Comprehensive IP Services

  • Patent and trademark application drafting and prosecuting
  • Applying for and obtaining patent or trademark protection, both U.S. and worldwide
  • Assessing and identifying IP assets
  • Developing strategies and procedures for protecting trade secrets, information and know-how
  • Maintaining and enforcing IP assets
  • Counseling on licensing and commercialization of IP assets
  • Identify IP rights and scope of protection
  • Identify possible impediments to patent or trademark protection
  • Identify possible infringement
  • Craft appropriate parameters, search issued and pending patents
  • Analyze results and provide guidance on claim scope and potential pitfalls
  • Develop strategies to avoid infringing on rights of others
  • Patentability
  • Trademark registrability
  • Infringement and non-infringement
  • Validity and invalidity
  • Freedom to operate
  • Identifying relevant IP rights
  • Assessing ownership, inventorship, inequitable conduct
  • Determining status and validity of IP claims
  • Highlighting gaps in protection
  • Infringement and validity studies

Types of Intellectual Property

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for detailed public disclosure of an invention. An invention is generally a technological solution or innovation in the form of a product or a process. The procedures and requirements for obtaining patents, and the extent of the exclusive rights, vary between countries according to national laws and international agreements. Typically, a patent includes one or more claims that define the invention. Under US law, the claims must meet specific patentability requirements, such as eligibility, full disclosure, novelty and non-obviousness. The exclusive rights granted under a patent in most countries is the right to prevent others from making, using, selling, importing, or distributing a patented invention without authorization.

A trademark is a sign, design, expression or a combination thereof to identify and distinguish a product or service of a particular source from those of others. A trademark owner can be an individual, business organization, or any legal entity. A trademark may be located on a package, a label, a document, or on a product directly. The owner of a trademark may pursue legal action against the unauthorized use of the trademark. Countries including the United States and Canada also recognize common law trademark rights, which protects owners of trademarks are unregistered but which are in actual use. The rights and protections for a trademark owner under common law are more limited than those conferred under registered trademarks.

A copyright is a legal right that grants the author of an original or creative work exclusive rights for its use and distribution for a limited time. These exclusive rights have limitations and exceptions under the laws of individual countries and international treaty. Under US law, the protection under copyright applies only to fixed representations in a tangible medium, and enforcement of the copyright in a court of law, can only occur if the copyright is registered with the US Copyright Office.

A trade secret is any type of information, such as formula, practice, process, design, instrument, pattern, commercial method, or compilation of information that is not generally known or reasonably obtainable by others, and typically not protected as other type of intellectual property. A person or business can use a trade secret to achieve an economic advantage over its competitors or customers. A trade secret is protectable under law only as long as the information is treated and maintained as a secret.