Strategically Enforcing Your Innovation

It’s not enough to know that the details matter—it’s knowing which details matter that gives our clients the competitive edge in negotiating and completing intellectual property transactions.

Our clients have trusted us for decades to handle their most complex technology transfers and help strategically manage their intellectual property. 

Procuring and enforcing intellectual property rights is only part of a successful intellectual property strategy. Indeed, securing significant returns on your technology investments may ultimately require complex transfers of intellectual property rights. These transactions require specialized skill at the convergence of intellectual property law and commercial transactions. All too often, attorneys attempt these transactions without the nuanced understanding of intellectual property law that is necessary. The end result: valuable rights and revenue are left on the table.

General Counseling Lawyers

Problems or legal issues do not always fit neatly under intellectual property or some other legal label, and sometimes you are not sure of what can be done or where to go, and you just need to talk through it with someone to get started.

Our team has a diverse and extensive background, and several have experience in company legal departments, as general counsels or corporate officers or directors, or have practiced at some of the larger law firms in the United States. We also have worked with countless law firms in the United States and around the world, and through our network can tap into the right expertise for any legal problem:

• Commercial litigation

• Business-to-business disputes

• Supplier contracts and problems

• Sourcing in China

• Incorporating or forming a business

• Start ups

• Co-owner/founder disputes

• Employment agreements

• Consulting agreements

Opinions & Other Counseling

Legal opinions can be invaluable informative resources for making sound business decisions. These opinions may take the form of a single opinion on a specific intellectual asset or long-term, ongoing counseling on complex intellectual property portfolios or litigation. Whether the opinions relate to validity, enforceability, misuse, design-around issues, licensing or enforcement, we investigate, evaluate and formulate legal opinions that are aligned with your business objectives. Some of the most common types of opinions we provide our clients are:

Clearance (Freedom-to-Operate) Analyses

If you are contemplating a new product or service, it is often advisable to investigate the likelihood that your new product or service infringes another’s patent rights. By conducting a search and analyzing patents that are potentially relevant to your new product or service, we may identify potential infringement concerns. If your product or service is still in development, this information may influence your product design, ultimately yielding a product less likely to infringe upon the patent rights of others. Whether your product or service is in the early phases of development or a staple of your business, the knowledge you gain from a clearance analysis can help shape your business decisions down the line.

Non-Infringement Opinions

A non-infringement opinion may be desirable when you become aware of a patent that is directed to technology similar to your products or services. This often occurs when a patent holder alleges that your company’s product and/or service infringes a particular patent. A non-infringement opinion involves a detailed comparison of the patent in question to your product or service to determine whether there is infringement. In some instances, it may be advisable to also analyze whether the patent in question is valid. Based on the non-infringement opinion, sound business decisions can then be made regarding the potential impact, if any, of the subject patent on your product or service.

Invalidity Opinions

Sometimes the question of whether a patent is valid goes hand-in-hand with the question of infringement. Patent validity opinions may be useful if you are concerned about potential infringement. It is not uncommon for an issued patent to fail to survive validity challenges, and you may be entitled to use the technology of a patent if it is invalid or unenforceable.

On the other hand, as a patent owner, you may want a validity opinion as part of your due diligence when considering whether to monetize your patent rights, either through licensing or court proceedings.