Mr. Oliver practices Corporate, Business and Intellectual Property (“IP”). If you would rather read about his personal story than this bio, see Mike’s personal story – the short version.

The Corporate and Business department engages in all aspects of privately held business issues, including but not limited to entity formation, jurisdiction selection, form of entity and structuring, financing, stockholder and operating agreement drafting and review, corporate reorganizations, divestitures, mergers, acquisitions (stock and asset), and all other non publicly traded corporate issues that may arise.  We also handle basic corporate tax issues (e.g. C Corp and S Corp issues and partnership pass through issues).  The Corporate and Business department also engages in negotiating nearly any form of agreement that may arise.  Some, but not all of the agreements we have negotiated: website and software development agreements, software licenses (on premise, hosted, software as a service, platform as a service and subscription), merger agreements, asset purchase agreements, stock purchase agreements, membership interest transfer and purchase agreements, clinical trial agreements, assignment agreements, endorsement agreements, entertainment agency agreements, evaluation agreements, loan agreements, promissory notes, guaranty agreements, security agreements, information security agreements, service level agreements, inter creditor agreements, investor rights agreements, join venture agreements, non disclosure agreements, letters of intent, memorandums of understanding (both binding and non binding), terms of service, privacy policies, restrictive covenant agreements, employment agreements, referral agreements, teaming agreements, stock option agreements, sponsored research agreements, alliance agreements, transition service agreements, and subordination agreements.

The IP department performs all types of IP services – which include patent prosecution (filing patent applications and shepherding them to issuance), freedom to operate opinions, patent and IP counseling and consulting, including novelty and enforceability reviews, trademark prosecution, all forms of inter partes (opposition, cancelation petitions) and ex-parte proceedings (office actions, re-examination requests, letters of protest) before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, copyright registration and consulting services, and all types of IP litigation, for both plaintiffs and defendants throughout the United States.

In Mr. Oliver’s direct practice, he focuses on transactional corporate, business and intellectual property matters – that is, negotiating and reaching a deal on transactions between parties, often that involve IP. Mr. Oliver has extensive experience in contractual negotiations involving software, intellectual property rights, and contracts involving commercialization of other non-tangible rights. These agreements include software licensing, distribution and development agreements, patent license agreements, trademark license agreements – both on an international and intra country basis, teaming agreements, joint venture agreements and medical device development and commercialization agreements, to name a few.

Mr. Oliver also represents technology based clients in corporate transactions, such as asset protection and liability risk reduction structuring, financing, including venture capital lending, equity infusion (exempt securities transactions), mergers and acquisitions, and other types of corporate transactions for technology based companies.

Mr. Oliver also advises clients on advertising and Lanham Act issues (false and misleading advertising, dilution, tarnishment, violations of privacy and publicity, and online defamation).

Mr. Oliver co-taught the course “Engineering Law and Ethics” at the Graduate School of Management Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore Campus (UMBC) for 10 years. Mr. Oliver helped design this course for UMBC; it has since become a core course for Engineering Management track candidates at UMBC. In the past, Mr. Oliver has also taught Introduction to Intellectual Property Practice, and Cyberspace Law Seminar at the University of Maryland School of Law.

Mr. Oliver is also a frequent speaker on computer law, the internet, and has given talks and seminars on advertising law and internet web pages, for among other organizations, Glasser Legal Works (NY City), the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA), the Intellectual Property sub-committee of the Business Law Section of the MSBA, the Maryland Institute of Continuing Professional Education for Lawyers (MICPEL),  and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI).

In his off time Mr. Oliver, a computer programmer since he was about 14, continues to write software programs (principally in Node, Vue, and Laravel), do other geeky things, and play the classical guitar – being a past president of the The Baltimore Classical Guitar Society, Inc. – www.bcgs.org

Recognition

Mike has been recognized by US News and World Reports as “Lawyer of the Year in Baltimore” – only one lawyer recognized as such each year in each applicable jurisdiction as follows:

• 2021 – Trademark Law
• 2020 – Copyright Law
• 2018 – Copyright Law
• 2016 – Information Technology Law
• 2015 – Trademark Law
• 2014 – Copyright Law
• 2012 – Trademark Law

Mike is also rated as Best lawyer in the following fields, Copyright Law, Information Technology Law, Trade Secrets Law and Trademark Law:

Mike has also been recognized as a Super Lawyer for 14 years (2007 – 2020), and a Top 100 Maryland Super Lawyer in the following years:

• Top 100: 2016 Maryland Super Lawyers
• Top 100: 2015 Maryland Super Lawyers
• Top 100: 2013 Maryland Super Lawyers