Innovation and Venture Capital Law and Policy

I know of no competing title. Accordingly, this book is significant. … The book deals with the national context of promotion of innovation; the role of institutions including universities and government; financing and taxation, in supporting innovation; how Australia’s programmes sit in the international context; and how our programmes might be judged from a policy perspective. I do not mean to say that this is an academic book. (Nor do I see anything wrong with that category of book.) For the practitioner, the comparison of various programmes will be useful. It is even helpful that the authors cut through the jargon. For example, the difference between an “incubator” and an “accelerator” is explained. Also, I found graphical analysis of a couple of structures, in chapter 11, useful. A picture is still worth a thousand words. Indeed, when the words are about the interaction of tax and property laws, a picture is altogether preferable! Some of the discussion is relatively broad. The explanation of the tax system in chapter 8 is one example. Another is the concise explanation of intellectual property in chapter 4. But this book is not intended to provide more extensive discussion of those areas. There are specialist texts about those topics. Rather, the book brings together material from a range of areas, relevant to understanding how innovation is encouraged, funded, and structured. And the approach is not “black letter law”. The authors have cast their nets widely. The approach is described as “multi- disciplinary”. They consider historical and policy matters. For example, in chapter 11, dealing with the limited partnership venture capital tax expenditure programmes, the authors take us back to the Ralph Review (1999). Thus the book provides useful context for understanding problems when they arise. This is not a manual. When a question arose about commercialisation of intellectual property, for example, this book does not purport to tell you how to do it. It would, on thorough study, acquaint you with the tools available. It aims for something broader, which is an evaluation of the tools, past and present, which may be of assistance in understanding the limitations of the current tools. – David Marks QC, Hearsay, March, 82

The Australian Productivity Commission’s 2015 report Business Set-up: Transfer and Closure explained that the rationale for government support of start-ups is that they create knowledge and network spill-overs which impel “a ‘virtuous’ cycle of entrepreneurship, innovation, investment, income and employment growth”. This book looks at the role of innovation in economic development and the important role that venture capital plays in financing new businesses and supporting research and development (R&D) and the commercialisation of innovations. It describes a number of the programmes which the Australian Government has implemented to support innovation and venture capital investment in start-ups. … This well-researched book provides a case study of the sorts of questions which all countries have to confront in their promotion of entrepreneurship. Read full review… – Michael Blakeney, International Company and Commercial Law Review, August 2017

As the authors state, this book examines innovation and venture capital law and policy in Australia as well as the United States and Israel. According to the publisher, “[it] provides the first authoritative and comprehensive overview” of the area. Whether or not it does, it serves as a highly readable source of information in an area that continues to grow and develop. The emphasis of the book is on start-ups and early stage companies. It is divided into four parts, which are then further separated into chapters. Part A provides an overview of the concept of innovation and venture capital investment, with a primary focus on universities and government programs. Part B, which is by far the largest chapter, introduces the reader to innovation and venture capital programs, covering topics such as capital raising, taxation of venture capital investment in Australia, and the types of venture capital investment vehicles available. Part C covers innovation and venture capital programs in the US and Israel, while Part D examines policy issues. Each chapter is concluded by a list of references, which include reports, the relevant legal source and commentary. This book is aimed at academics, students and participants in the field. It not only serves as an excellent introduction to the area, it also focuses the participants on the prevailing legal and non-legal issues to consider when dealing with a start-up or early stage company. – David Kim, InPrint, Law Institute Journal Victoria, July 2017

This book appears to be original and seminal in its subject matter and approach. … Largely, the work achieves its significant and worthwhile objectives. Of necessity from its objectives, it is primarily descriptive and derivative in its evaluation but in that space it appears to be comprehensive, with extensive footnotes and references at the end of each chapter and a helpful index. The style is clear? and easy to comprehend by readers? with varying levels of expertise (one can skip parts with which one is familiar). Read full review… – Gregory Burton SC, Bar News, NSW Bar Association, Autumn 2017

This impressive work will be of special interest to those involved in corporate and venture finance. It is a clever work which focuses on those broad range of government programs which have been established over a number of years for the purposes of fostering innovation and encouraging venture capital investment in start-up and early stage companies. Of central importance to the book is the legal and regulatory nature of the government programs which exist in Australia and other comparable nations and the discussion of such matters includes consideration of the many associated areas of the law including aspects of corporate law, trusts law, partnerships, and intellectual property. There is also a detailed discussion of the existing regime of taxation incentives which are applicable to participants in financing new and innovative projects. Whilst the work considers in detail the legal aspects of financing, it also adopts a cross-disciplinary approach and takes into account a broad range of economic, finance and policy issues. There is also a consideration of various comparable schemes, such as in the US and Israel where highly effective systems which encourage venture capital investment exist, so as to contextualise the Australian framework. – Queensland Law Reporter – 23 September 2016 – [2016] 37 QLR