Before May 11, 2016, only three out of four forms of intellectual property – patents, trademarks and copyrights – were protectable and enforceable at the federal level. The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) now provides federal protection for – you guessed it – trade secrets. Prior to the DTSA, trade secrets were enforced […]
Recently, I received an email from an existing client. They had interviewed several law firms including several larger ones before deciding to engage with Foundry. They appreciated our experience and approach. They wrote to let me know that their investors have expressed a preference that they work with a larger, more established law firm. This […]
Social Purpose Corporations (SPC) are an interesting and (relatively) new corporate form available in Washington State that gives directors and officers the luxury of exploring ways to positively impact their employees, community, and environment, with less fear of repercussions via legal action from angry shareholders. If you are starting a company that has one of […]
As a cannabis business owner you have probably invested quite a bit in your brand and creating a market for your product. The last thing you want is for someone else to tell you that you have to change your brand or you see someone using something very similar to your brand. We have all […]
I have been telling my cannabis industry clients and constituents for two years to be patient; the regulations which, to a great extent, have choked the development and growth of the legal cannabis industry in Washington, will loosen up eventually. Washington’s restrictive and conservative approach, which has purposefully stayed under the federal oversight scrutiny, appears […]
For many budding entrepreneurs, Kickstarter.com can be their answer to beginning their businesses…or a nightmare of angry “backers,” broken promises and refund demands. Kickstarter provides a crowdsourcing platform for potential businesses and creative projects to gain not only funding, but also customers – before products or services are even launched to the public. According […]
Many of us know that we should keep our private lives relatively separate from our work lives. However, this isn’t just a recommendation. It may very well serve as a precaution. As social media’s prevalence grows, businesses have become more and more active online, leading to a host of various legal and business concerns. The […]
Trends in fashion tend to spread like wildfire amongst both retailers and consumers. Clothing companies endeavor to keep up with current styles and popular trends to market to customers, resulting in various products stemming from one “design.” When Kate Middleton married Prince William in 2011, her wedding dress was immediately replicated by various fashion houses […]
In 2014 (year 1 of crowdfunding from accredited investors under the JOBS Act Title II) there were 534 successful campaigns. Most campaigns were in Seed and Series A rounds with rounds from $500,000 to $3 million. But there were 2,824 that did not get funded. However, with an average of $407,685 per company, crowdfunding […]
Now that we know what crowdfunding is, where it came from, where it is heading, and what potential it has, let’s focus on who the players in a crowdfunding campaign are, and some best practices for each player. In Part III, we will find out what a successfully launched crowdfunding campaign looks like – stay […]