| Over the past few years, the Internet has radically changed the practice
of intellectual property law and opened up the patent process
to companies that were not traditional technology companies. These
young businesses have innovated in new ways and to that extent
often look to our attorneys for advice regarding potential patents,
not only in traditional areas such as computer software, but also
in business methods or business processes. Such business method
patents are being asserted by some against market competitors
in an effort to preserve the significant investments that Internet
companies make, not only in their technology but in their human
assets as well. In short, the Internet is changing the business
landscape worldwide both in terms of how companies innovate,
as well as how they are eventually challenging their competitors.
BSTZ helps its clients protect their investment in technology and people
(their intellectual capital) by helping to set up legal protections
ahead of time and forestalling future complications. From a defensive
standpoint, we carefully prepare patent and trademark applications
for our clients and help them build portfolios that can serve
in both defensive and, if necessary, offensive capacities in the
future. We believe it is never too early in the life of a company
to seek IP protection and we often engage very early on with our
clients -- often in the seed round of funding, and sometimes even
prior to funding -- to get an IP portfolio started.
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