Practice Areas
Intellectual Property and Commercial Litigation
While our practice focuses most heavily on patent litigation, we have considerable experience in other areas, including general commercial, trade secret misappropriation, copyright infringement, Digital Millennium Copyright Act violations, trade dress and trademark infringement, breach of contract, unfair competition and false advertising. Our clients come from both ends of the spectrum, some having only a handful of employees and others being Fortune 500 companies with thousands of employees. We have the experience to handle litigation for any size client, both in state and federal court.
Inter Partes and Post-Grant Reviews
Congress passed the America Invents Act ("AIA") in 2012, establishing new administrative trial procedures for invalidating patents called inter partes review ("IPR") and post grant review (“PGR”) . We made a concerted effort to be on the forefront of this emerging practice area by developing an in-depth understanding of the APIA trial process and procedures. Our team has been nationally recognized as including one of the top 50 attorneys representing patent owners in IPR proceedings. When representing accused infringers, we have filed petitions early on in litigation, and have been able to consistently have the litigation paused while the AIA proceedings progress towards invalidity of the asserted patents. This has saved our clients hundreds of thousands of dollars in litigation expenses, while allowing us to challenge the patents in a forum that provides our clients with a higher chance of success.
Trademarks, Copyrights, and UDRP Takedowns
While patents get the most publicity, trademarks and copyrights are an important part of your intellectual property rights. We help clients protect their brand recognition and goodwill using trademarks, while copyrights help protect their authorship rights such as those found in software source code, technical drawings, and marketing materials. We also represent clients in Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy actions, which is a common method used in the resolution of Internet domain name disputes.
Opinion Work
Before embarking on a course of conduct that may result in any number of pitfalls, such as punitive or exemplary damages, it is often advisable to obtain an opinion of counsel with respect to a product or method that may infringe another company's intellectual property rights. The members of our firm have a long history of advising clients in this area and, where necessary, providing guidance on alternative designs that will avoid infringement.
"In-House" Counsel
We take pride in our ability to put ourselves in our clients’ shoes and make decisions that will improve their businesses, regardless of whether it means fewer billable hours for our attorneys. Many of our clients do not have or necessarily need salaried in-house counsel, but they rely on our extensive experience when necessary to assist with legal issues that will directly affect their business. From drafting contracts and licenses to general legal research, we provide the same legal services that would be expected of in-house counsel.
Licensing
Intellectual property only has value if it prevents competitors from competing in the IP holder's market or provides the holder with a monetary return on his or her technology. While injunctions are the most desired remedy for IP holders, an overwhelming majority of cases result in a licensing arrangement whereby the IP holder receives money for each accused item sold. We leverage our extensive experience licensing intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights, to assess the value of our clients' intellectual property and ensure they are receiving the highest return for their investment.
Portfolio Review
Not all patents are equal. Some are incredibly valuable, while others may be worth little more than the paper they are printed on. Obtaining patents is inherently expensive, and even after they issue there are substantial maintenance fees that must continuously be paid. We help our clients evaluate their patent portfolios and identify patents that have value and those that do not. Based on our evaluations, clients can make informed decisions about whether to continue paying costly maintenance fees or abandon certain patents altogether.