Intellectual Property

While not always necessary, registering intellectual property with federal (and sometimes state) agencies can be valuable, bestowing certain rights and benefits that might not otherwise exist. Sometimes, registration is necessary before you can obtain certain types of damages for others’ infringement of your work.

We can assist you in filing the necessary applications and other paperwork to obtain this official recognition of IP, including copyrights and trademarks.

If you are looking to monetize your IP or to make strategic acquisitions to further strengthen it, we can represent you in licensing negotiations, reviewing and advising on license agreements and other due diligence.

Merely obtaining recognition of your intellectual property is sometimes only the first step.

Creators who believe that another person is improperly using their intellectual property—including their name, image, or likeness—may sue to enforce their rights and stop the infringement or misappropriation. We can help you end the violations by sending cease-and-desist letters and, if necessary, asserting claims in court to obtain orders stating that the infringement must stop and, in some cases, awarding damages.

We can also assist you in defending against wrongful claims that you have infringed someone else’s intellectual property.

We have extensive experience litigating intellectual property claims. For more on our litigation practice, visit our Litigation page.

Copyrights: Copyright protects original works of authorship—literary, musical, and dramatic works; choreography and pantomimes; pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; films and audiovisual works; sound recordings; and architectural works. The law generally prevents others from reproducing, displaying, distributing, and publicly performing them, and from making derivative works.

Right of publicity: Right of publicity protects the commercial value in one’s name, image, persona, likeness, or identity, including one’s voice, signature, picture, nickname, or other closely associated information. The law generally prevents others from using these things for a commercial purpose or other advantage.

Trademarks: Trademarks—words, phrases, symbols, logos, images, and designs, or combinations of these—aid consumers in differentiating products and services in the marketplace and protect producers’ investment in good will and reputation. Generally speaking, the law precludes others from using the same or similar trademarks in a way that is likely to cause consumer confusion about the source or origin of products or services.

Patents: Creators can sometimes obtain patents that cover new and useful inventions. The law prohibits third parties from making, using, or selling products or from performing processes that are covered by a valid, issued patent.

Trade secrets: If a company takes measures to ensure its protection and secrecy, valuable business information can become a trade secret entitled to legal protection. The law prohibits unauthorized persons from misappropriating trade secrets by improperly using such information.