Practice Areas

Patents: Patents can protect your innovations and inventions. The patents of others can limit your business options. We offer a wide range of patent related work including:

1. Prosecute Patent Applications including Mechanical, Software and even controversial Internet Patent Applications. [more on Internet Business Methods]
2. Issue patent infringement opinions.
3. Issue patentibility opinions.
4. Perform Patent Searching.
5. Send or respond to cease and desist letters.
6. Handle Federal Court cases regarding Patent Infringement Litigation.
7. File or defend complaints at the US International Trade Commission or US Customs.
8. Consult on overall patent strategy and review IP portfolio.
9. Prepare and record assignment and licensing agreements for patents.
   

Please fill out a Patent Disclosure Form to get a quote for Patent Applications and Searching.

Have you every wondered about how patent litigation works?  You may want to see a video on the patent litigation process from the Federal Judiciary.  An Overview of the Patent System

Trademarks: Trademarks can be logos, company names, unique packaging designs that give you your brand identity and secure customer following. Our office offers the following trademark services:

1. Trademark Applications [more on Trademarks timeline and fees] If you have a Trademark (either a wordmark or a picturemark) you should register it in the US Patent and Trademark Office to protect the use of the name. Without registration, you have only common law rights which are difficult and expensive to prove.
   
   Trademark Registration allows criminal prosecution in many states for counterfeit marks. [more on Criminal penalties and Trademark infringement]
   
2. Handle Federal Court cases regarding Trademark Infringement Litigation, Unfair Competition under Lanham Act 43(a), and Trade Dress related claims.
3. Record Trademarks at US Customs and enforce Trademark Registrations.
4. Draft and record trademark license and assignment contracts.
5. Domain Name Arbitration: Instead of filing a lawsuit in Federal District Court, a complainant can challenge ownership of a domain name in arbitration. [more on Domain Name Arbitration procedures]

Copyright: Copyright Registration & licensing agreements.

When is the best time to register a Copyright? A: Before you are ready to publish. A copyright registration is particularly useful when a new package design or product design is introduced and published to consumers. A copyright registration that is filed before infringement on the copyright, offers advantages over a copyright registration that is filed after infringement begins. An early filed copyright registration entitles the applicant to attorneys' fees and statutory damages. Statutory damages are fixed by the Court as a rough guess of how much a defendant may have sold. Otherwise, only actual damages may be recoverable. The ability to get attorneys' fees and statutory damages is a substantial deterrent to infringement because it makes lawsuits much more affordable for a plaintiff. I suggest that you file for copyright registration on all of your artwork. Artwork may include product packaging.

Corporate Law and Securities: Every business has corporate legal needs.

1. Incorporation as C-Corp, S-Corp, LLC: Incorporation services include drafting: articles of incorporation, bylaws, shareholders agreements.
2. Corporate Law Consultation
3. Corporate Name Change
4. Update bylaws and minutes, shareholder and officer meetings.
5. Nonprofit 501(c)(3) and Tax Exempt Status qualification available on a Pro-Bono basis for qualifying religious nonprofit corporations.
6. Intellectual property licensing agreements, contract drafting and review
7. Corporate Buy-Sell Agreements
8. Review of Federal Franchise Offering Circular and related Agreements