Intellectual Property Attorneys

Intellectual property attorneys protect inventions, copyrighted material, trademarks and other forms of intellectual property. These attorneys work closely with their clients to acquire and defend their IP rights.

In addition to assisting their clients with protecting their ideas and innovations, IP lawyers also help with litigation. This includes defending against claims of patent infringement, trademark infringement and trade secret theft.

Trademarks

Trademarks are one of the most important intellectual property assets to protect. They are used to distinguish a business’s products or services from those of competitors and ensure that consumers know which brands they are buying.

Qualified intellectual property attorneys work with clients to develop, protect and enforce their trademarks. They do this by helping them obtain trademark registration, defending against infringement, and enforcing their rights in federal courts.

The first step in protecting your trademark is to choose a mark that is unique and descriptive of the product or service. This will help you stand out from the competition, which can make it easier to get approval for your trademark.

Once you’ve selected your mark, you can then apply for trademark protection with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The process involves a series of steps that depend on whether you are already using the trademark in interstate commerce or intend to do so in the future.

Your trademark attorney will then assist you in preparing the required paperwork and submit your application to the USPTO. It can take between 6 and 16 months to receive approval.

When your trademark is registered, it cannot be used by any other company for a similar product. It also prevents copycats from stealing your name and logo.

You should consider filing for a trademark as soon as possible after developing your idea. Getting protection early will help you avoid expensive legal battles with competitors, as well as keep your brand name top-of-mind when consumers are looking for a particular product or service.

A qualified intellectual property attorney will also advise you on how to best utilize your trademark, including selecting a suitable domain name. They may also suggest strategies for attracting customers through social media, advertising, and marketing.

When a company’s trademark has been in use for more than five years, the owner must file a Section 8 Declaration with the USPTO to maintain its registration. Failure to do so will result in the loss of the registration.

Copyrights

Intellectual property (IP) is the creations of the mind that are protected by similar rights and protections to physical property ownership. IP attorneys are able to help clients protect their rights with copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and patents.

Copyrights are exclusive rights that give copyright owners the right to make copies, prepare derivative works, distribute their work, perform their work, communicate it to the public, and sell or license it for use by others. These exclusive rights can be transferred to another person, or a copyright owner can retain the right to grant others non-exclusive copyright licenses.

Generally speaking, copyrights cover all original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium. This includes writings, music, photographs, drawings, paintings, sound recordings, films, video, databases and computer programs.

While many types of works are covered by copyright law, certain exceptions exist for specific kinds of materials. For example, some charts, tables, graphs and logos are not necessarily protected by copyright law.

In addition, many works prepared by federal government employees or under an official contract are not copyrightable. It is important for in-house counsel to understand the legal issues surrounding these matters, so they can provide guidance to company executives and managers.

Other exceptions that are considered by courts are "fair use" and the copyrighted work falling into the "public domain." In-house counsel can assist with determining whether any of these exceptions apply to the material at issue, and if so, how to enforce them.

Those who create copyrighted works have the option of registering them with the US Copyright Office to receive additional protections. This may include monetary damages and attorney fees if someone violates the copyright.

Copyrights last for the life of the author plus seventy years after the author's death, unless the work was made for hire. This is especially true for work created before 1978, when a longer term is established.

Copyrights are also subject to a number of international treaties. The Berne Convention, for example, requires signatory nations to provide adequate copyright protection against the infringement of intellectual property from neighboring countries.

Trade Secrets

Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property that protects proprietary information like formulas, patterns, and devices. The laws around trade secrets can differ between jurisdictions, but in general, they are based on a similar framework as patents and copyrights.

To qualify for trade secret protection, a business must be able to demonstrate that the information has actual or potential independent economic value. It must also be kept in secrecy by the owner.

In the United States, trade secrets are protected under both federal and state law. Under the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016, the federal government can pursue lawsuits against parties that disclose trade secrets.

However, this protection is not always available and can be difficult to enforce in some cases. The best way to protect your trade secrets is to hire a skilled trade secrets attorney who understands the intricacies of this form of intellectual property protection.

A trade secret is any identifiable information that has either actual or potential independent economic value because it is not generally known to the public. It may also have value to others who cannot legitimately obtain the information.

It is important to note that trade secret information can include a combination of elements that are already in the public domain as long as it constituted a "unique, effective, successful and valuable integration of the public domain elements."

The courts have approved a number of different methods for establishing monetary value in misappropriated trade secrets. These methods include:

Using an Open Market Method

This is a common approach to valuing trade secrets, and it is based on what a willing buyer in the open market would pay for the trade secret. In some situations, however, a trade secret may not have readily ascertainable market value due to the fact that it was stolen at the product development stage or because the victim company chose not to license or sell the technology.

When this type of value is not readily ascertainable, the trade secret must be valued using a fair market value method that is appropriate to the facts. This can be accomplished by a variety of means, such as looking at the price that other companies have paid for the same information or obtaining information about what other companies are paying for similar products.

Patents

Patents are a type of intellectual property that can be used to protect inventions. They can be applied for and granted by government agencies, like the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

A patent is a legal document that grants a person or business the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention described in the document. This is done in exchange for a detailed disclosure of the invention.

Intellectual property attorneys work with inventors to file patent applications and defend them in litigation if they are accused of infringing someone else’s rights. They also help inventors with a variety of other issues related to their inventions, including trademarks and copyright.

In order to qualify for a patent, the invention must be new and non-obvious. It must also have utility, which means that it is useful for a particular industry and would be recognizable to people who are in that industry.

The patent application itself is a technical document that contains a detailed description and drawings of the invention. It is typically filed with a patent office in the country where the inventor lives.

Once the application has been filed, a Patent Examiner will review it and write a letter (called an Office Action) expressing his or her opinion of the patent. The inventor is given a chance to respond to this action, which can include modifications to the patent application or additional documents that may be required in order for the Patent Examiner to accept the application.

A good patent attorney will take the time to understand your invention and explain its merits in legal terms. They will also help you decide whether to file a design patent or a utility patent.

They should be able to draft the patent application in a way that makes it easy for others to understand and replicate your invention. They should also be able to prepare the filing fee for you, and provide assistance with filing your application in countries where you plan to do business.

Regardless of whether you are a large corporation or an individual, it is important to hire a reputable patent attorney. This is particularly true if you are planning on commercializing your invention in the future.