What do you do when a startup relationship gets rocky?

By Rick Colosimo / April 20, 2020 / Comments Off on What do you do when a startup relationship gets rocky?

I don’t mean third-date awkwardness, or figuring out how to let him know you’re not ready to introduce him to your friends. No, we’re talking about how to handle going from start-up to break-up. Co-founders have complicated relationships: you have usually known the other founder as a co-worker or friend for months or even many…

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Five-minute general counsel: A little trademark search saves a lot of headache

By Rick Colosimo / February 6, 2017 / Comments Off on Five-minute general counsel: A little trademark search saves a lot of headache

This WSJ article describes some of the problems that small businesses have faced with names. The most significant one, from my perspective, is the trademark lawsuit that cause the cookie company to change its name after being featured on the “Rachael Ray Show.” What a waste of potential marketing value! Over the years, I’ve serviced…

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Five-minute general counsel: What’s in a seed round termsheet?

By Rick Colosimo / February 1, 2011 / Comments Off on Five-minute general counsel: What’s in a seed round termsheet?

Here’s a common set of angel-investor questions regarding a standard seed round term sheet for a tech company: Why are the shares divided into preferred and common? Why does the preferred stock have a limited “1x” return? What will happen with liquidation preferences in future rounds? What will happen with dividends? Does the preferred stock…

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Five-minute general counsel: licensing audits

By Rick Colosimo / October 8, 2009 / Comments Off on Five-minute general counsel: licensing audits

Kat Shoa asked about licensing audits on LinkedIn: How do you know if your IP licensees are paying you properly? I sat on a presentation about royalty audits today and think it’s a fantastic to collect due royalties – wrote about it here[.] But I’d be interested to know what other methods are used to…

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