Ep. 114 – [Northeastern Lecture Series] Trade Secrets, Patents and Copyrights with David Mahoney, Senior Counsel at Indigo Ag, Inc.

Can you patent your grandma’s cookies? No, but it can be a trade secret.

David works as a lawyer at a really cool company that you’ve probably never heard of: Indigo Ag. From what I've gathered, the company uses data and analytics to find the optimal place to grow plants all around the world.

David’s path to being a lawyer was unconventional but synergizes very well with what he was passionate about. He was a scientist first, but was so good at arguing and logic, that he was recommended to be a lawyer. In the end, he was able to combine his love of science with his practice of law.

A big portion of the podcast involves us talking about the difference between a trade secret, a patent and a copyright. Things that are confusing and there’s a lot of gray area, but it’s nice to know.

I recall in this interview, I had a cold so I might sound a bit clogged up and congested.  Expect some loud coughs.

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Show Notes

Dave is an expert in intellectual property who deals with patents When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you do for a sentence or less?; I’m an attorney. Or I work in a corporate setting protecting and licensing the technology. To average joes, I just say I work for technology companies. The perception on attorney’s: Like the 12am commercials on TV. Where do you work?: Indigo Ag Inc. Locations in Massachusets, Memphis, Tennesse, Brazil, Argentina Indigo Agriculture: Harness the microbiome technology for seeds and plants for the benefit of augmenting crop yields. The theory is that the microbiome in the soil will optimize growth in plants like drought tolerance, pesticide resistance, and other factors. These are all naturally occurring, non-GMO programs. We find what is out there in the environment that would benefit the growth of these plants. The hard part is finding the symbiome plant/fungi helping the plant grow. Partner’s program: will work with farmers and will guarantee paying a premium for their crops. This is due to the quality being better than what might be there otherwise. What’s the difference between intellectual property (IP) and patents? IP is the umbrella, patents include that. The IP umbrella: Patents, copyright, trademarks, and trade secrets Trademark: Partially bitten apple in the back of your laptop. It’s a well valued. Copyrights: Due to the rapid pace of technology, most software companies go this route. Doing anything is also copyrighting Trade Secrets: Recipes and formulations. You can protect it indefinitely as long as you keep it a secret. This is what the food industry does Patents: Public. Limited process time. The limit is about 20 years The most common, known way is the music industry. Everytime a song plays, they are charged a royalty fee. Penalties: If you find out KFC’s secret recipe, could you copy it?: They need to use reasonable measures. For example. If you are an employee and you steal a formula, you can be sued. If you sign an NDA or any employee confidentiality, you can get penalized for stealing. There is not an enforcement for fighting for a trade secret How did you get to where you are today?: I thought I was going to be a scientist but I found out that law would be the best path for me because I can argue really well. My score at the GRE told me I should work on the LSAT. Human Genome Project – David found many gray areas with the Human Genome Project in regaurds to law and it was the perfect intersection between science and law. My first job a laywer at a company that was searching genetic sequences automatically. Can you patent genes?: It’s really hard to patent genes. You have to know everything about the gene/microbe What do you think is the most important skill you need for your job?: Wisdom. Which comes from experience. Why does your food Job Rock: It rocks because they are trying to do something no one has done in the food industry. Why is what you do important for the global food supply?: 2 reasons. This technology is capable to use the unnoticed land to grow crops and would notify people to not hard vital areas that can grow crops. How will the future change be impacted in what you do?: Hopefully, we can impact agriculture that uses natural substances to make yields more robust. We can get rid of chemicals doing this. How has technology helped in what you do?: It allows us to screen tons of data really fast. How will artificial intelligence change food and agriculture careers?: it will benefit and change it. Artificial Intelligence will allow better prediction for physical microbiomes and research purposes. What is one significant example of what you do will benefit the world?: Things are built upon other things and we need to know how to access this technology. To truly improve technology, we need to collaborate but have agreements in place. Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to go into your field?: I don’t know if this is a field for everybody. In all seriousness, whatever field you go into you need to really believe in it. What I enjoy in my job is that I get to see stages in biology that is applicable to food and agriculture. We take for granted the ability to go to stores and buy great quality food no matter where we are. People don’t even think about where food comes from anymore. Do you think there will be more diversity in the world or less?: If we’re able to be productive and more mindful, then yes, I think we can.

 

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