KPPB LAW provides intellectual property services to a wide variety of clients in different industries. Intellectual property is a unique area of the law that helps inventors, designers, and entrepreneurs protect their creative work legally. Our attorneys are highly experienced and have a proven history of success in managing intellectual property-related cases.
Intellectual Property Law Services
KPPB LAW offers reliable services in this field that include:
- Domestic and International Patent Prosecutions
- Patent Analysis
- Patent Litigation
- Due Diligence
- Work for Hire Agreements
- Establishing Inventorship
- Intellectual Property Assignment Agreements
- Licensing Agreements
- Technology Transfer Agreements
- Trademarks and Service Marks
- Protecting Trade Secrets
- Domain Name Registration and Enforcement
- Copyrights
Domestic and International Patent Prosecutions
Patent prosecution is the process of creating and filing a patent application and pursuing protection for that application with the patent office. Although the term “prosecution” may lead one to assume that there is a legal dispute, that usually has not occurred yet. In fact, it may not occur at all. Patent prosecutors are specifically licensed to practice in front of the patent office and usually have a technical background. If a company, institution, or organization has developed a design, invention, product, or process, then patenting these ideas will protect them from theft. An experienced intellectual property attorney can help with this process.
Patent Analysis
Patent analysis involves determining whether a patent has been violated or “infringed.” There are literal infringements, such as when everything has been copied word for word and infringement under what is known as the doctrine of equivalents. If the product, device, or process performs the same function in essentially the same way, then the patent may also be infringed. This type of analysis takes time and effort that inventors or business people just do not have time to do. KPPB LAW can perform this analysis for companies to determine whether patent infringement has occurred.
Patent Litigation
Patent litigation occurs when a patent must be defended in court. Often, one party has accused the other of copying their work, and the question becomes—who had the patent first? Patent litigation can also be the result of overuse or misuse of a patent when limited use was permitted or agreed upon. The infringing party may be liable to the other party for all the profits made through the use of the patent in many situations. Patent litigation requires not only possessing the technical experience necessary to understand patents, but also the legal knowledge to know how and when infringement has occurred.
Due Diligence
Every area of the law requires some degree of due diligence, but due diligence in intellectual property is often more in-depth than other legal fields. Due diligence in intellectual property usually consists of an audit to determine the quality of the intellectual property assets of a company, business, or individual, including those that are owned and licensed to that particular entity. This type of analysis is particularly useful in business transactions, corporate funding situations, and general valuation.
Work for Hire Agreements
Inventors, designers, and other creative workers often work on a contract basis. What many businesses or individuals do not realize when they hire these creative people is that the rights in the work are not automatically the hiring individual or business’ work from an intellectual property standpoint. While companies may have rights in their employee’s work, employers do not always have rights in a contracted individual’s work automatically. Instead, employers need to set up a specific contract that allows businesses, to have rights in the work. This allows companies to use the work freely without fear of a copyright violation.
Establishing Inventorship
Establishing who is the actual inventor can often present significant difficulties. Only the inventor or person who discovers a concept or idea can apply for a patent, so establishing inventorship is important. There are specific legal requirements to determining who is an inventor, and having the wrong person listed on a patent application can invalidate it. Sound legal analysis is required to ensure a valid patent.
Intellectual Property Assignment Agreement
An IP assignment agreement allows the business owner, entrepreneur, or other individual to acquire the intellectual property rights in a particular design, process, invention, or idea that another person has. These are particularly useful in independent contractor relationships. Crafting this agreement can be difficult, depending on the type of intellectual property involved, and an experienced IP lawyer can help organizations to form just the right agreement for the unique situation.
Licensing Agreements
Licensing agreements allow for a legal protection for intellectual property. It helps the IP owner manage and control their idea, process, or invention as well. It is particularly useful if companies want to contract away certain aspects of their rights to ownership, but not give up these rights entirely. An experienced IP attorney can help organizations to construct an agreement that allows for them to maintain control of their intellectual property.
Technology Transfer Agreements
A technology transfer agreement allows for organizations to share processes, knowledge, technologies, or methods of creating or doing business with other people. It allows use of the process or technology without giving away the process completely. Only the individual or business that it is transferred to can use it, which helps them to maintain control and protect it. This type of agreement is vital if an organization wants to limit sharing with competitors or similar businesses.
Trademarks and Service Marks
A trademark is a word, symbol, name, etc. that distinguishes goods from one company to the next. A service mark is similar, but it is specifically used to identify a service instead of a good. Using a trademark or a service mark allows for organizations to differentiate themselves from other businesses or individuals offering a similar product or service. It also prevents another business from using your good name to sell their products or services. Without a valid trademark or service mark, your organization may not have any valid recourse to prevent this type of misuse.
Protecting Trade Secrets
Any confidential information that gives a business a competitive edge can be considered a trade secret. Because of this competitive edge, trade secrets must be thoroughly protected. Any unauthorized use is considered an unfair business practice and can be illegal. There are certain legal processes that organizations can pursue in order to help protect trade secrets. If an organization’s internal processes are important to the business, they cannot risk leaving them unprotected.
Domain Name Registration and Enforcement
In today’s technology-driven world, domain names are extremely important. Having the right domain name can make or break a business. Once an organization have just the right name, there are also legal protections available that will help prevent domain name misuse or theft. Our IP attorneys can help with this process.
Copyrights
Copyrights protect creative individuals who produce literature, movies, and other forms of tangible art. Having a copyright gives the creator (or assignee) the exclusive right to produce, perform, or otherwise express a particular form of art. Without a copyright, anyone else can use creative work, and may even attempt to claim it as their own.
Benefits of Our Intellectual Property Legal Services
Anyone that is considering acquiring the protections mentioned in the above section should seek legal representation immediately. Intellectual property moves quickly, and acting too slowly can put creative property at risk. In addition, acting without an attorney in this complex area of the law can place organizations at a severe disadvantage.
KPPB LAW has extensive experience with the many facets of intellectual property law, and our attorneys can leverage this knowledge on an organization’s behalf to ensure the best result possible. Clients who entrust their intellectual property issues to KPPB LAW will not feel overwhelmed by the complex legal regulations in this area of the law because we will be able to guide organizations through the entire process.
Contact KPPB LAW Today
KPPB LAW’s attorneys are ready to support the legal needs of organizations and give themselves the peace of mind knowing that their intellectual property is in capable and competent hands. To learn more about the benefits of our legal service offerings, give us a call or send us a message online to discuss your legal needs or to set up a consultation.
