Efrat's
Message
:
Happy July to our colleagues, clients and friends!
Our Media coverage this month includes a story highlighting our Blockchain Token valuation work, which has been
included in one of the first filings to the SEC
in support of token offering under Regulation A. In webinar news, I had the opportunity to present again our popular
"IP in IPO" webinar,
hosted by CPA Global. The
recording of this webinar
is available, as well as a blog we added
to address the many questions that came up following the webinar. Also in this newsletter, our
IP Digest section
, covering highlights from our Twitter feed, has something for everyone this month; if you ever wondered whether you can copyright your favorite cocktail recipe, or if you wanted to know what cases the Supreme Court is planning to hear next term, we have it covered!
As always, we are looking forward to seeing you in one of our upcoming
speaking events
. And if your summer travels bring you to Silicon Valley, please stop by our office in Palo Alto for coffee!
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Foresight in the Media
In April of 2019, Blockstack, a decentralized computing network, announced plans to conduct a $50 million token offering under the SEC Regulation A+ framework.
Blockstack notes it had sold approximately 323 million Stacks tokens to "24 accredited investors that were shareholders of Blockstack PBC at $0.00012 per token." This $0.00012 token valuation was given by Foresight Valuation Group, an independent consulting firm. According to the filing, to get to the valuation, "Foresight used another traditional method for valuing software called the cost approach, which is based on the costs of development of the software underlying the token."
Full article here
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IP in IPO Webinar and Q&A
On July 18th, CPA Global hosted our webinar, "IP in IPO", dealing with IP Valuation lessons from recent IPOs. We had a record number of participants and the follow up questions were very thought provoking. The
webinar is available
through the CPA website, and the Q&A blog
is available for those interested in exploring further some of the issues related to IP and startup exits.
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IP News Digest
The names of several major hotels and camp villages at Yosemite National Park in California are being restored, after a years-long trademark dispute.
The Majestic Yosemite Hotel is back to its original name, The Ahwahnee. And a set of cabins that was temporarily called Half Dome Village now carries its historic name, Camp Curry.
A legal settlement announced on Monday ends a dispute that started in 2015, when Yosemite didn't renew the contract of its longtime concession provider, a subsidiary of major vendor Delaware North. Instead, it awarded a 15-year contract to Yosemite Hospitality, a subsidiary of the company Aramark.
Full article here
The promises and pitfalls of gene sequencing for newborns
Sequencing a person's DNA is now a routine task. That reality has left doctors looking for ways to put the technology to work.
Scientists have found that, so far, a complete genetic readout would be a poor substitute for the traditional blood test that babies get at birth to screen for diseases.
Even when genetic testing provides useful information, it also can raise unsettling questions.
One of the big concerns about running gene scans on newborns is how families will receive and make sense of the results.
Full story here
The trademark cases the Supreme Court will hear next term
Next term, the Supreme Court will weigh in on two trademark cases that will address the parameters of federal preclusion principles and the criteria for awarding infringers' profits.
On June 28, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to take up a pair of cases that could affect how trademark cases are argued in federal courts. In
Lucky Brands Dungarees, Inc. v. Marcel Fashion Group, Inc
.
, the Court will determine whether federal preclusion principles bar defendants from raising defenses that could have been raised in previous cases between the same parties, even when the plaintiff asserts new claims. In Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc., SCOTUS will decide whether a finding of willful infringement is required to award an infringer's profits in cases involving false designation of origin or false description.
Full story here
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Upcoming Events
When: September 25, 2019
Where: TBD
Foresight president, Efrat Kasznik, will join
a panel of experts includes a diversified group of participants in the Blockchain ecosystem: corporate executives, legal experts, VC investors and startups. The panel will address some of the key topics associated with the successful deployment of Blockchain technologies in the enterprise.
When: October 18, 2019
Where: William S. Boyd School of Law @ UNLV, Las Vegas, Nevada
When: October 20-23, 2019
Where: Phoenix, AZ
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