How Investors Evaluate Intellectual Property Strategy in AgTech By Joshua Goldberg In practice, the most effective intellectual property strategies often combine patents and trade secrets. Hybrid approaches allow companies to capture the advantages of both forms of protection. This is particularly true for AgTech, as discussed across this series of articles. Investors conducting due diligence [...]

Trade Secrets in AgTech: Opportunities and Risks By Joshua Goldberg Trade secrets represent a different approach to intellectual property protection. Instead of providing exclusivity through government-granted rights, trade secrets protect confidential information that derives value from remaining undisclosed. Unlike patents, trade secrets can theoretically last indefinitely provided confidentiality is maintained. Advantages of Trade Secrets Trade [...]

The Risks and Limitations of Patent Strategy in AgTech By Joshua Goldberg While patents can provide powerful protection, they also introduce several strategic challenges—particularly in agriculture. One challenge is disclosure. Patent applications require innovators to publicly describe how their technology works. This information can sometimes help competitors design alternative solutions that avoid infringing the patent. [...]

As Major League Baseball (“MLB”) Opening Day arrives, one MLB club has more than baseball on its mind. On December 29, 2025, the USPTO refused intent-to-use trademark applications for LAS VEGAS ATHLETICS and VEGAS ATHLETICS, on the basis that the trademarks are geographically descriptive. Furthermore, the Athletics baseball team’s claim of acquired distinctiveness based upon [...]

Why Patents Still Matter to AgTech Investors By Joshua Goldberg Patents remain the most recognized form of intellectual property protection. They provide legally enforceable exclusivity for up to twenty years and can create significant barriers to market entry. In many industries, patents are the primary mechanism used to protect technological innovation. For investors evaluating AgTech [...]

Why Intellectual Property Strategy Is Uniquely Complex in Agriculture By Joshua Goldberg Intellectual property strategy in agriculture is more complicated than in most other technology sectors. Three structural characteristics make protecting agricultural innovation particularly challenging. Biological and Environmental Variability Unlike software or hardware products that operate in controlled environments, agricultural technologies must function within complex [...]

Why Intellectual Property Strategy Now Determines AgTech Valuation By Joshua Goldberg Agriculture is entering one of the most innovation-driven periods in its history. Global population growth, climate volatility, emerging crop diseases, and resistant pests are forcing the development of entirely new agricultural technologies. At the same time, pressure is mounting to maintain animal health while [...]

By Wan Chieh (Jenny) Lee and Joshua Goldberg There is currently no statutory basis in the United States for a broad “experimental use” exception to patent infringement. As outlined below, however, U.S. law provides for a more limited experimental use exception, sometimes referred to as the “Bolar exemption”, as supported by the relevant case law [...]

Joshua Goldberg joined OGGN on their latest podcast to discuss the connection of patents to new energy sources. Tune in with the link below to understand how this may effect the future of patents in energy. Energy Transition Solutions - OGGN

The European Patent Office (EPO) announced that they intend to accept patent drawings for publication with color drawings as of 1-October-2025. In a decision of the President of the European Patent Office dated 7 July 2025, it was stated that, as of 1-Oct-2025, “When filed by means of electronic communication, drawings may also be executed [...]