just been introduced in the Senate that has the potential to take government surveillance to a new level of intrusiveness: the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015.  I examined the legislation on the table and the alarms being raised over it in The Silicon Valley Software Law Blog at the link below:

The Songwriter Equity Act of 2015 was recently introduced in Congress, putting the issue of copyright reform on the table.  While the music industry gets little attention in Silicon Valley, should Silicon Valley take this opportunity to push for an expansion of the reforms? I explored this issue in The Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog in the attached link below:

If you receive an infringement demand letter as a start-up, is the best response a combative response? I discussed this issue in the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog in the context of a start-up CEO who won a patent infringement suit against an alleged patent troll at the link below:

Should You Follow the Advice of this Start-up if Approached with a Demand Letter by a So-Called ‘Patent Troll’?

If you are looking to buy or sell IP, have you ever taken the time to consider what qualities will make a prospective partner a good candidate for a deal?  I recently looked at this issue in a Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog Posting:

Taking Time to “Date” Before Pursuing an IP Acquisition “Marriage”.

How will the Supreme Court’s ruling yesterday in Commil v. Cisco Systems impact the Silicon Valley software industry?  I looked at this issue today in this Silicon Valley Software Law Blog posting:

Silicon Valley Software Industry Considers Impact of Supreme Court Decision on Patent Invalidity Defense to Claim of Induced Infringement

 

 

The Supreme Court issued an opinion today that is relevant for all companies engaged in innovation: the majority held that patent invalidity is no defense to a claim against an infringer that it induced third parties to infringe as well. I published an explanation of the Court’s findings and shared my thoughts on what this ruling might mean for Silicon Valley companies at the following Silicon Valley IP Licensing Law Blog posting:

Supreme Court Rules Patent Invalidity is Not a Defense to Induced Patent Infringement Claim in Commil USA Case Against Cisco Systems.

If you are contemplating how to structure your new business as an entrepreneur, you may want to think ahead to the day when you will be able to sell off the business you have built and consider the linked article below which discusses the tax consequences of selling a small business:

Tax Death When Selling a Subchapter S Corporation,

Should the Federal Trade Commission be doing more to regulate how businesses are using consumer data? The LA Times just ran a column by David Lazarus where he took that position and argued that U.S. privacy laws should be more like European privacy laws, where there is a “right to be forgotten.”   He makes a compelling argument that government has failed the American consumer in this regard, even though I could certainly make an argument as to why greater regulation over data collection practices in Europe is more necessary there than it is here.  In light of the fact that we have whole industries now based on the collection and sale of consumer data, I question if we as Americans really want government to interfere with business to such a degree?  As annoying as many data collection practices are currently to most consumers in the United States,  do we really want as a society a more activist FTC that exercises a much higher level of power over a well-established sector of the American economy?  It would perhaps cut down on the frequency of data breaches and the resulting consequences of those breaches, but could it also have unwanted effects?  It’s an interesting series of questions to consider in the context of the LA Times column linked below:

FTC Falling Short in Protecting Customers’ Data

Is technology making lawyers obsolete?  This was the question raised by John Markoff in a recent New York Times article.  However, it has been a favorite topic of discussion by consultants to our profession for some time.  While there is no question that the practice of law has changed tremendously since even I began practicing and technology has absolutely made it possible for attorneys to work faster, smarter, and with less overhead, technology has a long way to go to replace the skillset, value, and expertise that a skilled legal professional brings to the table.  I think it’s safe to say that technology is making the practice of law more sophisticated and changing times are changing the demands upon our profession as well.  But eliminating the need for us altogether?  I personally don’t think there is any danger of this so long as the business world continues to be run by people and not machines.  What do you think?  Check out The New York Times link below:

The End of Lawyers? Not So Fast

Does Bitcoin have a future, and if so, what will that future look like?  This is the fascinating question posed by The New York Times today in a profile story about one of the core developer’s loss of faith in the future of the currency as a split has emerged in the developer community over the core goals and direction of the project.  The link is available for viewing here:

A Bitcoin Believer’s Crisis of Faith

 

In my work with entrepreneurs and new business ventures, I am often surprised to find how many of them are convinced that they cannot build a business without venture capital financing and how few of them have even considered the idea that there might be very good reasons why they should not pursue venture capital financing.  Forbes recently published a commentary by a former venture capitalist on this issue, who makes an excellent argument as to why much of the focus on venture capital is misplaced, and explores the downside of the lure of venture capital.  The link is posted below:

Why Venture Capital is not the first step to building successful startups.

The FTC has just reached a settlement with Lumos Labs over claims that the company was deceptively advertising the health benefits of its Luminosity software program.  The FTC’s action over this issue should serve as a warning to the health software industry regarding how health software companies are advertising their products.   I addressed this issue in more detail in the follow blog post for the Silicon Valley Software Law Blog:

FTC Settles with Lumos Labs.