Startup Law

1.5 Credits · Level: Graduate

Startup Law teaches students the legal framework relevant to founding and operating a startup company. It helps the business manager understand significant legal principles and analyze legal-business problems relevant to an emerging company, emphasizing intellectual property strategies for tech startups. The course provides knowledge of specified areas of the American legal system as well as practical lessons in managing an intellectual property portfolio, evaluating venture capital deal term sheets, and negotiation from a startup company’s perspective. Topics covered include: (1) Setting Up Your Company: Equity and governance – keeping you in charge, Compensation strategies – structuring the big payoff (2) Technology Strategy: Developing your intellectual property – groundwork for disruptive innovation, Grasping patents, copyrights, trademarks & trade secrets – offense and defense, Using your tech as a shield and a sword – suing infringing competitors, Partnering up – ins and outs of R&D and joint venture deals (3) Recruiting Your Team: How to hire – nuts and bolts of making an offer, Retaining your team – employment law and you (4) Capital and Scaling to the Next Level: Venture capital – what VCs want, and what it costs you, Going public – process, pros, and cons for ringing the bell