Intellectual Property

“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.” – Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Do you have a product idea that is so unique you keep the machinery that makes it hidden behind lock and key?  Is your company name or logo so synonymous with a particular product that your competitors are copying it in an effort to divert your business to them?  Is there a “Mr. Slugworth” in your life who will stop at nothing to steal the secrets of what makes your business so successful?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions (or even if you answered “no,” but have other intellectual property questions of your own), then you have landed on the right page.  And if you landed on this page, then as Willy Wonka implored: “Come with me, and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination.”

Imagine a small or mid-sized law firm that is able to handle its clients’ intellectual property needs in-house rather than having to farm it out to a specialty firm or a boutique.  Imagine a firm where the IP attorneys collaborate daily with the business and litigation attorneys with respect to the needs of clients so there is common knowledge and a shared brain trust formulating strategy and identifying needs.  Imagine a firm where the IP attorneys work with the clients to clear trademarks, opine on patentability, advise on feasibility, etc., all in advance of a product launch rather than after when problems are harder – and more expensive – to solve.  If you can imagine all of these things, then you can imagine the value that we bring to our clients by having these capabilities available at all times.  Once you imagine that value, we are confident you will never imagine being without it again.

Here’s a very short list of some of our capabilities:

• Patentability, freedom to operate, validity, and state-of-the-art patent searching
• Prosecution of patent, trademark, and copyright applications
• Patent design-around advice
• Trademark clearance and protection
• Joint technology development agreements
• Patent, trademark, trade secret, and copyright enforcement and litigation
• Licensing (including software licensing and development)
• Development and implementation of trade secret protection programs
• IP audits and due diligence
• Legal opinions relating to availability, infringement and validity of patents, trademarks, and copyrights

Our IP attorneys’ offices are filled with the latest gadgets and devices. Logos, color swatches, and packaging are everywhere. Blue prints, schematics and designs are laid out on desktops and tacked up on walls.