HarvardLaw74.Com: The Legal and Mentoring Practice of Christopher F. Meatto, Esq. http://harvardlaw74.com Thu, 16 May 2013 20:35:06 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 I am Mentoring at Regis Tech Accelerator Summer 2013 http://harvardlaw74.com/i-am-mentoring-at-regis-tech-accelerator-summer-2013/ http://harvardlaw74.com/i-am-mentoring-at-regis-tech-accelerator-summer-2013/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 20:15:14 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=3064

gfx_regis

    Regis Tech Accelerator to Launch Inaugural Summer Academy in June

I am Regis Class of XX. The Number One Jesuit high school in the nation, located on the Upper East Side of New York City.

This summer, the Regis Tech Accelerator (RTA), an alumni affinity group at Regis, will launch its inaugural 6-week Summer Academy from June 17 through August 1. The program will be hosted at Regis High School.

The RTA, founded this past winter, primarily functions as a forum for Regis alumni to discuss tech-facilitated entrepreneurship. The newly developed Summer Academy is designed to serve as an outlet for those entrepreneurs to cultivate their business concepts. This year, the Summer Academy will provide as many as 6 start-up companies rent-free access to office space, technology resources and mentors through designated classrooms at Regis. Participants will also host a “Demo Day” at the conclusion of the program.

While the summer program’s long-term focus is intended to serve alumni and friends of Regis, applications to participate in the inaugural Summer Academy are available to all start-ups in the New York City area who might benefit from access to the provided resources. Young alumni are welcomed to volunteer as interns for these businesses, and the RTA will match these interns with a participating company that best suits his skills and interests.

Beyond coordinating internships for young alumni with the participating start-up companies, the Summer Academy will also integrate a unique educational component. Alumni interns and the Summer Academy companies will have access to evening classes on topics relevant to their industry. The classes will be conducted by a combination of Regis alumni and leaders within select business fields. Attendance to certain classes will also be made available to all alumni. A full schedule of classes is in development.

For more information, to submit an application for your start-up company, or to apply for internship consideration, please email Charles Bonello ’03 and Matthew Harrigan ’03, Volunteer Directors of the RTA Summer Academy, at rta@regis.org. More experienced alumni that are interested in providing mentoring to participants are also invited to contact the RTA for more information.

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/i-am-mentoring-at-regis-tech-accelerator-summer-2013/feed/ 0 AngelList and Y Combinator Funders Club Approved to Crowdfund http://harvardlaw74.com/angellist-and-y-combinator-funders-club-approved-to-crowdfund/ http://harvardlaw74.com/angellist-and-y-combinator-funders-club-approved-to-crowdfund/#comments Sun, 28 Apr 2013 17:49:20 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=3057

“The Securities and Exchange Commission is making way for a number of startups and online investment platforms to enable startups to crowdsource investment. Early last week, Y Combinator-backed FundersClub received notice from the SEC that the agency would not pursue action against its crowdfunding platform. But it wasn’t alone: a few days later, AngelList received a similar letter from the SEC.”

Source TECHCRUNCH

The introduction of idiosyncratic crowd sourced funding platforms will give more startups access to qualified funding and also raise more interesting structure issues for startup attorneys.

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/angellist-and-y-combinator-funders-club-approved-to-crowdfund/feed/ 0 Never Agree to a 60 Second Pitch http://harvardlaw74.com/never-agree-to-a-60-second-pitch/ http://harvardlaw74.com/never-agree-to-a-60-second-pitch/#comments Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:40:11 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=3052

60secondpitches

The gladiators hung up their swords and chains over two centuries ago. While the 60 second pitch might be convenience for the Attention Deficit Disorders of venture capitalists and angel investors, it hardly ever favors the entrepreneur. Here is a link to a match.com like set of 60 second pitches in Philadelphia this wee, the eponymously titled “60 Second Pitch Project.”

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/never-agree-to-a-60-second-pitch/feed/ 0 We Meet the Fred Wilson Challenge on Startup Legal Fees http://harvardlaw74.com/we-meet-the-fred-wilson-challenge-on-startup-legal-fees/ http://harvardlaw74.com/we-meet-the-fred-wilson-challenge-on-startup-legal-fees/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:11:18 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=3047

startupfees

A little over two years ago, venture capitalist extraordinaire Fred Wilson posted “A Challenge to Startup Lawyers (not attorneys)” vehemently complaining about a $17,000 legal bill for a small first round financing involving angels and a few venture capitalists.

We only work on a flat fee basis with a regular monthly payment that includes all legal services necessary or desired by startup clients. Unlimited telephone access and a set number of in-person meetings are also included.

As Uber disrupts the taxi industry, we hope in small way to disrupt the taxi-like hourly meters in most law firms, large or small.

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/we-meet-the-fred-wilson-challenge-on-startup-legal-fees/feed/ 0 Developers Summit to Challenge Software Patents http://harvardlaw74.com/developers-summit-to-challenge-software-patents/ http://harvardlaw74.com/developers-summit-to-challenge-software-patents/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:45:29 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=3044

700723_keep_clean

“. Vague claims, product life cycles shorter than the PTO review process, trolls and general uncertainty threaten to stifle app industry innovation and growth.”
Nationwide summit with a New York discussion to take place on May 22, 2013. Free registration HERE.

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/developers-summit-to-challenge-software-patents/feed/ 0 Rocket Man or RocketMatter We Attorneys Are All Children and Love the Past and Abhor Disruption http://harvardlaw74.com/rocket-man-or-rocketmatter-we-are-all-children/ http://harvardlaw74.com/rocket-man-or-rocketmatter-we-are-all-children/#comments Sun, 24 Mar 2013 18:30:04 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=3031

RocketMatter is a successful online billing and contact management solution for small and medium law firms. It is well regarded in the legal community. It tweets and I am sure it found its way to SXSW.

I watched the fun video above this morning for the first time and then immediately returned to my paper copy of the NYTimes to reread this weekend’s “Imprisoned By Innovation” Op-Ed by Evgeny Morozov.

Morozow writes: “Smart technologies are not just disruptive; they can also preserve the status quo. Revolutionary in theory, they are often reactionary in practice.”

Those who know me already realize where this is going. Why do I need to integrate my Google calendar into my billing system? So I can charge somebody on a time elapsed basis for every single waking moment in my life? RocketMatter provides no gateways to knowledge, information, facts, law, or life.

Morozow writes about a London transport gamification app named “Chromaroma:, a transit smart card linked idea that awards points for checking in. Is it the breakthrough in transportation London has been looking for: ““Actually, the makeover London commuting has been waiting for is a more reliable service, with Tube lines that don’t close every weekend and trains that can hold more than 17 people.”

We legal veterans are still looking for disruption in the legal profession. It will not be obtained by slick billing and CRM applications, nor by Venture Capitalists handing out free legal forms to 24 year olds.

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/rocket-man-or-rocketmatter-we-are-all-children/feed/ 0 Trading Cards with Bubble Gum for Startups and Logos http://harvardlaw74.com/trading-cards-with-bubble-gum-for-startups-logos/ http://harvardlaw74.com/trading-cards-with-bubble-gum-for-startups-logos/#comments Sun, 24 Mar 2013 02:00:59 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=3020

dizzy

DREAMITVENTURES PARTIAL COLLECTION

COLLECT THEM ALL, SOME WILL BE VERY VALUABLE SOME DAY, SOME WILL BE VERY RARE AND HENCE as TRADING CARDS EVEN MORE VALUABLE.

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/trading-cards-with-bubble-gum-for-startups-logos/feed/ 0 Aaron Swartz, Civil Disobedience, and Harvard Ethics – Republish of July 2011 Post http://harvardlaw74.com/swartz-civil-disobedience-and-harvard-ethics/ http://harvardlaw74.com/swartz-civil-disobedience-and-harvard-ethics/#comments Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:36:22 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=1779

as1

Sorry, Aaron, I did not speak long enough or hard enough.

[The July 14, 2011 United States criminal indictment of activist Aaron Swartz, inventor of RSS, for downloading mass quantities of academic journals, is Here.]

The relevant American newspapers have two different takes on the Swartz indictment.

Boston: “Aaron Swartz, a Cambridge web entrepreneur and political activist who has lobbied for the free flow of information on the Internet, was charged in federal court with hacking into a subscription-based archive system at MIT and stealing more than 4 million articles, including scientific and academic journals.

New York Times: “A respected Harvard researcher who also is an Internet folk hero has been arrested in Boston on charges related to computer hacking, which are based on allegations that he downloaded articles that he was entitled to get free.”

I suggest we view this indictment of a Harvard ethics fellow in the following context: “Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance. In one view (in India, known as ahimsa or satyagraha) it could be said that it is compassion in the form of respectful disagreement.”

JSTOR, the academic archiving service from which the documents were downloaded, has published an ambiguous at best account of its position on this case:

“It is important to note that we support and encourage the legitimate use of large sets of content from JSTOR for research purposes. We regularly provide scholars with access to content for this purpose. Our Data for Research site (http://dfr.jstor.org) was established expressly to support text mining and other projects, and our Advanced Technologies Group is an eager collaborator with researchers in the academic community….Even as we work to increase access, usage, and the impact of scholarship, we must also be responsible stewards of this content. We monitor usage to guard against unauthorized use of the material in JSTOR, which is how we became aware of this particular incident.”

The JSTOR statement also implies that it has already settled with Swartz with respect to the nature of his use of the downloaded content.

I respectfully suggest that the solution here is for JSTOR to publish its complilation of 1,000 academic journals on a non-exclusive basis under a Creative Commons License.

I applaud Aaron Swartz for his efforts.

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/swartz-civil-disobedience-and-harvard-ethics/feed/ 0 Picaboo Snapchat The Texts and Written Agreement Disappear but not the Lawsuit http://harvardlaw74.com/picaboo-snapchat-the-texts-disappear-but-not-the-lawsuit/ http://harvardlaw74.com/picaboo-snapchat-the-texts-disappear-but-not-the-lawsuit/#comments Wed, 27 Feb 2013 22:35:31 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=3007

It certainly looks as if this billion dollar action is based on an alleged oral agreement. A certain irony here for those of you who know the premise of Snapchat.

Frank Reginald Brown vs. Snapchat by

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/picaboo-snapchat-the-texts-disappear-but-not-the-lawsuit/feed/ 0 Mumford, T. Bone and Others Cover The Band http://harvardlaw74.com/mumford-t-bone-and-others-cover-the-band/ http://harvardlaw74.com/mumford-t-bone-and-others-cover-the-band/#comments Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:00:02 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=2999

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/mumford-t-bone-and-others-cover-the-band/feed/ 0 Inducing Copyright Infringement:R&B Hip Hop Artists Seek to Enjoin CNET from Reporting on File Sharing Software http://harvardlaw74.com/inducing-copyright-infringementrb-hip-hop-artists-seek-to-enjoin-cnet-from-reporting-on-file-sharing-software/ http://harvardlaw74.com/inducing-copyright-infringementrb-hip-hop-artists-seek-to-enjoin-cnet-from-reporting-on-file-sharing-software/#comments Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:46:46 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=2993

Here is the brief filed by Kendall Brill and Fenwick & West in opposition to the motion seeking to enjoin the CNET reporting on Bit Torrent and other file sharing software: “a full year after they commenced this action, and a decade after the software reviews about which they complain.” Of course we see the irony of CBS, the progeny of Viacom (think YouTube litigation), taking its position here, but we nevertheless applaud it.”

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/inducing-copyright-infringementrb-hip-hop-artists-seek-to-enjoin-cnet-from-reporting-on-file-sharing-software/feed/ 0 Average Salaries at NYC Startups JANUARY 2013 http://harvardlaw74.com/average-salaries-at-nyc-startups-january-2013/ http://harvardlaw74.com/average-salaries-at-nyc-startups-january-2013/#comments Tue, 29 Jan 2013 20:07:20 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=2988

“According to PandoDaily, the average salary for a dev across all the job postings is naturally higher than for other positions, at $93,000; for marketers it’s slightly less at $92,000 and designers are earning $88,000 on average. As for the NYC companies with the highest average salary: Stylecaster and Venmo boast an average salary of $176,000, so if you have any friends who work there, they better not even think about asking you to split the brunch bill. Rewind.me, Bonobos and Bookish dole out an average salary of $126k. Most jobs fall into the $80-90k range, with an average salary of $87,000: Fitocracy, Seatgeek and Skillshare all fall into this category.” Stats per AngelList

Salaries, Obamacare, 1099′s, burning cash and more

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/average-salaries-at-nyc-startups-january-2013/feed/ 0 Apple Secures U.S. Trademark of Store Design http://harvardlaw74.com/apple-secures-u-s-trademark-of-store-design/ http://harvardlaw74.com/apple-secures-u-s-trademark-of-store-design/#comments Sat, 26 Jan 2013 20:06:31 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=2983

apple_trademark

ArtInfo opines:

“What is not clear is where the logic of this obsessive trademarking will lead or, put in another way, what it means for a corporation to both produce and own our essential means of relating to the world around us.”

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/apple-secures-u-s-trademark-of-store-design/feed/ 0 Cannot Copyright Piggyback Photo http://harvardlaw74.com/cannot-copyright-piggyback-photo/ http://harvardlaw74.com/cannot-copyright-piggyback-photo/#comments Sat, 26 Jan 2013 19:33:53 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=2977

piggyback

A federal appeals court in Boston has denied the claim that the photo on the right infringed the photo on the left. Harney v. Sony Pictures Television, Inc., United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit, January 7, 2013.

Photo District News explains to its photographer audience (hopefully not too busy suing each other), the protectable and non-protectable elements of the photograph”

“The appeals court said that Harney could not claim exclusive rights to the piggyback pose, the subjects’ clothing, the items they carried, or the church in the background with the bright blue sky behind it. But he could claim exclusive rights to the way he framed those elements, the placement of the subjects in the center of the frame, and the bright colors and shadows that make his image distinctive.”

Very, very, subjective stuff, n’est pas?

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/cannot-copyright-piggyback-photo/feed/ 0 Startups and Legal Fees http://harvardlaw74.com/startups-and-legal-fees/ http://harvardlaw74.com/startups-and-legal-fees/#comments Sun, 20 Jan 2013 02:55:04 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=2968

#startups and legal fees Use smaller firms, solo practitioners, and virtual services
Read more at http://ht.ly/gXIPx

]]> http://harvardlaw74.com/startups-and-legal-fees/feed/ 0 Supreme Court Upholds Federal Right of Arbitration of Confidentiality and Noncompetition Agreement http://harvardlaw74.com/supreme-court-upholds-federal-right-of-arbitration-of-confidentiality-and-noncompetition-agreement/ http://harvardlaw74.com/supreme-court-upholds-federal-right-of-arbitration-of-confidentiality-and-noncompetition-agreement/#comments Wed, 28 Nov 2012 22:38:59 +0000 christopher http://harvardlaw74.com/?p=2679

In Nitro-Lift Technologies, L.L.C. v. Lee, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed the decision of the Oklahoma Supreme Court and upheld the right of an employer to bring its claim directly to an arbitrator and not be subject to a challenge to its right to arbitration in state court. The U.S. Supreme Court decision is based on the clear principles of the Federal Arbitration Act, an almost 90 year old statute that creates a federal right to arbitration.

Our advice is not always to include an arbitration clause in our intellectual property and Founders’ Agreements, but we use the case decided today to highlight the power of such alternative dispute procedures.

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