Science & Technology

Our attorneys negotiate and draft complex licenses and contracts with clients and service providers for online businesses. Our clients include application service providers, database licensors and virtually all types of professional service firms that deliver services or value-added information to clients through the Internet. We advise clients on E-commerce issues of all types, including disputes over domain names and websites, and we negotiate and litigate these issues when necessary. We also monitor judicial and legislative developments affecting the Internet, such as limits on transmission of copyrighted audio and video, the developing law of online privacy, initiatives relating to identity theft, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (authorizing use of electronic “signatures”) and many others.

Technology companies cannot survive unless their proprietary technologies are well protected. Paley Rothman’s attorneys frequently prepare specialized confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, including consulting and employment agreements, which contain measures to protect the value of intellectual property after the end of the relationship. We regularly advise clients on disputes arising from alleged misappropriation of trade secrets and also create defensible, yet practical corporate procedures and guidelines for in-house management of confidential information.

When it comes to attracting the attention of clients and protecting or increasing market share, Paley Rothman understands that a firm’s trademarks are often as valuable as its products and services. We also recognize that copyright registration affords important advantages in protecting against appropriation of valuable intellectual property. Attorneys in the Science and Technology practice group prepare and prosecute trademark applications and work with clients to structure cost-effective copyright registration programs. Our attorneys also counsel clients when disputes arise and have successfully litigated infringement cases to conclusion when needed.

Our experience with many specialized regulatory and licensing requirements as well as with federal, state and local grants and benefits allows us to help clients establish tax-advantaged business organizations that optimally fit their unique needs. This enables us to form and represent technology-based entities ranging from fast-growth startup companies to fully mature regional and national companies. We handle syndications, venture capital placements, leveraged acquisitions and other forms of financing, often working closely with clients to refine business plans in preparation for negotiations with lenders and investors.

Paley Rothman represents major biotechnology, pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing firms, including several Fortune 500 companies, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, nationally and internationally. Our services include pharmaceutical licensing, regulatory compliance, FIFRA counseling, and structuring and closing synthetic lease financings for cGMP manufacturing facilities and R & D campuses.