Sheldon Mak & Anderson - USIP.com

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

You're Invited!

Attorney Kristin C. Hiibner of Sheldon Mak & Anderson is moderating a panel at LA Tech Week titled "Start-Up Legal Challenges and Mine Fields" on October 20, 2011 at the Los Angeles County Biotechnology Center in Altadena.

Entrepreneurs shouldn't need a law degree to navigate through the start-up legal mine field!   Legalese and technical terminology can be intimidating to start-up entrepreneurs.  But, a lack of knowledge in key areas of forming and operating a start-up can be fatal for the venture.  The panel will discuss the top legal challenges and mistakes commonly faced by start-up entrepreneurs and provide insight on successfully dealing with these legal challenges.  The informative panel is geared toward both attorneys and entrepreneurs in the start-up arena.  Common areas where start-up companies misstep will be covered including:  incorporation and solid formation practices, adherence to corporate formalities, preparing for financing and understanding financing terms, proper use of using equity, employee contracts, and intellectual property ownership and protection will be discussed.

Sheldon Mak & Anderson is an Official Platinum Sponsor of Los Angeles County Technology WeekTMWe will have a booth and great give aways for our friends.  Come and see us there!

More information and registration can be found at the LA County Tech Week website:  http://www.latechweek.com

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Thursday, October 6, 2011

America Invents Act – Strangeness and The Best Mode Requirement

            The newly passed America Invents Act has a very weird provision regarding the best mode requirement.  Everyone is required to disclose the best mode of practicing an invention to obtain a patent under §112 of the patent law.  This requirement has not changed.  However, failure to disclose the best mode is no longer a defense to patentability in litigation and cannot be used as grounds for invalidity or unenforceability.  This is very strange.  The Patent Office has only rarely questioned whether the best mode was disclosed, and generally does not have the ability to determine whether or not the best mode was disclosed.  Some inventors may roll the dice, and withhold critical trade secret information from a patent application, hoping the Patent Office will not raise the best mode issue.  Although not disclosing the best mode is no longer fatal, it may be unethical.  Only time will tell if Congress completely removes the best mode requirement to further harmonize U.S. patent law with the rest of the world, or the courts weigh in and force the issue.

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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Jeffrey G. Sheldon Named "Los Angeles Best Lawyers Patent Law Lawyer Of The Year" for 2012

Below we reproduce a press release from Best Lawyers® announcing the honor.
 
For immediate release:
Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named Jeffrey G. Sheldon as the “Los Angeles Best Lawyers Patent Law Lawyer of the Year” for 2012.

After more than a quarter of a century in publication, Best Lawyers is designating “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is being honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”

Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current, 18th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2012) is based on more than 3.9 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.

The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have received particularly high ratings in our surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity.

Steven Naifeh, President of Best Lawyers, says, “We continue to believe – as we have believed for more than 25 years – that recognition by one’s peers is the most meaningful form of praise in the legal profession. We would like to congratulate Jeffrey G. Sheldon on being selected as the ‘Los Angeles Best Lawyers Patent Law Lawyer of the Year’ for 2012.”

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