Dual-use IP that keeps your commercial rights and clears investor diligence.
Selling to an agency raises questions a commercial deal never does: what the government gets from work it funds, export-control flags on your next hire, and data rights in a teaming deal. Get them answered at a fixed fee and a written scope, before your company signs.
“The advice provided is always backed by exhaustive research that goes well beyond standard patent and trademark searches.” — Jorge Normandia, CEO, Beryllium Corp
Fit and scope only; no legal advice or opinion. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The firm works with companies, including founders signing for a newly formed entity.
Rated 5.0 on Google by founders and company owners · 105+ matters in 2026
“The firm is incredibly meticulous in their approach; the advice provided is always backed by exhaustive research that goes well beyond standard patent and trademark searches. ”
“Professional, responsive, and incredibly knowledgeable. … William does exceptional work, consistently goes above and beyond to advocate for clients.”
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
A missed SBIR reporting deadline can cost your company title to its own invention.
Under the Bayh-Dole framework, a small business can usually keep title to inventions made with federal funding, if it meets the disclosure and election deadlines. Miss one, and you can lose the right to elect title at all.
Hiring has the same trap. Giving a foreign national access to controlled technical data inside the U.S. can count as an export, with no shipment and no travel. Both are easier to handle before the award or the offer letter than after.
Federal and dual-use fluency, from an attorney who has worked inside the system.
William Furlow's background includes the DHS Science & Technology Directorate (Office of General Counsel), U.S. Army contracts and technology transactions, Los Alamos, and a national-security think tank working on fusion energy and nuclear policy.
The attorney you meet is the attorney who does the work.
No handoff to an associate after the first call. The caseload is capped on purpose so senior attention is actually available.
Confidential by default.
Most work in this sector is never named. Client identity, technology and location are withheld by default, and appear on this site only with written permission.
Government ties are screened up front.
If your work has a connection to the U.S. government, the military or federal funding, the screening asks about it before any engagement.
No surprise invoices.
If work within the agreed scope takes extra hours to get right, those hours are on the firm.
A dual-use IP roadmap that keeps your commercial market open.
Agencies often need only a non-exclusive right for government purposes, which leaves your commercial field intact. The mistake is accepting a broad grant because it was in the agency template. Field-of-use limits, purpose restrictions and clear carve-outs are negotiable.
Technology built without prior federal funding carries no government march-in exposure, which strengthens your hand in an out-licensing negotiation. Your filing and disclosure strategy should protect that.
See federal and defense technology transactions
Investor-grade IP diligence on a deep-tech target, from an attorney who reads the science.
Funds, angels and acquirers evaluating a company in deep tech, energy or advanced hardware get founder interviews, a patent and ownership review, and a map of the competitive landscape.
The review looks for ownership defects, coverage gaps and third-party patent risks, including government-funded research, university or national-lab partnerships, and lapsed filings.
See deep-tech IP diligence for investorsWhere dual-use companies and their investors usually start, with the fee shown up front.
Each card shows the attorney fee and links to the full scope, including what is not included. Official and third-party fees are separate.
IP Audit & Roadmap (dual-use)
A roadmap memo that sequences IP, data rights and commercialization, so your company keeps commercial options while working on defense-relevant projects.
SBIR / STTR Toolkit
A review of the solicitation and award terms, plus IP assignment, subaward and consultant templates aligned with SBIR and STTR rules.
Early-Stage Deep Tech IP Due Diligence & Patent Landscape Analysis for Investors
Investor-focused diligence on one deep-tech target: founder interviews, patent and ownership review, and a competitive landscape map.
The three services defense and dual-use companies use most.
Federal Government & Defense Technology Transactions
CRADAs, OTAs, SBIR/STTR, teaming agreements, dual-use IP roadmaps, and defense-to-commercial transitions.
View service
IP Commercialization, Investment & Policy Advisory
Federal technology transfer, SBIR and STTR positioning, and go to market strategy for government buyers.
View service
Tech Transactions
CRADAs, federal out licensing agreements, and the data rights clauses that decide what the government receives.
View serviceFour steps, and you know the fee before any legal work starts.
Start with a $50 screening for fit and scope. Any further legal work has its own written scope and fee.
Find the right service in a 30-minute call
Book 30 minutes by video for fit and scope. The screening does not include legal advice, a legal opinion, or legal strategy.
See the exact scope and fee in writing before you commit
Review the included work, exclusions, and attorney fee in writing. Official and third-party fees are listed separately. Further work begins after conflicts clear, the engagement letter is signed, and any required payment is received.
Send your award terms, draft agreements or technical summary
Provide the solicitation, award or agreement drafts and the technical material listed in your scope. William does the review, drafting or filing you selected.
Get exactly the deliverables you approved
Receive the deliverables listed in your engagement. Any additional work is scoped and priced separately.
Built for companies with something to protect, and a deal or award that makes it urgent.
A good fit
A company, or founders forming one, including national-lab and university partners.
Funding, revenue, an SBIR or STTR award, or an investor running diligence.
Hardware, code, a prototype or test data.
A trigger: an award, an OTA, a teaming deal, a key hire, a raise or an acquisition.
Not the right fit
Individual hobby or side projects.
Idea-only inquiries, with no product, code, prototype or data yet.
Shopping for the cheapest possible filing.
Expecting the firm to market, sell or license an invention.
A signature on a self-drafted filing, without attorney review.
Answers on agency licenses, foreign-national hires and SBIR title.
If we license to a federal agency, do we lose our commercial market?
Not if the license is structured for it. Agencies frequently need only a non exclusive right for government purposes, which leaves your commercial field entirely intact. The mistake is accepting a broad grant because it appeared in the agency’s template. Field of use limits, purpose restrictions and clear carve outs are negotiable, and they are the difference between a license that funds the company and one that ends it.
We want to hire a brilliant engineer who is not a US citizen. Is that a problem?
It can be, and this is the single most commonly missed obligation in defense adjacent startups. Under the deemed export rule, giving a foreign national access to controlled technical data inside the United States is treated as an export to their country of nationality. No shipment and no travel is required. It is far easier to address before an offer letter goes out than after, so raise it at the point you start recruiting, not at onboarding.
Does taking SBIR money mean the government owns our invention?
Generally no. Under the Bayh Dole framework a small business may elect to retain title to inventions made with federal funding, provided the disclosure and election deadlines are met. The government keeps a paid up non exclusive license for government purposes and limited march in rights that are exercised very rarely. The real risk is administrative: miss a reporting deadline and you can lose the right to elect title at all.
Before your company signs an award, a teaming deal or an offer letter, get it scoped.
In a 30-minute video screening, William checks fit and points you to the service that matches your goal. Any legal work after that has its own written scope and fixed fee.
Reporting deadlines start at the award, and export questions start at the offer letter. The screening is the quickest way to find out where your company stands.
“Professional, responsive, and incredibly knowledgeable.” — Loan Nguyen, Founder & CEO, ParkClear
The screening includes no legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The firm works with companies, including founders signing for a newly formed entity.