Maureen S. Dorney

Maureen S. Dorney has over 20 years of experience representing public and venture-backed technology and media companies. Prior to forming Paradigm Counsel, Maureen chaired the Technology Transactions Group as a partner at Gray Cary and subsequently co-chaired the Technology and Sourcing Group at its successor firm, DLA Piper. Maureen is named in The International Who’s Who of Internet and e-Commerce Lawyers 2008 and by the Recorder as one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s Best Lawyers (2012-2013). Maureen regularly lectures on topics such as international property licensing transactions, patent licensing and intellectual property strategy and open source software.

Maureen regularly represents companies in a wide variety of technology and Internet industries, including electronic commerce, software, SaaS, hardware, clean technology and mobile commerce. Clients seek her advice on a broad scope of matters such as privacy compliance, networking and wireless agreements, electronic and wireless gaming agreements, advertising agreements, merchandising and sponsorship agreements, software licensing, outsourcing agreements, strategic intellectual transactions, patent license agreements, standards body agreement, semiconductor agreements and on-line music distribution. Maureen has extensive experience on issues and agreements related to open source software transactions.

Representative Transactions

• Represents Open Source software companies with respect to all manner of commercial license and service agreements
• Supervises the contract and IP due diligence process for M&A acquisitions with respect to both public and private companies
• Counseled clients on issues related to data security and privacy laws, including HIPAA, GLBA, spam statutes, EU privacy law and data security breach notification statutes
• Drafted and negotiated advertising agreements for online, cable broadcast and mobile services and distribution
• Drafted and negotiated sponsorship agreements for a social networking application company
• Prepared and negotiated content license and app store agreements for consumer and B2B mobile app developers
• Negotiated licenses, marketing agreements, and the provision of real-time, game-related sports content for Internet distribution
• Prepared and negotiated agreement templates and high value customer agreements for application service providers (SaaS)
• Assisted with on-line strategies and agreements
• Drafted complex patent cross-license agreements and patent purchase agreements
• Drafted formats for on-line music distribution
• Negotiated and drafted various web site development, maintenance, and support agreements
• Assisted multiple companies with the development and implementation of strategies for the exploitation of intellectual property assets
• Counseled numerous companies regarding linking, fair use, DMCA, copyright and other Internet-related legal issues
• Developed and implemented hardware/software OEM, VAR and Reseller agreements
• Advises online companies on marketing and consumer notice issues
• Advises companies on the use of Open Source software
• Drafted and negotiated various types of BPO outsourcing agreements
• Drafts and negotiated multiple contract manufacturing services agreement

Maureen earned her B.A. in Oriental Languages from the University of California at Berkeley and her J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley.

Maureen works actively with various non-profit organizations and fair trade companies working to improve the economic and environmental conditions in Africa. She is a founder of With These Hands, a fair trade company working with woman’s groups in Africa to develop and export fine handicrafts that reflect and preserve indigenous cultural traditions. Maureen is also working towards certification as a Pilates instructor.