Members of the Group have litigated patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret suits around the country in a broad range of industries, including banking, computer software, e-commerce, internet and cloud technology, educational services, automotive equipment, food manufacturing, medical devices, and consumer electronics. We have highly-experienced litigators, proud to be called trial attorneys, actually willing to try cases where needed. However, we also understand our clients’ business interests in carefully-timed litigation settlements.

The Group is experienced in handling all types of litigation: judge or jury trial, state or federal, district court or appeal, competitor or patent assertion entity, and arbitration or mediation. After a careful case assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of key issues, we design and execute a litigation strategy to meet our clients’ business goals, while staying within an aggressive budget.

We take a proactive approach, helping clients develop successful advertising and marketing campaigns while minimizing potential risks. Our team reviews advertisements, video content, websites, social media, packaging, promotional material, and marketing practices to ensure compliance with both state and federal regulations, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). We make sure claims made in advertising are properly substantiated and counsel clients about allowable comparative advertising.

Whether a client is running a contest or sweepstakes, we assist in the planning, designing, and execution of the promotion. Our Group will draft and review the official contest rules to comply with FTC guidelines and applicable state laws, including privacy policies and confidentiality requirements. In necessary states, we process required registration and bonding.

When necessary, we defend clients’ advertising and marketing or seek to modify a competitor’s advertising and marketing materials through litigation.

We assist in all aspects of copyright ownership, registration, licensing, and enforcement. Whether the work is computer software, multimedia, an audiovisual work, a painting, a novel, or a musical work, we document and protect ownership of the work. The Group ensures the appropriate agreements are in place for “works made for hire” or for copyrights acquired from third parties. We counsel our clients on the scope of copyright protection, including the permitted uses of others’ copyrighted materials.

When disputes arise, we analyze and counsel our clients on the various defenses to claims of copyright infringement, including the fair use defense. Where necessary, we enforce our clients’ rights through litigation, including the seeking of injunctive relief.

We review agreements to identify any potential issues that may affect our clients’ ability to acquire sufficient rights to use the desired intellectual property in their business. This includes review of independent contractor agreements, non-disclosure agreements, exclusivity agreements, license agreements, joint-venture agreements, assignment agreements, and distribution agreements. The Group also reviews ongoing intellectual property litigation or other proceedings at the Patent and Trademark Office to fully vet any intellectual property where clients may have an interest.

The Group provides guidance in the development of new and existing products and in determining what features, if any, may be patentable. Services include: Negotiating and drafting development and licensing agreements, assessing competitors’ patent portfolios to identify potential areas of concern, and developing non-infringement, invalidity, design-around, or other defenses.

The Group defends clients against claims of patent infringement, whether by competitors or patent assertion entities. Successes include: defending our clients through early motion practice, summary judgment, trial, appeal. We maximize the value of patent portfolios through licensing or various enforcement strategies, including litigation where necessary.

Advances in technology have made it harder than ever to prevent the unauthorized dissemination of a company’s information. The Group identifies and protects clients’ trade secrets and confidential information, whether computer source code, manufacturing process, customer list or financial information. We advise clients on whether to protect proprietary information through trade secret or patent law. We have handled numerous trade secret cases including employee defection, manufacturers’ development of knock-off products, employee hiring, confidentiality agreements, license agreements, and joint-venture agreements.

Our Group establishes trade secret protection programs, audits and corrects holes in existing protection programs, conducts trade secret exit interviews, and prepares and reviews confidentiality, non-disclosure, and non-compete agreements. We counsel our clients in minimizing risks when developing a product similar to a competitor’s, conducting cleanroom development, or hiring a competitor’s employees.

Finally, when a company’s trade secret or confidential information has been misappropriated, we work swiftly and aggressively to stop any further spread or use of the information, including, where appropriate, seeking a preliminary injunction or a temporary restraining order.