Fractional IP/Startup Counsel

WHAT IS IT?

Fortune 500 companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google have teams of in-house intellectual property attorneys who constantly monitor and advise the company on how to identify and protect their ideas, inventions, and identity. The intellectual property of a small or medium sized business can be even more valuable to that company, but may not be extensive enough to justify a full-time, in-house intellectual property attorney on staff.

As your company’s fractional startup counsel and/or fractional IP counsel, we provide many of the same services that an in-house general counsel or in-house IP/patent counsel would provide. However, because your company’s needs and/or budget do not justify hiring a full-time in-house attorney, we provide all of the necessary services on a part-time basis at a fraction of the cost.

We provide all the legal services that your company needs for a flat monthly fee – no hourly billing! And because we are contractors, not employees, you don’t incur the costs in providing comprehensive benefits. With one of our three unique fractional counsel plans, you can budget for legal fees with confidence in knowing that the fees will be consistent and regular!

IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU?

Do your legal fees with your current attorney or law firm vary widely from month to month making budgeting for legal expenses difficult?
Are your company’s legal needs not consistent and regularly recurring such that a full-time in-house attorney would be under utilized?
Is the cost of hiring a full-time in-house attorney with benefits something beyond your company’s budget?
Do you experience difficulty getting legal advice when you need it from your current hourly attorney or law firm?
Do you wish that your attorney or law firm was able to provide you with pro-active advice and legal services instead of waiting for you to call them when there is a legal issue or problem to be addressed?

If you answered YES to any of the above questions, your company may be a good candidate for one of Martin IP Law Group’s three unique fractional counsel plans. Before hiring a full-time in-house attorney, or continuing to pay an attorney or law firm for legal services on an hourly basis, consider the following benefits of our fractional counsel plans:

BENEFITS:

Proactive legal representation:
One of the best benefits of hiring fractional counsel is that you are taking a proactive approach to risk management rather than a reactive approach. Instead of reacting to legal problems, you are working with an attorney to prevent or mitigate future liability. Regardless of the size of the company, a reactive approach to dealing with legal matters increases the risk of future liability. A proactive approach can reduce the time and cost of dealing with legal matters.
Consistent and controlled cost for legal services:
Our fractional counsel plans provide all of the legal services that your company needs for a set monthly fee. This allows small and medium sized companies to have the immediate access to legal counsel that has historically only been available to large companies with in-house attorneys. And by having a set monthly fee, your company has greater control over legal expenses and can budget for legal expenses much more effectively.
Saves money:
Hiring a full-time in-house attorney with salary and benefits is cost prohibitive to many smaller companies. Hourly rates at law firms with attorneys experienced in handling complex intellectual property transactions can exceed $500 per hour. Hiring a part-time attorney with a flat-rate fee is less expensive than either option.
Free your time to focus on growing and operating your business instead of putting out legal fires:
Because our fractional counsel plans are proactive, legal emergencies rarely happen. When they do, you can rest assured that we will be there to handle them so you can continue to do what’s important – run and grow your business!
Customized Legal Services for your company at an affordable rate:
Because the attorney is a part-time contractor, you control how much money you spend for ongoing legal services and what legal services are included in the contract.
Answers to legal questions when you need answers:
Your fractional legal counsel is available to address your legal needs when you need a lawyer, not when a law firm can return your call. Our plans are customizable, so if your needs change, we can adjust the plan to grow with you.
Adds a valuable member to your team:
Through our fractional counsel plans, we learn about your business, your goals, and your team to help you grow your company and develop legal strategies and plans that work for your company.

OUR PLANS

At Martin IP Law Group, we have created three unique plans that meet most if not all of the IP needs of startup, small and medium sized companies. Whether you are just starting your business, have a technology based business, or just need brand protection, we have a plan that is right for you and can be customized to fit your needs. Schedule a no-cost consultation with us to discuss and design a plan that is right for your company.

LAUNCH PLAN

Who this is for:

The LAUNCH PLAN is our entry-level offer which serves the needs of startup companies. Our Launch Plan is designed to mitigate the uncertainty that is inherent in a startup company. Startup companies face a plethora of legal issues in their formative years: What name(s)/brand(s) should I use for my company, products and services and how to I protect them? What legal structure should I adopt and how do I set it up? Do I need any special licenses or permits? Who owns our IP and how do we properly protect it? How do I avoid infringing the IP rights of others? How do I legalize my website (privacy policy, terms of service, etc.) and relationships (customers, vendors, employees)? Our Launch Plan is designed to address these and other issues that typically face new and up-and-coming businesses.

If you’ve created a product or started a company that is unique, invested your money, energy and time into it, and have a clear vision where you want your brand to be in five or ten years, this is the program for you.

What’s Included:

As a member of our Launch Plan, we work side by side with you to navigate through these and other legal issues that occur in the startup phase of a business. The process starts with a strategy session to identify your businesses IP assets and risks and create a custom plan for you to eliminate or minimize those risks. We believe that it is important for us to stay in regular contact with our clients to make sure things are heading in the right direction, so the Launch Plan also includes periodic follow up strategy and planning sessions.

The Launch plan also includes evaluation of the best legal form for your business and our turnkey business formation package. Basic contracts and access to our database of form legal documents and agreements is also included.

IP is often the lifeblood of a startup, and we are uniquely able to help you identify and protect all of your IP, whether it be patents, trademarks, copyrights and/or trade secrets. The Launch Plan may also include preparation and prosecution of U.S. patent, trademark and copyright applications.

Pricing:

After our initial strategy session, we will have better idea of your needs and will prepare a custom plan based on your specific needs. Pricing for the Launch Plan typically ranges from $500 per month up to $2,500 per month depending on the particular services to be provided.

GUARDIAN PLAN - Countering Counterfeiters™

Who this is for:

The GUARDIAN PLAN is designed for ongoing businesses with existing products like handbags, wallets, watches, jewelry, clothing and the like that are susceptible to counterfeiting.

In 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)-Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) seized 27,599 shipments containing goods that violated Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The total estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of the seized goods was over $1.5 billion. At 66% of the total MSRP value of those goods, China remained the primary source for counterfeit and pirated goods seized.

Watches and jewelry topped the list for number of seizures with 4,242, representing 15 percent of all IPR seizures.  Watches and jewelry also continued as the top product seized by total MSRP value with seizures valued at over $687 million, representing 44 percent of the total. Wearing apparel and accessories were second with seizures estimated to be valued at more than $343 million.

CBP and HSI seized 169 shipments of computer networking equipment affixed with counterfeit trademarks with a total MSRP value of nearly $7.3 million. The seized networking equipment seizures violated a total of seven trademarks recorded with CBP and took place in 21 ports around the country.

What is included:

We typically begin the onboarding process by conducting a thorough intellectual property audit to identify which of your IP assets are among the most popular and therefore most at risk for counterfeiting. Any holes that may exist in protection are then plugged so that proper protection is in place to secure ALL of your IP rights. Then we develop an enforcement strategy that includes internal and external resources to monitor the marketplace for counterfeit products. Once those counterfeit products and their source are identified, we develop a plan for pursuing the infringer, which may include the sending of a cease & desist letter, engaging a private investigator or law enforcement, and/or preparing a lawsuit for filing.

Other services that may be included, depending on your needs includes:

Trademark/Copyright Monitoring & Watch Notice Services
Test Purchases
Domain Sale/Purchase Services
Mystery Shopping Services
Domain and Trademarks Acquisitions
Anti Counterfeiting Investigations

Pricing:

After our initial strategy session, we will have better idea of your needs and will prepare a custom plan based on your specific needs. Pricing for the Guardian Plan typically ranges from $1,500 per month up to $4,500 per month or a percentage of recovery depending on the particular services to be provided.

ENTERPRISE PLAN

Who this is for:

Our most robust plan, the Enterprise Plan is designed for medium to large businesses with a wide variety of intellectual property needs. Whether it’s providing continued protection for your existing brands, filing trademark applications for new brands, protecting valuable trade secret information or acquiring patents for your newest invention, our team has you covered.

If you are looking an intellectual property legal team that will be proactive in identifying and protecting IP assets, growing your IP portfolio and developing IP based revenue streams, for an affordable flat monthly fee, this is the program for you.

What’s included:

We typically begin the onboarding process by conducting a thorough intellectual property audit to uncover under-utilized IP assets, to identify any threats to the company’s bottom line, and to enable business planners to devise informed strategies that will maintain and improve the company’s market position.

Other services that may be included, depending on your needs include:

Periodic (usually monthly) meetings with management regarding IP strategy, policies, and guidelines.
Periodic (usually quarterly) meetings with inventors, engineers and/or R&D teams to identify patentable inventions and determine patent filing strategy.
Develop, implement, and manage overall intellectual property strategy, policies and guidelines, including patents, trademarks, copyrights & trade secrets.
Prepare and prosecute U.S. patent applications for new and existing inventions as needed.
Prepare and prosecute U.S. trademark applications for new and existing marks and logos as needed.
Select and manage foreign associates and oversee prosecution of foreign patent and trademark applications as needed.
Quarterly investigate, track, and advise management on competitors’ patent positions.
Prepare various opinions on patents and patent related matters, including freedom-to-operate opinions, validity/invalidity opinions, and infringement/non-infringement opinions.
Conduct due diligence of third party IP portfolios for acquisition, litigation, and/or design-around.
Conduct negotiations and draft agreements relating to assignment, licensing, and other transactions affecting intellectual property of the company or third parties.
Direct and manage outside counsel in intellectual property litigation.
Study and provide counsel on legislative and court developments in domestic and foreign IP law.

Pricing:

After our initial strategy session, we will have better idea of your needs and will prepare a custom plan based on your specific needs. Pricing for the Enterprise Plan typically ranges from $3,500 per month up to $10,000 per month depending on the particular services to be provided.

Contact us today at 812-492-4478 or info@ipsolutionslaw.com

Tell Us How We Can Help You

MARTIN IP LAW GROUP, PC

225 Court St
Evansville, IN 47708
CALL TODAY! 812-492-4478
info@ipsolutionslaw.com