Articles by William Carleton

Yes, billionaires do use LLCs: Legal insights on the new Chan-Zuckerberg charity

Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to form an LLC, through which they’ll conduct charitable and philanthropic activities, made headlines earlier… Read More

Angel investing: The walls come tumbling down

Today is the first day it becomes legally permissible for startups and emerging companies to advertise their offerings. Or to tweet… Read More

Visual language: Stagecraft in Obama’s Google Hangout

The President may be a master of the teleprompter, but Google+ hangouts ain’t television. You can replay yesterday’s hangout with… Read More

Legal lessons from Amazon’s ‘noncompete’ battle with Google

As Geekwire reported last week, a federal judge in Seattle has pretty much rejected Amazon’s recent attempt to restrict what… Read More

Driverless cars: Looking under the legislation’s hood

So driverless cars are to be street legal in California! I thought it would be fun to look “under the… Read More

Questions I’d ask before listing a startup on FundersClub

Every day I engage with at least one person about how startup investing will change because of the JOBS Act.… Read More

Boss signing in to your Facebook account? There’s a law for that

Legislatures, state and federal, are starting to react to the trend of employers — at least the creepy employers —… Read More

Facebook may be discovering that mobile users don’t like ads

The story is out that Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook’s current priority is improving users’ mobile experience. And I know there… Read More

Reality Check: Twitter’s patent pledge not what it seems

On Twitter’s corporate blog yesterday, the company’s engineering infrastructure VP Adam Messinger wrote that Twitter intends to implement an “Innovator’s Patent Agreement,”… Read More

Fiddling with user timelines: A wrong turn for Twitter?

As social web services proliferate, I’m finding Twitter, my first love, the only one that’s truly become a natural feature… Read More

The JOBS Act means different things to different people in the startup community

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act cleared its final legislative hurdle today. It is now on its way to… Read More

Crowding out angels from startup financings?

As early as next week, we may know whether Congress will change US securities laws to permit startups to sell… Read More

Why Facebook’s privacy settlement may not be a done deal

Guest Commentary: “Facebook,” observes Seattle lawyer Venkat Balasubramani, writing about that company’s proposed settlement with the FTC, “is like the… Read More

On the Scene: A Geek’s Guide to the Wall Street Occupation

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71wym2qYQdA&version=3&hl=en_US] Editor’s Note: Seattle lawyer William Carleton spent several days last week in New York’s Zuccotti Park, the nerve… Read More

Lawmakers demonstrate that they understand smartphones, even if judges don’t

The law is starting to catch up to an undeniable reality of modern technology — recognizing that smartphones are not… Read More

Does the patent reform bill really eliminate red tape?

In his speech before Congress Thursday night, President Obama said, “Today you [the Congress] passed reform that will speed up… Read More

Tech Law: A new era for startup financing documents

Startup investors Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson have an interesting take on the standardization of legal documents used in angel… Read More

Technology Law: The Dropbox Doth Protest Too Much

Dropbox updated its terms of service last week and a firestorm of controversy ensued. Many thought Dropbox was setting itself up… Read More

The Google+ rollout on Android and iPhone, compared

Guest Commentary: Since last night I’ve been trying the new Google+ social networking service on both an Android phone and… Read More

Reading the Situation Room photo with startup eyes

Guest Commentary: Blogging Tuesday about the already famous White House photo of the Situation Room during the bin Laden operation,… Read More

SEC to review rules on how startups raise money

Guest Commentary: Breathtaking, front-page news in the Wall Street Journal this morning. Securities and Exchange Commission chief Mary Schapiro has… Read More

Tech Law: Fred Wilson’s $5,000 Startup Lawyer Challenge

Fred Wilson issued a challenge this morning to startup lawyers: can we close a startup’s seed financing round for legal… Read More

Tech Law: When a phone is actually more like a footlocker

Earlier this year, the California Supreme Court decided it was OK for police to search the text messages on a… Read More

Articles by William Carleton

Latest from William Carleton