Practice Areas
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Intellectual property inventions, trade secrets, trademarks and written works may not seem as tangible as machinery and equipment, but they are just as important. Attention to the care and protection of your intellectual property assets can add value to your business and inattention can ruin it. The management of your business intellectual property assets is far too important to be left solely to your IP attorney. The popular notion that problems can be handled by specialists when and if they arise is dangerous. By the time some intellectual property problems surface, they may threaten the survival of your company. more >>
PATENTS
Patent protection forms the cornerstone of most manufacturing companies' intellectual property programs. If the realities of your business make it necessary to disclose confidential information to a fairly broad group of employees or customers, misappropriation or loss of the secret nature of the information will be a constant risk. In addition, the commercial value of many inventions comes from incorporating them into a product that is mass produced, which often fully discloses an invention or discovery. more >>
ACCELERATED PATENT PROCESS
Business moves fast. The patent prosecution process unfortunately hasn’t kept up.
In the worlds of technology development and manufacturing, most companies and entrepreneurs can’t afford to wait 3-5 years for their patent application to come through. With many products capable of and in many cases needing to launch in less than a year’s time, faster, quality patent protection can be vital.The accelerated patent procedure, available through the US Patent and Trademark Office, can be an excellent solution if prosecuted correctly. It provides an opportunity to secure patent protection, often in half the time as the normal patent right process, and sometimes in as little as six months.more >>
RIGHTS ACCELERATION
Accelerating the patent application for a technology, product or idea that won’t strategically impact your business in the near term is usually unnecessary. However, there are several examples of technologies that have had the power to impact a business in the short term; accelerated rights would allow that business to grow in strategic importance.
If your technology fits within that second category, we’ll work with you to file detailed, specific and numerous related patent applications, while at the same time requesting early publication. Our experts believe this approach gives our clients the best offensive and defensive positions in the short term while satisfying the need for longer-term asset protection. more >>
TRADEMARKS
Trademarks are a common type of intellectual property, used by virtually every business. Trademarks are those names or symbols that identify a company as the source of a product or service. Originally, trademarks were literally the marks tradesmen imprinted on their goods to indicate who made them.
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COPYRIGHT LAW
Copyright law protects works of original authorship once they are "fixed" in a tangible medium of expression from being copied without permission. Many people think of the copyright law in connection with artistic works, such as books and video tapes, but it also applies to industrial property such as computer software, advertising literature, manuals and compilations of information. Copyright law does not protect ideas, but it does protect the way in which ideas are expressed. more >>
TRADE SECRETS Although not every company has patentable inventions, every company has trade secrets and they should be protected against disclosure or unauthorized use by others. A trade secret is any formula, pattern, device or compilation used in a business that gives the business a competitive advantage over others who do not know the secret. Customer lists, equipment specifications, formulas, even lists of clients' birthdays can be very valuable. The point is to recognize their value to your business and treat them accordingly. more >>
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