About Tal
Tal Niv combines technical training, formal legal education and corporate experience. He holds an Executive MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (2021). He completed a Ph.D. in Law & Technology at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2015. Earlier degrees include an LLB and an MA in Law & Economics from Tel Aviv University (2008) and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from Tel Aviv University (2005).
His professional life began in technology. He served as a systems analyst and then product manager at early internet and software firms. Those roles included positions at Nuvisio Corporation, XMPie and Hotbar.com. He also served in Unit 8200 of the Israeli Intelligence Corps, where he held the rank of lieutenant. That period provided operational and technical experience that later informed his legal and policy work.
Niv moved into law and policy over time. He was a Policy Fellow at Creative Commons in 2010. He has taught at law schools in multiple countries. His academic posts include adjunct teaching in patent law at Tel Aviv University and courses in IP survey, IP seminar and trademark law at Santa Clara University School of Law. In 2020 he taught Artificial Intelligence Law and Internet Law as an adjunct at the University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco.
His corporate and in-house roles bridge legal, people and strategy functions. In 2020 he joined GitHub as VP of Global Expansion Strategy. The following year he took on the combined role of VP People and General Counsel at PlanetScale. Those positions involved legal risk management, employment and people operations, and company growth initiatives across jurisdictions.
The arc of his career reflects intersections between intellectual property, technology policy, and the operational demands of growing software companies. He has taught and written for audiences interested in trademark, patent and internet law and has practical experience handling legal matters for technology platforms. He is licensed to practice in California and has advised on cross-border expansion and internal legal processes at technology firms. He currently practices as in-house counsel in the technology sector, advising on IP, internet and AI-related legal issues and on corporate growth and people matters.
