Whether you are a small company or a large one, intellectual property can be critical to your success. Properly managed, patents, trademarks and other intellectual property can be some of your most valuable assets. Conversely, in the hands of a competitor, intellectual property can be a formidable threat to the competitiveness, profitability, and even the very existence of your business.

Every business has valuable intellectual property. Our attorneys know how to identify your intellectual property, create strategies for protecting it, and effectively prosecute those strategies into enforceable intellectual property rights before the US Patent & Trademark Office. With respect to patents, through comprehensive specifications and adept claim drafting, interviews of Examiners, and timely usage of appeals, as well as technically sound and legally convincing arguments, we routinely maximize the scope of protection afforded by the prior art, even carving out protection for those incremental improvements others might miss. With respect to trademarks, our approach is much the same. In other words, we know when to push the Examining Attorney, when to regroup, when to reach for the broadest possible protection, and when to be laser focused on the mark and identification of goods to successfully navigate the trademark to registration.

We also know that intellectual property is, by definition, open to interpretation. Whether it be in an offensive or defensive capacity, another large part of our practice is rendering opinions and counseling clients as to the benefits of their intellectual property, or costs associated with that owned by others. We have substantial practical experience gained from years of representing regional, national and multinational companies in patent and trademark assertions, as well as copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, licensing and other intellectual property issues that arise in daily business life.

As engineers, scientists and former business owners ourselves, we also pride ourselves on understanding the unique needs of each of our clients, be they global conglomerates, local businesses, or even independent inventors and start-ups. Knowing the technology is one thing, knowing what the law will allow is another, but by marrying both with a genuine business perspective, we are able to develop strategies that best suit your intellectual property needs. From obtaining U.S. and foreign patent protection for your ideas, to guarding against potential infringement risks stemming from the design and development of new products and the selection of product brand names, to building assets by obtaining state, federal, or foreign trademarks and copyright protection, we always strive to put ourselves in the shoes of our clients and not only protect what they have created, but do so with an eye toward helping the business succeed as a result as well.

Our intellectual property attorneys know that, above all else, a patent or trademark is only as valuable as the degree to which it is enforced. If left to a passive existence, such intellectual property rights are little more than expensive plaques on the wall. As a result, we can monitor the activities of your competitors, render opinions and counsel as indicated above, and work toward obtaining a legal remedy. That remedy may be the removal of a competitor or competitive product from the marketplace, or if desired, the generation of a revenue stream through a negotiated royalty, or outright sale of the intellectual property. Accordingly, we regularly negotiate agreements ranging from simple confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements to nuanced agreements for outsourcing product engineering, manufacturing and supply, and from technology co-development agreements and joint ventures, to exclusive or non-exclusive license agreements with the terms of the negotiated royalty therein.

Finally, although often a measure of last resort, there are of course those situations that simply cannot be amicably resolved. If after notice and negotiation, two sides are unable to reach such an agreement or remedy as indicated above, turning to a court or other forum for resolution is often the only remaining option. Here too, we are well positioned to defend you and/or your rights. Whether it be in federal court with a patent infringement suit, the US Patent & Trademark Office with a post grant review proceeding, a state court for a trademark or other intellectual property dispute, or working with European counsel or that of another foreign jurisdiction in an opposition or the like, our attorneys are experienced and skilled at obtaining the desired outcome.

Learn more about our Intellectual Property practice:

• Patents
• Trademarks
• Copyrights
• Trade Secrets
• Dispute Resolution and Litigation