In this one-hour presentation, you will learn about intellectual property (IP) generally and the different forms of IP, including trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets.  You will also learn about IP issues unique to the start-up company, common oversights and mistakes made by start-up companies in managing their IP assets, and tips for avoiding the typical pitfalls that can derail the life cycle of your start-up company.

SPEAKERS:  Stephanie O. Sparks and Patrick N. Lundell

Attorney Stephanie O. Sparks chairs the firm’s Intellectual Property team. She counsels her clients about, and litigates complex business disputes concerning trade secrets, trademarks, copyright, and other intellectual property issues. She leads the firm’s Electronic Discovery Team, given her specialized knowledge in computer forensics, records management, and electronically stored information. She also counsels businesses on privacy law and data security issues. When the inevitable data breach occurs, she manages the response team, which handles the aftermath of such data breach crises on behalf of firm clients. Stephanie was named a “Northern California Super Lawyer” in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 as chosen by her peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics and San Francisco Magazine.

Attorney Patrick N. Lundell is a member of Hoge Fenton’s litigation practice group with a focus on intellectual property and complex commercial litigation matters. He has represented and assisted clients with claims concerning patent, trademark and copyright infringement and trade-secret misappropriation. He has also assisted clients with trademark registration and cancellation actions, and cybersquatting and domain name disputes.  Patrick also has prior industry experience in various technology sectors including optical networking components, semiconductor equipment and manufacturing, networking component test and development tools, global positioning and geographic information systems, and photovoltaic solar equipment manufacturing.