Intellectual Property
We work with clients to protect their intellectual property in whatever form it takes, whether invention, unique look, logo or name, proprietary information, creative expression, industrial design. We work to provide the best fit pragmatically, economically, and strategically.We seek maximum asset value for our clients, utilizing a strategy to create an umbrella of legal rights, including patents, trademark and trade dress registrations, copyright registrations, intellectual property protecting contracts, assessing and drafting confidentiality control procedures for internal company operations, policing of licenses, review of corporate records for due diligence, and for annual IP audits as well as for mergers or acquisitions.
We prepare and prosecute applications for patents, copyrights and trademarks domestically and internationally. We handle intellectual property suits in Federal courts, and appeals before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board, and the U.S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. We provide counseling in the handling and licensing of trade secrets.
The Firm’s Patent Practice includes the handling of utility and design patents. We cover a variety of arts that include the electrical, mechanical, software, manufacturing and material sciences, among others. We have prepared and prosecuted applications for patents in areas such as mechanical objects, quality assurance procedures, software methods, smartphone and tablet apps, electrical circuit boards, manufacturing methods, chemical objects and processes, chemical compositions, board games, electrical games and toys, vehicle apparatuses, medical and dental instruments, and gear activated devices, among others. Our skills in patent prosecution are tempered by trial experience. If a jury does not understand a claim, the value of the patent decreases.
Our Trademark Practice includes preparation, submission, and prosecution of applications for State and Federal trademark protection, as well as the conduct of appeals, and cancellation and opposition proceedings in Federal Courts and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. We also handle all aspects of trademark infringement disputes, including enforcement, litigation, settlement, and licensing. Trademark protection in court usually is filed as, or in conjunction with, an Unfair Competition lawsuit. Unfair Competition covers a spectrum of legal rights and remedies. The term encompasses deceptive business practices and false advertising, as well as numerous unfair trade practices.
Our Copyright Practice covers all aspects of copyright registration and enforcement. Our practice aims at securing the greatest protection for client property, regardless of the medium and form that it takes. Representation also includes registration of copyrights for software programs that may be submitted concurrently with patent applications directed to software inventions to provide the greatest breadth of protection.
Our comprehensive intellectual property practice also includes counseling in the handling and licensing of Trade Secrets. We also provide consulting regarding non-traditional intellectual property subjects such as idea submissions. Idea submissions are ideas, not yet at the stage of patentability or invention, for which an individual seeks to derive economic value by disclosing the idea to a third party that has the capability of turning the idea into reality. Idea submissions are governed by contract law, and, in appropriate circumstances, trade secrets and unfair competition law.
We draft and analyze a variety of contracts for intellectual property protection including employment, shareholder, and/or third party contracts assigning work for hire ownership, protecting against unfair competition and providing for nondisclosure of trade secrets,