Last Thursday, October 20, 2011, ATI hosted the fifth session of its weekly Entrepreneur’s Workshop, an endeavor sponsored jointly with the Rice Alliance and the Central Texas Angel Network. The Workshop is designed for a class of 30 entrepreneurs interested in starting a new venture or expanding their existing start-up. Each session is taught by experts in their respective fields, including investors, venture capitalists, CEOs, and legal, accounting, and marketing professionals. This week we received the expertise of Alex Allemann, an attorney with Winstead, P.C., and intellectual property lawyers Loren T. Smith and Temple Keller of Hulsey, P.C. Here is what we learned:
The Nit and Grit of Business Law
- How the entrepreneur organizes and chooses an entity
- How to split the equity among founders
- Options for financing the new venture
- How to seek venture capital
Protecting IP
- What is covered under Intellectual Property
- How and when to file a patent
- The limits and legalities of patent protection
- The differences between patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets
For more information, go to http://www.hulseyiplaw.com and http://www.winstead.com.
Teel Liddell is a recent graduate of UT, where she studied English and Biology and participated in the Plan II liberal arts program. Over the summer Teel worked in the Health Inequalities Unit at the UK Department of Health in London. Now returned to Austin, she interns at ATI, helping with grant proposals, managing the ATI/RiceAlliance/CTAN Entrepreneur’s Workshop, and providing research assistance. Teel plans to attend medical school in the fall of 2012.
Tags: Alex Allemann, Business Law, central texas angel network, Entrepreneur’s Workshop, Hulsey P.C., Intellectual Property, Loren T. Smith, P.C., rice alliance, Temple Keller, Winstead P.C.
