Who Really Owns "Your" IP?

"This deal is standard.  Let's close TODAY!!"  We've heard this so many times only to find out that the early stage technology start-up hasn't fully protected its intellectual property and, as a result, funding gets delayed, or in some extreme cases, even cancelled.  Many start-ups have such laser focus on their business that basic house cleaning can get lost in the shuffle.  One fundamental protective task is to ensure that every company employee and consultant/independent contractor has affirmatively assigned any intellectual property developed for the company to the company.

While the US "work-for-hire" doctrine places ownership of copyrightable works created by employees within the scope of their employment with their employers as a default, this doctrine does not apply to patentable inventions or other forms of intellectual property created by employees, and often does not cover independent contractors for any form of intellectual property, including