Retaining a license to your IP
It may seem logical and fair that the founders contributing IP they invented to launch a new should retain a license to that IP should the company fail or should the founders identify other uses for the IP outside those contemplated by the company. After all, the founders developed the idea and invented the IP prior to forming the company.
However, venture capitalists and other will almost always object to the founders retaining rights to the IP. From a business perspective, the investors want to ensure the company has every chance to succeed and that any IP will be available in the future under circumstances that may be difficult to predict. From a signaling perspective, the investors want to see that the founders are entirely committed to the they are funding and aren’t hedging their bets or using the IP for other purposes.
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- The right time to incorporate
- Determining the right type of entity to create
- Where to incorporate
- Defining “qualified to do business” and where to be qualified
- Who makes decisions for the company?
- How startups compensate employees
- Foreign employees and their need for a visa
- Who owns your IP
- Licensing IP from a university or hospital
- Retaining a license to your IP
- Non-competes with former employers
- Reserving shares under the company’s option plan
- Accelerating vesting on a sale or termination
- Vesting terms that make sense
- Tax implications related to shares that vest
- Difference between consultants and employees
- How startups compensate employees
- Foreign employees and their need for a visa
- Unpaid interns
- Non-competes with former employers
- Reserving shares under the company’s option plan
- Agreements with employees
- Hiring a team before securing funding
- Vesting restrictions on shares held by the founders
- Accelerating vesting on a sale or termination
- Vesting terms that make sense
- Tax implications related to shares that vest
- Difference between options and restricted stock
- Tax differences between ISOs and NSOs
- Granting options vs. issuing restricted stock
- Advisory board setup and compensation
- Reserving shares under the company's option plan
