Danbury Startup Attorneys & Lawyers

What Is Freedom to Operate?

Freedom to operate, also known as FTO or right to use, means you have the freedom to test, market, or sell a product or service in a specific area. Sometimes, intellectual property rights only count in a country or a region, and outside of them you have the FTO to do whatever you want. The phrase is often used when determining if a specific action can take place without infringing on the intellectual property rights of another. Examples of actions include commercializing and testing products.

For example, let's say the U.S. government gave you a patent for a new kind of speaker. As the patent holder, you have the freedom to market and sell your speaker while no one else can. If it's a brand-new kind of speaker, you can also sell it in other countries without getting their patents.

However, your competition also has the freedom to operate in other countries, since you only have a U.S. patent.

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What is a Portfolio Company?

A portfolio company is a term used to describe a company in which investors own equity in a company or buy out a company. The goal of the investor is to increase the value of the portfolio company and earn a return on their initial investment.

The investment could be in the form of private equity in established companies or venture capital in companies just starting out. One portfolio company usually forms part of a group of companies in the investor's full portfolio.

Who Invests in Portfolio Companies?

Portfolio companies are used by venture capital firms, private equity firms, and other financial investment firms. Some firms build a portfolio of companies that specialize in a specific sector, such as science or engineering. Others have a diverse mix of portfolios.

Private Equity Firms: Private equity is a type of financ

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What Is Legal Entity?

A legal entity refers to a legally standing or lawful partnership. That partnership could be an association, a trust, a proprietorship, a corporation, or an individual. All such entities are legally able to be accountable for activities against the law, enter contracts or agreements, incur and pay back debts, be sued and sue other entities, and assume obligations. While legal entities are able to do many things, a legal entity cannot hold office or vote. 

Legal entities are frequently seen in scenarios and instances where an individual can take a class-action lawsuit against a company or the manufacturer that supplies the products for a company. Another scenario where the term "legal entity" applies is when every member of a band si

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Updated October 5,2020: 

What is a DMCA Notice?

A DMCA notice informs a company, web host, search engine, or internet service provider that they are hosting or linking to material that infringes on a copyright. The party that receives the notice should take down the material in question as soon as possible. If the site owner doesn't comply, the ISP can forcibly remove the content.

You can send out a DMCA notice, not just for infringing material, but also for any indices, references, or pointers that lead to infringing material.

DMCA stands for Digital Millennium Copyright Act. A DMCA notice is also known as a DMCA takedown notice or a DMCA request. The DMCA covers any

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