Cheser, Mark M.

Benedict focuses his practice on protection and monetization of intellectual property.

In his 15 years as General Counsel at a software company, Benedict oversaw all intellectual property functions and maximized licensing opportunities by reviewing contract work for patentable technology, filing patent applications, and creating licensing strategies for patented, patent-pending, and non-patented technologies. Benedict generated significant revenue for the company through implementation of effective patent enforcement strategies.

Benedict also maximized intellectual property opportunities through incubation, M&A activity, and spinning out companies with promising technology.

For the company's e-commerce division, Benedict created standard and custom software license agreements, including software development, software services, maintenance, OEM, VAR, and non-disclosure agreements. For the government R&D division, he drafted teaming agreements, contracting agreements, and sub-contracting agreements for government sponsored contracts with DARPA, through such agencies such as the Navy (NRAD, SPAWAR), Army (Missile and Space Command, STRICOM), and Air Force (Rome Labs).

Benedict created the Copyright Website, the first copyright information portal, in 1995. He launched the first online copyright registration service in 2001 and has processed over 2,000 copyright registrations with the U.S. Copyright Office. Benedict has been a frequent speaker at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas on such topics as sampling, music and media licensing, digital rights management, and fair use.