According to Maurice Ross, a partner at the firm of Barton, Barton & Plotkin LLP, “One of the most important issues that companies face is the disconnect between stock prices and the value of their intellectual property.”

In this exclusive LegalMindsTV interview, filmed at the NASDAQ MarketSite, Ross discusses how significant changes in the regulatory environment will continue to have an impact on intellectual property rights and the role that will play on stock prices, directors liability, M&A activity and litigation costs.

“Companies need to look at this from both an offensive and defensive point of view,” explains Ross.  “From a defensive point of view, there are often competitors who have acquired or may acquire in the near future intellectual property rights that can actually put a company out of business, depress a company’s profits or interfere with its ability to market a product or service.”

“On the offensive side, the issue is whether the company is doing a sufficient job to obtain, procure and enforce its own intellectual property rights.  Additionally, does the company have a realistic understanding of the value of the patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights that are owned.”

Ross explains that one of the challenges that companies face in analyzing the value of their intellectual property is the changing landscape in terms of the legal standards that are applied to analyzing patents.  Most notably, decisions such as KSR, in which the Supreme Court effectively made it much easier to prove the patents are obvious, and Bilski, which made it more difficult to obtain business method patents and adopted a standard that would make it very difficult in the future to know whether your business method patent is really valid or not.

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View and download a PDF transcript of the full interview here. (Coming soon.)

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ATTORNEY INFORMATION

Maurice Ross
Partner, Barton Barton & Plotkin LLP

Counterfeit consumer products were once limited mostly to luxury fashion and jewelry brands, but now companies are finding the threat reaching broadly across all product categories and levels of commerce — from upscale merchants to the local 99¢ store, and even the pharmacy shelves.

Current estimates are that 7-10% of global trade is derived from counterfeit products, with an annual cost of almost $492 billion to the global economy.  Within the U.S., government agencies made almost 15,000 seizures of counterfeit and pirated goods in 2009, with a domestic value of $260 million.

In this exclusive LegalMindsTV interview, Greg Gulia, a partner in the New York office of Duane Morris LLP, discusses the factors contributing to the sudden increase in counterfeit and gray market goods, what companies can do to protect their brands from trademark infringement and why it’s essential to take action.

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View and download a PDF transcript of the full interview here.

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ATTORNEY INFORMATION

Gregory P. Gulia
Partner, Duane Morris LLP

Mr. Gulia has counseled clients concerning a broad range of intellectual property issues, negotiated trademark licenses, purchases and consent agreements, and litigated numerous trademark, copyright, anti-counterfeiting, domain name, unfair competition, trade secrets, rights of publicity and privacy, and First Amendment cases for various major media corporations, entertainers, luxury goods makers, fashion companies, international store chains and consumer products companies.

Mr. Gulia is a 1992 cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and a graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.

FIRM INFORMATION

Evolving from a partnership of prominent lawyers in Philadelphia a century ago, Duane Morris now has offices in many major markets and continues to expand across the country and overseas through nonmerger growth. Throughout this expansion, Duane Morris remains committed to preserving the collegial culture that has attracted so many talented attorneys. The firm’s leadership believes this culture is truly unique among large law firms, and that outstanding legal work is best accomplished by skilled professionals who respect each other and work well together.

Duane Morris lawyers hold leadership positions in bar associations, as well as in educational, cultural and charitable organizations and with community groups across the country. Many of the firm’s attorneys come to Duane Morris after having held senior positions in government agencies and large corporations. This range of experience is further enriched by the diverse backgrounds of the firm’s attorneys. Duane Morris has long been committed to recruiting, retaining and promoting talented female and minority lawyers, many of whom hold leadership roles at the firm.

Trade publications have placed Duane Morris in the upper echelon of law firms in terms of utilizing technology. Hundreds of lawyers working around the globe quickly communicate and collaborate using the firm’s integrated computer network, accessing sophisticated research software, information-rich databases, and other knowledge-sharing tools. Duane Morris’ clients also benefit from the contributions of professional-level support staff who maintain the firm’s technological and administrative infrastructure and enable lawyers to focus on providing valuable counsel and service to their clients.

For additional information, visit: http://www.duanemorris.com

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Increased pressure to reduce costs and improve profitability and operating efficiencies have led outsourcing to become a $50 billion industry.  While growing at an annual rate of 29% until the the recent credit crisis, the industry has increasingly been under legal, economic, regulatory and policy scrutiny.

According to Richard Raysman, a Partner at Holland & Knight LLP, it’s not just companies outsourcing their IT and business processes which has fueled the growth of the industry.  Companies like HP NYSE:HPQ, Dell NASDAQ:DELL, Xerox NYSE:XRX and IBM NYSE:IBM have all made significant acquisitions in outsourcing as a means to increase revenues and profitability as well as to become more competitive as outsourcing had continued to grow.” This has become more important in the face of competition from Indian companies such as Wipro NYSE:WIT, Cognizant NASDAQ:CTSH and Infosys NASDAQ: INFY.

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View and download a PDF transcript of the full interview here.

Publications referenced in this interview:
“Outsourcing and Insourcing Jobs in the U.S. Economy: An Overview of Evidence Based on Foreign Investment Data,” Congressional Research Service
“Civilian Agencies Development and Implementation of Insourcing Guidelines,” United States General Accounting Office

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ATTORNEY INFORMATION

Richard Raysman
Partner, Holland & Knight LLP

Richard Raysman concentrates on computer law, outsourcing, complex technology transactions, and intellectual property issues. He has significant experience in structuring technology transactions, and his information technology background and understanding of the law have made him uniquely qualified to represent clients for technology issues. Mr. Raysman has been selected by Chambers as one of America’s leading outsourcing lawyers. He has also been named by “Super Lawyers” as a top practitioner. He has litigated reported cases for the New York state and federal courts. Prior to practicing law, Mr. Raysman was a Systems Engineer for IBM Corporation for six years

Representative Transactional Matters

• Represented a telecommunications company in a $1.2 billion outsourcing transaction with a global manufacturing company.
• Represented a Transportation Agency in a $1 billion acquisition of an automated fare collection system.
• Represented an international manufacturing company in a $500 million worldwide outsourcing of information technology to an international service provider.
• Represented a major Hospital in a $350 million outsourcing with a major service provider.

FIRM INFORMATION

With 1,100 lawyers, 150 practice areas and a global presence, Holland & Knight offers the experience and resources to handle your most difficult legal challenges. But we are dedicated to going beyond, to being your counselors in the fullest sense of the word. That involves more than knowing the law. It’s understanding your business and your needs almost as well as you do. It’s thinking about how we can serve your long-term interests, and not just the problem of the moment. It’s measuring our value by your standards.

There’s a reason Holland & Knight perennially ranks among the top law firms for client service. The answer lies in the relationships we build. Get connected to experience the difference.

For additional information, visit: http://www.hklaw.com/