Practice Areas

Trademarks and Unfair Competition Matters

We counsel clients in all aspects of trademark and unfair competition law, including selecting, adopting, proper marking, using, and maintaining valuable and distinctive brands in the United States and in the trading countries of the world. We have practical experience prosecuting matters before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and litigating the enforcement of brands in federal court and before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, including opposition and cancellation proceedings and ex parte appeals of adverse decisions rendered by USPTO trademark examiners. We regularly assist clients with their foreign branding requirements to achieve brand protection around the world at or within established budgets. In addition, we handle trade dress and Internet and domain name issues including Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy matters for clients.

Copyrights

Our copyright practice includes counseling and a wide range of services from handling difficult aspects of copyright law and registration to litigating copyright matters in federal court. We are experienced in the nuances of copyright law and practice and the licensing of rights in copyright claims.

Patents

We advise clients and provide patent validity opinions with respect to infringement and freedom-to-operate. Our Firm has experience in preparing due diligence studies and patent legal agreements, including licensing and settlement agreements. We always counsel our clients on ways to avoid the costs of unnecessary litigation.

Trade Secrets

We advise clients in the care and maintenance of valuable trade secrets and conduct audits of their trade secret practices. In addition, we investigate possible trade secret violations for our clients, including misappropriation. We draft license agreements, non-disclosure agreements and employment agreements to assist our clients in protecting their valuable trade secret assets.

Litigation

We represent clients as local and lead counsel in patent, copyright, trademark, unfair competition, trade dress and trade secret suits in federal and state courts and before the ITC. We have an office venue within one mile of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and the USPTO.