Season 2 Ep #7: Down in the Silicon Valley
This week on IP Goes Pop! fellow Volpe Koenig Shareholder Ryan O’Donnell joins co-hosts Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue to explore the technical world of the TV show Silicon Valley, the intellectual property (IP) challenges faced by fictional compression algorithm company Pied Piper, and how realistic those challenges are to those of real world tech start-ups.
Michael, Joe, and Ryan consider “what they could have done” in connection with the IP tropes presented through some of the IP-heavy Silicon Valley episodes. They compare and contrast what happens in the show with the way real-world start-ups approach similar scenarios. From patent clearance and licensing, to trademarks, to copyrights, to identifying the different legal entities involved in possible IP disputes, this podcast episode underscores how important it is to know your IP rights from the start of any venture.
Timestamps:
01:48 Silicon Valley TV Show and premise
02:51 Show Characters
04:59 “Is Silicon Valley’s depiction of a tech start-up realistic?”
06:39 Season 4, Episode 3, IP Ownership and Clearance Issues
07:10 Episode Summary
08:56 Intellectual Property Discussion
11:06 “What can one do when an existing patent appears to broadly cover one’s ‘groundbreaking’ idea?”
15:32 Season 4, Episode 7, IP Licensing Issues
16:21 Episode Summary
18:45 Intellectual Property Discussion
24:25 Other Intellectual Property Issues in Silicon Valley
24:25 Works Made for Hire
26:21 Shop Rights
30:35 Wrap Up and Final Thoughts
