Cleantech -- Biofuels

Biofuels are renewable liquid fuels derived from biomass sources, such as cellulose, corn, algae, or other plant matter. Biofuels have become popular due to volatile energy prices, growing political instability in oil-producing countries, and concern about the impacts of fossil fuel consumption. Depending on the feedstock and conversion processes, biofuels can compare favorably to traditional fossil fuels and their associated carbon emissions.

Morrison & Foerster has counseled biofuel investors, entrepreneurs, emerging companies, and established companies that are developing new technologies to help increase the use of renewable energy and decrease the climate-altering carbon dioxide emissions from traditional products. Current clients include companies using transgenic and classical plant breeding technologies to develop miscanthus, sugarcane and/ or corn to develop biomass for use as cellulosic feed stock. Other clients are developing cellulosic feed stock pre-treatments for the preparation of biofuels.

Morrison & Foerster assists clients with biofuels industry-specific challenges, including:

• Recognition, sale, trade, and use of environmental attributes and credits that result from the use of biofuels.
• Advice on real estate and land use strategy and issues highly prevalent in the biofuels industry.
• Counseling on IP regarding the development of robust patent estates while ensuring freedom of operation with respect to third-party patents.
• Alerts to market trends as well as emerging state and local regulatory developments to enable effective planning and compliance as new standards are adopted.

Morrison & Foerster can also provide a wide range of legal services, such as:

• Initial business formation, raising venture capital financing, and achieving a successful exit through a sale, public offering, or merger.
• SEC compliance, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and corporate governance issues including counseling boards of directors and committees on specific governance issues such as executive compensation.
• Strategic protection and management of intellectual property portfolios.
• Structuring strategic alliances, joint ventures, and licensing arrangements to advance product development and monetize intellectual property assets and marketing rights.
• Aggressively defend interests with best-in-class litigation capabilities to preserve competitive advantages conferred by intellectual property and to protect the full value of assets, revenue, and income.