Protecting Your Company’s IP

1530 Concordia,Irvine CA 92612

22 September, 2022

Description

Protecting Your Company's IP with Justin SandersIntellectual property is becoming increasingly important when it comes to business valuation as well as success – especially for tech companies. A well-developed patent portfolio (along with an intellectual property portfolio, generally) conveys a high degree of technical and commercial sophistication to potential investors, customers, competitors, and licensees. It also proves that you value investment in research and development and are prepared to take appropriate steps to protect those investments. Your business could likely benefit from more than one form of intellectual property protection. As such, knowing the differences between patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets can prove invaluable when the time comes to develop strategies that protect any inventive concepts or creative expressions you might develop, along with any source identifiers you might use when you take your products or services to market. Additionally, if you have any confidential, proprietary information, you may consider developing trade secret protection protocols to better maintain the secrecy of that information. Underlying all of those potential protection strategies are the written agreements necessary to not only ensure that your company's information remains confidential, but also that you or your company will legally own any intellectual property you may ultimately try to monetize. This presentation will provide you with foundational knowledge on each of the four main types of IP (patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets) along with some related issues such as IP ownership and common startup mistakes, so that you will be better prepared as you start and grow your business. Register now and learn insights that can be used to grow your own successful startup. There will be many opportunities for networking, snacks/drinks, and even a 30 second pitch contest! Get started on the right foot, join TCVN on September 22nd, 2022 @ 6:30 pm. **Exact event location at Concordia will be emailed to registrants with detailed instructions on where the event will be held on Concordia's campus.** Justin Sanders | Master Key IPJustin Sanders is an intellectual property attorney and managing partner at Master Key IP. For the past 15+ years, Justin has assisted clients (primarily startups and small businesses) with all aspects of identifying, protecting and monetizing their intellectual property in both the U.S. and abroad - all at reasonable flat fee rates that are tailored to startup budgets. Justin graduated from California State University, Long Beach, earning a B.S. in Computer Science with a minor in Human Resources Management. He went on to attend Whittier Law School, as a Fellow in the Center for Intellectual Property Law, where he received his J.D. with magna cum laude honors along with a Certificate in Intellectual Property Law. In addition to servicing clients through Master Key IP, Justin is actively involved with a number of local universities and startup organizations, where he serves as a resource and mentor to resident entrepreneurs, providing guidance on various intellectual property issues. Michael Sawitz | Fast Start StudiosMichael Sawitz is a serial entrepreneur and founder of FastStart.studio, a mixed-use business incubator in Irvine. He has held founder or C-level positions for over forty years in the apparel industry, equipment distribution and retail arenas. Mr. Sawitz has been published nationally, spoke nationally as a keynote speaker and has been interviewed on numerous occasions in print and talk radio shows. His charity work includes President of the National Alliance of Ship Centers, the board of directors Tech Coast Venture Network, the board of directors The Center for Entrepreneurship CSUF, Professional Mentors Advisors and Coaches, and Charter Member of TiE the world’s largest entrepreneurial education organization. Additionally, he was an adjunct professor teaching Lean Startup Strategies at CSUF and hosts an entrepreneurial podcast called FastStart.talk (FastStartTalk.podbean.com). His latest endeavor is as Adjunct Professor at Irvine Valley College Business School. TCVN PITCH CONTEST! If you would like to practice your 30 second pitch, be sure to register for a General Admission ticket! All registrants will have the opportunity to give their best pitch to the audience. The winner of the pitch contest will be eligible for a one hour meeting with the board member of your choice, and promotion on our social media sites! TCVN is one of Southern California’s premier technology business networks. Through a wide variety of forums, pitch sessions, workshops, and other networking events, we bring together entrepreneurs and resources from the Orange County Startup ecosystem.