Intellectual property
Licensing your brand without losing control of it
Quality control clauses, territory and term: the three places brand licences usually go wrong, and how to draft around them.
· 7 min read · Priya Raman
Partner · Boston
Priya Raman
Priya builds and protects intellectual property portfolios for consumer brands and software companies, and negotiates the licensing and technology agreements that turn them into revenue. Before law school she was a product manager at a design software company.
- praman@hartwellsloane.example
- (617) 555-0142
- 18 Lantern Square, 9th floor, Boston
About Priya
Priya’s clients are companies whose brands and technology are their most valuable assets. She helps them decide what to protect, registers and polices their marks, and drafts the licences, distribution and technology agreements that let them grow without giving away control.
She works closely with the firm’s corporate group on financings and acquisitions, where intellectual property often decides the price. Founders say she explains complicated rights in plain English and gives a clear recommendation, not a list of options.
Outside the office, Priya mentors first-generation law students and serves on the board of a Boston non-profit that teaches coding to high-school students.
Representative matters
- Built and enforced the trademark portfolio of a national coffee roaster across 14 countries.
- Negotiated a multi-year licensing agreement between a Boston apparel brand and a global retailer.
- Advised a software company on trade-secret protections ahead of its Series B financing.
- Resolved a domain-name and trademark dispute for a consumer electronics start-up without litigation.
Publications & speaking
- “Licensing your brand without losing control of it,” New England Business Review, 2026
- “Trade secrets for teams that ship fast,” Hartwell & Sloane Insights, 2025
- Panelist, Boston Founders Forum: Protecting what you build, 2025
