Trademark, Copyright, Advertising & Unfair Competition

We have a track record of success in bringing and defending trademark and trade dress infringement, unfair competition, and false advertising cases. These cases are frequently, and most efficiently, decided at an early stage. We both obtain and defend against temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions. We also handle high-stakes appeals and manage complex multijurisdictional litigation, as well as represent clients in trademark oppositions and cancellations before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and internationally; advertising proceedings before the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus; and domain name arbitration proceedings before the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Our trademark prosecution and counseling practitioners assist clients in managing their global trademark portfolios, regularly handling major US and international trademark clearance, filing, and enforcement projects across a vast array of industries, including consumer products, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, technology, fashion and retail, hospitality, media, healthcare, financial services, and higher education. We coordinate trademark work in virtually every jurisdiction in the world, and we bring an international perspective to business issues and opportunities that clients may face in the United States or any other country.

Our lawyers working in advertising, consumer protection, and privacy law offer a wide range of in-depth knowledge concerning promotion, marketing, and advertising. Whether a client is launching a multimillion-dollar integrated advertising campaign, managing complex social media marketing programs, or building a global distribution network, we have the experience needed to help get the job done. We also have experience in structuring promotions, sweepstakes, and contests. 

Our copyright lawyers handle a wide variety of copyright litigation, licensing, prosecution, and counseling across industries including advertising, media, software, semiconductors, fashion, photography, artwork, standards, secure tests, and databases.

We litigate cutting-edge copyright matters, including copyright infringement class actions, disputes involving the incorporation of copyrighted standards into government statutes, and calculation of damages for copyright infringement violations.

In our copyright counseling, we secure, protect, license, and transfer copyrights in all fields. We handle copyright issues in major global transactions, and structure innovative arrangements for licensing copyrighted materials. Our lawyers share considerable knowledge of the intricacies of US Copyright Office registration procedures and deposit requirements, particularly as they relate to software and other digital media, as well as secure tests. We regularly advise on copyright usage policies and provide Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) compliance and fair use counseling.

Trade secret protection can be the least expensive and most effective way to protect intellectual property. Through litigation, counseling, and transactional work, we help clients protect their trade secret processes, methodologies, information, formulae, client lists, ideas, and other trade secrets.

Our litigators regularly seek injunctions in US federal and state courts to prevent disclosure and misuse of trade secrets and other confidential information, and to challenge contractual and fiduciary breaches by departing executives or other employees.

We also routinely:

• Conduct trade secret audits and design protection programs to avoid trade secret misappropriation before it occurs
• Draft specialized confidentiality agreements to protect employers, independent contractors, suppliers, purchasers, business partners, those entering into joint ventures, and potential buyers and sellers of proprietary technology
• Prepare email and Internet use policies, covenants not to compete, nonsolicitation agreements, and no-raid agreements
• Provide IP and employment law advice when a former employee leaves with a company's trade secrets and/or copyrighted materials
• Represent parties whose trade secrets have been misappropriated or who are accused of misappropriating the trade secrets of others

Our IP transactional practice includes mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, distribution agreements, licensing agreements, strategic alliances, and corporate reorganizations, as well as litigation relating to all of the foregoing.

Licensing continues to grow as an important means for commercially exploiting patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Our team is well versed in every aspect of licensing, and has experience in US domestic and international licensing and strategic alliances in a wide range of industries, including life sciences, technology, software, media, and consumer products. We also have experience with franchise and business opportunity regulations compliance and related structuring strategies that can arise in connection with licensing arrangements.

Our team regularly handles IP issues in connection with mergers and acquisitions transactions. We develop cost-effective strategies for diligence, draft and negotiate agreements, and handle postclosing integration in connection with acquisitions. We also assist with global IP ownership structures, whether in the context of tax planning or mergers and acquisitions transactions.

We handle a broad range of online business and social media counseling, including privacy and data security, e-commerce through websites and mobile apps, direct email marketing and CAN-SPAM Act compliance issues, social media policies, social media handles and domain names, and legal issues relating to search engine optimization and keyword advertising, copyright fair use, and trademark fair use.

For a wide range of online businesses, we develop website policies and implement liability-limiting procedures to address disputes and issues surrounding user-generated content, including terms of service, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) policies and procedures, and privacy policies.

With an increasing public focus on privacy issues and corporate responsibility, we are focused on measures to steer clients clear of, or efficiently and effectively resolve, privacy-related litigation. We understand the complexities and risks associated with online communications. We assist companies in capitalizing on the benefits of social media while controlling for negative impact on brand reputation or the compromise of privileged company or personal data.

We handle a wide range of brand development and marketing agreements, including innovative arrangements for licensing, sponsorship, product placement, brand integration, celebrity spokespersons, merchandising, and cross-promotional and crowd-sourcing agreements, as well as creative services agreements with advertising, branding, promotions, and talent agencies.