Trademarks

Trademark Registrations

Selected as one of the Top Trademark Firms in 2011 by IP Today Magazine, we have an active trademark practice involving all aspects of trademark prosecution, registration and litigation. Our Trademark Attorneys provide a range of services which include: obtaining registrations for trademarks and trade dress in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; procuring international trademark protection in nearly every foreign country; negotiating and drafting various trademark agreements such as licensing and assignments, as well as trademark compliance in franchise related agreements; maintaining, monitoring and renewing trademark registrations. In addition, our Trademark Attorneys are often retained to provide trademark infringement opinions, perform trademark clearance searches and provide freedom to operate opinions.

An array of companies and business, ranging from emerging up-starts to multi-million dollar enterprises, routinely select us to manage and oversee their trademark portfolio. Indeed, we take pride that our Lawyers are chosen to act as General Trademark Counsel to a variety of industry leading companies and organizations. Through our international network of trusted foreign agents, we are capable of obtaining international trademark protection by registering trademarks in such foreign countries including but not limited to China, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Canada. Because of this, our trademark practice is not limited by boundaries and is global in nature. Whether it is by filing individual foreign applications or via the Madrid Protocol, our Trademark Attorneys have the experience to navigate both the U.S. and international trademark laws and procedures.

Trademark Litigation

Our Trademark Attorneys have wide-ranging experience in prosecuting and defending against trademark lawsuits before the United States District Courts, the United States Court of Appeals, and the World Intellectual Property Organization. In seeking to meet the goals of our Clients, we are meticulous in our analysis of infringement. We carefully evaluate the distinctiveness of the trademark at issue, its use, and whether a likelihood of confusion exists between the trademark and the competitor’s trademark.

We help our Clients establish their trademark lawsuit goals, which may be to successfully defend against a trademark infringement lawsuit and preserve their rights to use certain trademarks, or to pursue a trademark infringement lawsuit against infringers and procure injunctive relief to prevent continued infringing use. We constantly re-evaluate the possible results and risks of any trademark infringement lawsuit, and communicate those possible results and risks to the Client on a regular basis. Moreover, our Trademark Litigators adhere to the Ten Commandments of Litigation, which we developed solely for the benefit of our Clients.

We also have experience handling cases alleging, among other things, infringement under the Lanham Act, including word marks, design marks, trade dress, and slogans; improperly registered trademarks; dilution of famous trademarks; violations of the Anti-Cybersquatting Piracy Act of 1999; and, unfair competition claims under the Lanham Act and under state law.

Trademark Oppositions/Cancellations

Trademark Opposition and Trademark Cancellation proceedings deal with the sole issue of whether a pending trademark application should be issued for registration or whether a current registration should be canceled. Trademark Oppositions/Cancellations require the understanding of the rules and procedures of Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (“TTAB”) and knowledge of Trademark Litigation. Since a company’s Trademark can often become one of its most valued assets, it is imperative to vigorously prevent confusingly similar trademark applications from being issued and also defend against the attempt to cancel a current registration.

We specialize in handling trademark opposition and cancellation matters before the TTAB. Our TTAB lawyers routinely handle the defense of trademark oppositions and cancellations that have been brought against a registration or pending application. On behalf of our clients, we also monitor trademark applications and when necessary file trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings to prevent confusingly similar applications from issuing or canceling current trademark registrations.

Because Trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings have similar attributes to a regular Trademark Litigation case, our TTAB lawyers have both knowledge of the applicable TTAB rules and procedures as well as experience in handling Trademark Litigation matters in Federal & State Court. The combination of both skills, often result in our TTAB lawyers being able to obtain successful results for our clients.