The California Non-Compete Myth: What Startup Founders Should Focus on Instead

California's Longstanding Skepticism of Non-Competes

California has long taken a different approach to employee mobility than many other states. As a general rule, agreements that prevent employees from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business after leaving employment are unenforceable. For startup founders, this often comes as a surprise.

You May Want to Keep Some Secrets From the Robots

Let’s talk about Large Language Models (LLMs)—you know, those remarkably helpful AI tools that can draft your emails, refine your pitch deck, (maybe even help you write a blog post…) and, in certain cases, have the unintended consequence of undermining your patent strategy.  A true multitasker.

If you’re working on a new invention or idea, you’ve probably considered pasting your idea into an AI tool to “see what it thinks.” Maybe you wanted help sharpening the concept, drafting a description, or stress-testing your thinking. If nothing else, your friendly AI bot is bound to tell you what a great idea you’ve got so that you’ll like it even more!

Shark Tank Deals That Fell Apart: The Importance of Due Diligence After the Handshake

Longtime entreVIEW readers will know that my colleague and fellow author, Dan Tenenbaum, has been an avid fan of “Shark Tank” since at least 2014 when he wrote this post. Fans of the show have seen it dozens (or even hundreds) of times: the entrepreneur and the shark shake hands and agree to a deal on national television. Deal done, right…not even close. 

Reportedly, roughly 40-50% of Shark Tank deals made on camera never actually close. A 2016 Forbes analysis found that 73% of deals from the show’s first seven seasons either fell apart or were renegotiated after filming—only 27% closed on the original terms. 

USPTO’s Adoption of AI to Reduce Pendency in Patent and Trademark Applications

In a prior post back in January 2025, I discussed the potential for increased delays in patent and trademark applications due to numerous factors, including increased filings in both patent and trademark applications, hiring freezes for new examiners, possible reduction in the examiner workforce due to eliminated work-from-home positions, and across the board fee increases. In fact, in 2025, the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) saw major increases in pendency for both patent and trademark applications. The USPTO, aware of complaints from applicants and IP practitioners, has made concerted attempts to improve efficiency without compromising accuracy and quality. The Office has recently taken numerous steps to improve the application process for new and pending applications by introducing new AI tools developed by the agency to help streamline the process.

The Startup Hunger Games: Survival Tips for Entrepreneurs

In 2025, building a startup feels more like surviving The Hunger Games than building a business. Venture capital has been tight, interest rates are high, and only the most resourceful founders emerge from the arena with funding intact. But the tide may be turning, according to Crunchbase data: global venture funding climbed to $97 billion in Q3 2025, up from $92 billion in Q2 closing up 38% year over year. AI startups dominated, capturing over 46% of total funding, with just eighteen companies securing one-third of all capital deployed. This intense capital concentration favors founders who are disciplined, legally sound, and ready to scale. History backs them: Airbnb, Uber, and Slack were all born in downturns. The entrepreneurs who survive 2025’s volatility are not riding the wave —they are building enduring businesses that will thrive when the market rebounds.

Businesses and Nonprofits: Get Ready for the New Minnesota Consumer Privacy Act

With the Minnesota Consumer Privacy Act (MCPA), which takes effect July 31, 2025, Minnesota now joins the many other states, like California, that have passed laws granting enhanced data privacy rights to individuals. I first reported on this new law last year.

Who Is Covered?

The MCPA covers legal entities that conduct business in Minnesota or produce products or services targeted to state residents, and that satisfy one or more of the following:

• During a calendar year, control or process the personal data of at least 100,000 consumers (excluding payment transactions).
• Derive over 25% of gross revenue from the sale of personal data and process or control the personal data of at least 25,000 consumers.

Unlike the California Consumer Privacy Act and other state data privacy laws, there is no broad exemption in the MCPA for nonprofits. Businesses and nonprofit organizations must review their privacy policies and practices to assure compliance and avoid enforcement actions by the Minnesota Attorney General’s office.

Another Review of Summertime Inventions

In this prior post in May 2023, I reviewed some interesting inventions and innovations evoking summertime fun, including a look at U.S. Design Patent No. D584,478 for a unique bun design that could accommodate inventor Mark Murray’s unique “hamdog,” comprising a hamburger split in half to allow a hot dog to be placed in between. Since we are officially moving into Summer 2025, I thought it might be time to take a closer look at some other “cool” inventions for cookouts and picnics.

The most essential item for a successful cookout is the grill.  In the early 1950s, George A. Stephen, anemployee of Weber Brothers Metal Works invented what is universally known today as the Weber Grill. At the time, Weber Brothers made metal buoys for the U.S. Coast Guard. Stephen invented his “George’s Barbecue Kettle” by cutting a metal buoy to form a bowl with a lid.  He added some vents, and the iconic dome-shaped grill design was created. The shape of Stephen’s design improved heat distribution while reducing flare-ups and protecting the food on the grill from windy weather and debris in the air.  Stephen received numerous patents for his grill deigns over the years, including U.S. Patent No. 3,330,266 in 1967 for “Barbecue Vessel.”

Patent and Trademark Applicants Could See Big Delays in 2025

Patent and trademark applicants are likely to see significant changes with their applications in 2025. First, numerous fee increases have recently taken effect – on January 18 for trademark applications and January 19 for patent applications. Second, applicants are also likely to see lengthened delays in the processing of new applications due to recent decisions by the new Trump Administration which may slow the operations of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO).

Two of President Trump’s “first day” Executive Orders issued on January 20 may present a pair of challenges to the USPTO’s efforts to review pending patent and trademark applications in an efficient and timely manner. A Presidential Memorandum was issued requiring all federal employees to return to in-person work. The USPTO employs about 14,000 employees, with 13,000 employees currently working remotely. The Memorandum could create changes in the available workforce depending on how it is enforced. Additionally, one of new Director Coke Morgan Stewart’s first actions as head of the USPTO, in response to a President Trump directive to shrink the federal workforce, was to put a freeze on new hires at the agency. This overturned a USPTO announcement in mid-2024 to hire 800 new employees – mostly new patent examiners – in an effort to address the increased backlogs of patent applications. The confluence of these two decisions could lead to fewer USPTO employees available, which would directly lead to greater increases in wait time for pending applications.

Minnesota Enacts Comprehensive Data Privacy Law

On May 24, Governor Tim Walz signed into law the Minnesota Consumer Privacy Act (H.F. 4757) (the “MCPA”), which takes effect July 31, 2025.

Minnesota joins the many other states who have now passed laws similar to the California Consumer Privacy Act, granting enhanced data privacy rights to individuals. In the absence of a comprehensive federal privacy law, businesses and organizations that handle personal data must comply with multiple federal, state, and sometimes global data privacy laws.

States with data privacy laws now include California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.

Artificial Intelligence Meets Elvis Presley

Broadly defined, Artificial Intelligence, or AI, refers to technology that can simulate human intelligence, particularly tasks generally thought of as requiring human or cognitive function, such as reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making. We’re all familiar with the all-knowing “algorithm” on our phones and TVs that appears to hear and see all, and just generally know everything that is happening in our lives.

Obviously, AI can be tremendously productive, providing tools for increased efficiency, cost-savings, and the commodity we all could use more of – time! The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (SBEC) late last year released a report showing that 48% of small businesses used AI tools and applications in 2023, and that 93% of small business owners agree with that “AI tools offer cost-effective solutions that drive savings and improve profitability.” Other noteworthy stats from the report include high percentages of small businesses using AI for marketing and sales, drafting business plans, financial management and planning, human resources, and project management, among a myriad of other tasks.

AI also encompasses the ability to create a broad variety of content, from song lyrics to legal briefs, and to manipulate images, sound, and other materials – often without the consent of those whose images and voices have been doctored through the use of AI technology. A growing number of applications can generate content, create realistic images and videos from descriptions, and copy or clone images, sounds, and voices.

Of course, such use can infringe privacy and intellectual property rights, and raises a host of legal and ethical concerns. And so (and here I’d like to use AI to imitate your mother’s voice and image), this is why we can’t have nice things (or, in the legal context, regulation is here, and more is likely on the way).

Privacy and publicity laws have long protected the use of a person’s image, name, or likeness in commercial use. Tennessee – home of Music City, Nashville - has become the first state to protect vocal likenesses for both commercial and non-commercial use. The law, signed on March 21 and effective July 1, is called the Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security Act. The so-called ELVIS Act expands Tennessee’s Personal Rights Protection Act to cover any “sound in a medium that is readily identifiable and attributable to a particular individual, regardless of whether the sound contains the actual voice or a simulation.” Both using a voice simulation or creating an AI tool or engine for such purpose are grounds for a civil action and can also be punished as a misdemeanor with penalties including fines and jail time.

A number of states are proposing similar legislation, and more efforts will likely follow. Federal regulation and rulemaking are also underway, with the FTC recently seeking public comment on a proposed rule prohibiting impersonation of individuals generally, and the creation of technology that can facilitate such impersonation. The US Copyright Office is undertaking a study and initiative to examine the impact of generative AI on copyright law and policy.

AI tools clearly serve an important function and offer new tools to small businesses in the constant challenge to save time and money, particularly in the current labor market in which unemployment is low, skilled workers can be difficult to find, and remote work is still commonplace. Users should be mindful, however, of the evolving, and likely increasing, regulatory environment.

It may be true that you Can’t Help Falling in Love, but keep a Suspicious Mind, Don’t Be Cruel, and don’t let AI be the Devil in Disguise (thought up that last sentence all by myself with no AI assistance)!

First-Time Inventors Receive Boost from U.S. Patent Office

A patent portfolio can be one of the greatest assets that a company owns.

Patented technology provides value to a company that can lead to improved sales, revenue growth, and increased investment. Patents can convey great value and provide many avenues for sustaining and growing business operations. The exclusionary power of the patent right can create a foothold for innovative technology and enable a company to stake out territory that forces competitors to design around the patents, license the technology, or risk being sued for infringement. Patents also provide a basis for continued innovation and expansion through investment in R&D, covering improvements in technology, increasing the zone of exclusivity, influencing the prevailing state of the art, and tapping into new areas. And they provide added cachet in the marketplace: there is an inherent PR benefit to being able to advertise patented technology.

Is Your Business Ready for 2024 and the New Data Privacy Laws?

I have the perfect tool to get you started.

Our popular 2024 Legal Guide to Privacy and Data Security is now available. This guide is a collaborative effort between Lathrop GPM and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). You can find a digital version here. You can also get an old school paper version by contacting me here.

The guide is written for non-lawyers and offers insight into a variety of privacy and data security related laws, the impact of such laws on businesses, and best practices to mitigate risks.

Beware of Grinches Selling Counterfeit Goods

With the holiday season in full swing, shoppers are looking for the best deals in record numbers this year.

According to CNBC, major trade groups estimate that sales for the 2023 holiday season will be in the range of about $950 billion. Much of these sales will be driven by online shopping. Per Gallup, 92% of all holiday shoppers will buy at least one gift online this year, and 47% of all shoppers will buy most—if not all—of their gifts online. This year’s Cyber Monday was the biggest shopping day in U.S. history, with revenue reaching about $12 billion in sales.

New GDPR Adequacy Decision for the EU-US Data Privacy Framework

According to the General Data Protection Act (GDPR), transfer of personal data to a country outside the EU can only take place where the recipient country ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights of EU data subjects.

Until recently, the European Commission had deemed the United States to have inadequate data privacy and security protections and required businesses to find legal mechanisms to allow for such cross border transfer of data. That has now changed. On July 10, 2023, the European Commission formally adopted a new adequacy decision on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. The adoption of this adequacy decision follows years of intense negotiations between the EU and the U.S., after the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield that had earlier been in place.

Minnesota’s Ban on Employment Non-Competes

Non-compete provisions have long been a staple of employment agreements in most companies, especially smaller, start-up ventures where it is more likely for the average employee to have access to the company’s “secret sauce” as part of their day-to-date duties. While protections on the “secret sauce” itself are not changing, mechanisms whereby a company might prevent employees, or independent contractors, from going to work for a company’s direct competitor the day after handing in their company access badge have all but disappeared, thanks to a recent spending bill that was passed by the Minnesota legislature.

A Review of Summertime Inventions

Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of Summer. As we start preparing for picnics and barbeques, outdoor concerts, trips to the beach or days at the pool, I thought it would be fun to review some interesting inventions and innovations that often evoke childhood memories of summers past. In this prior post from December 2021, I took a nostalgic look at some of the toys and games we grew up with and examined the patents behind those innovations, including U.S. Patent No. 3,359,678, issued on December 26, 1967, for Wham-O Manufacturing Co.’s “Flying Saucer,” modelled after pie tins manufactured by the Frisbie Pie Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Wham-O’s flying discs, of course, are known as Frisbees, which are perfect for a nice summer day at the park.

Using AI to Create “Creative” Works

I have previously written on this blog about the intersection of entrepreneurship and the creative arts, in particular the copyright considerations that businesses must consider when creating or re-using media. The skyrocketing interest over the past year in artificial intelligence-driven content (aspects of which were covered in recent posts by Alex and Brandi) has led to some exciting but also concerning developments in how we think about creating and protecting media.

 It is now possible to ask a machine learning-powered tool to create an essay or a painting and to receive somewhat convincing results. On the one hand, these developments have been criticized as devaluing the contributions of legitimate human artists. On the other, proponents have argued that these AI tools provide creative services that some people or businesses could not otherwise afford or access.

2023 Legal Guide to Privacy and Data Security

The 2023 Legal Guide to Privacy and Data Security is now available. This Guide is a collaborative effort between Lathrop GPM and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). A digital version of the 2023 Legal Guide to Privacy and Data Security can be downloaded here.

The guide is written for non-lawyers and offers insight into a variety of privacy and data security-related laws, the impact of such laws on businesses, and best practices to mitigate risks.

We prepared the first version of this guide in 2014. Since then, DEED has published seven updated editions. The frequency of these updates is evidence of the ever-evolving legal landscape of data privacy and security.

New developments in 2023 include amendments to the Safeguards Rule of the Gramm Leach Bliley Act, which became effective October 27, 2022. These amendments expand the definition of financial institutions covered by the law and impose new burdensome requirements related to data security. Motor vehicle dealers and colleges are just two examples of non-banking “financial institutions” that now fit the expanded definition of so-called “finders” and are required to implement and maintain a comprehensive data security system that protects customer information.

United States Patent and Trademark Office Unveils New IP Identifier Tool to Assist Entrepreneurs

Last week, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) unveiled its new Intellectual Property (IP) Identifier Tool to assist inventors, entrepreneurs, and small businesses in identifying inventions, brands, and other business assets that can be protected by intellectual property rights.

The IP Identifier Tool is a user-friendly, virtual resource specifically designed by the USPTO for those who may be less familiar with intellectual property rights—patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. The IP Identifier Tool enables users to first identify whether they have any intellectual property that can be protected, and then helps them to identify specific protections that would help them secure and further develop their business assets. The IP Identifier Tool also provides easily digestible information on intellectual property basics, including guidance to help a user navigate the application process for a patent, trademark or copyright.

Happy Public Domain Day 2023!

January 1, 2023 marked the fifth Public Domain Day in recent memory, and the excitement has continued this year. In past posts, I have discussed the history of this day in the U.S., some common public domain questions , and notable entrants into the public domain. On January 1 of this year, copyright-protected works from 1927 entered the public domain in the United States, joining previous favorites such as the first Winnie the Pooh book by A. A. Milne, hundreds of thousands of sound recordings, and Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

In 2023, the public domain expands to include works such as the last Sherlock Holmes stories by Conan Doyle, the second Winnie the Pooh book by A. A. Milne, and classics by Agatha Christie, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Franz Kafka, Thornton Wilder, and Virginia Woolf. In 2023, the first “talkie” film The Jazz Singer enters the public domain, as do film classics such as Metropolis. Fans of early musicals and popular music will be glad to learn that compositions such as Puttin’ on the Ritz, ‘S Wonderful, Ol’ Man River, and (I Scream You Scream, We All Scream for) Ice Cream are now in the public domain. As always, the caveat to this list is that only the original work from 1927 is in the public domain. Later adaptations or uses may still be copyright-protected – for example, a scholarly commentary on Woolf’s writings, a translation of Kafka to English, a sound recording of Ol’ Man River, or a film adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, all may have their own copyright protection that has not yet ended.