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Episode 18: Special Guest Neil Greenbaum of the Greenbaum Law Firm, P.A. – Business and Transactional Attorney
In this podcast, I am joined by a special guest, Neil Greenbaum of the Greenbaum Law Firm, P.A. with offices in Florida and New York. Neil is a business and transactional attorney with over 25 years of experience. He specializes in all aspects of business and corporate law, including contracts and agreements, business entity formation, and corporate and commercial real estate transactions. More about Neil’s firm can be found here: https://neilgreenbaumlaw.com and more about Neil via LinkedIn®: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-greenbaum.
Business and IP go hand-in-hand. Often though, companies lose sight of IP to their detriment. In this podcast, we discuss the value of IP to companies large and small, new and established.
Many businesses are founded because of an idea. That idea typically includes aspects of intellectual property – an invention protected by patents, a name protected by trademarks, methods and processes protected by trade secrets. However, companies often fail to secure that IP through assignments and/or the application/registration process. Later, when conditions change, they often find themselves without title to that IP. For example, a founding member has not assigned IP to the company or patent/trademarks have not been filed/lapsed/or were abandoned. As a result, the value of the company can be greatly diminished.
Assets today are not what they once were – buildings, machinery, other tangible items. IP can be the most valuable asset or only asset of any real value. When companies are bought, often the IP is retained while the rest is discarded or made redundant. If that IP isn’t secured properly – through assignments, granted patents, registered trademarks, and other business documents – a company’s value is at risk.
We discussed:
- The value of IP to businesses of all shapes and sizes
- Problems that can arise when IP isn’t secured by the company
- The importance of due diligence and vetting of IP
- Why it makes sense to invest in business and IP counsel early to save money later
- Examples of situations to avoid
- Why IP may be a company’s most valuable asset but it is often unprotected
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