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SERVICES
Overview
Our core processes are consistent and well-established, as is necessary to maintain quality control, but our legal strategies are never set in stone and we avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. Our close-knit group allows us to be flexible in tailoring our legal strategy to the client, to quickly get on the same page as our clients. We listen to clients closely, evaluate the technology and business situation, ask critical questions, set out strategic options for our clients and suggest the best approach for the circumstances based on our experience, always taking into account our client’s perspective and experience as well. Even if the direction selected by our clients changes due to any of a variety of reasons, we can swiftly adapt and respond accordingly.
Quality
We pride ourselves in our flexible approach to legal solutions. At the same time, to ensure high quality representation, our experience guides us in understanding what processes must remain consistent, well established and process oriented. For example, our docketing practices for intellectual property matters are well established. We double docket deadlines, with each calendar entry being independently entered from the source of the deadline, conduct regular status checks, assign two experienced staff members to check each docket entry, and conduct attorney reviews of the docket. In addition, we can prepare regularly scheduled portfolio status reports as needed.
Service Areas
We help clients procure and manage intellectual property, execute intellectual property related transactions, and enforce and defend their intellectual property.
Patents
Patents are a property right granted by the government to protect inventions for a limited time. In the United States, the different kinds of patents are utility patents (covering function), design patents (covering ornamental aspects of a design) and plant patents (covering asexually reproducible and distinct new varieties of plants).
We provide seasoned and up-to-date advice and strategy based on our years of experience in patent litigation and prosecution, and monitoring changes in the law. We can help design a strategy and implement tactics most appropriate for you and your situation. We have worked in managing and procuring foundational patents for startups, families of patents for enhancing licensing opportunities, enforcement, and asset enhancement, and defensive patents.
Our patent prosecution practice includes all stages of patent procurement – from opinions, to application drafting, to prosecution, and to appeal – in utility, design, plant, reissue, reexamination and accelerated examination applications. DWC Law Firm uses electronic filing and Examiner interviews (telephonically or in person) for advancing prosecution to a productive outcome.
Our patent dispute practice includes drafting enforcement letters, responding to enforcement letters, negotiating settlements and license agreements, and litigation or litigation support. The lessons learned in these enforcement actions are also invaluable in helping our clients to design strategies for obtaining patents.
We assist clients in leveraging their patent assets through monitoring, evaluating, and licensing both clients’ and their competitors’ patents and products. We also assist with intellectual property and related transactions crafted around lessons learned in drafting and defending patents before the USPTO and courts.
Trademarks & Unfair Competition
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of two or more of these elements, that serves to identify a commercial source of the goods or services. Trade dress can include packaging having any of these elements. Unfair competition involves, among other things, trademark or trade dress infringement and “passing off” one party’s goods or services for those of another.
Trademarks and unfair competition are a core focus of our practice. We manage a number of domestic and international trademark portfolios in the fields of radio broadcasting, biotechnology, software, and consumer goods, to name a few. We have extensive experience providing trademark clearance studies, procuring domestic, international and foreign trademark registrations, and strategically managing or assisting in the strategic management of trademark portfolios. In addition, we regularly represent clients in trademark infringement matters, both in defense and enforcement actions, and domain name disputes (including UDRP proceedings), and other e-commerce matters.
We maintain a network of foreign associates with whom we work to procure foreign trademark registrations, or to address foreign trademark disputes. We also associate with larger domestic law firms when necessary to address higher-resource trademark or unfair competition litigation matters.
Copyrights
Copyrights protect original works of authorship, such as writings, music, and works of art that have been tangibly expressed. Copyrights may also arise in combination with other intellectual property rights, such as patents, trademarks, and publicity rights. Due to the pervasive nature of copyrights, DWC Law Firm is attentive to potential copyrights existing in, for example, designs, logos, software, and graphical user interfaces (GUIs). In addition to copyright identification, we assist clients with strategies for copyright registration, licensing, and enforcement. We have experience successfully defending against allegations of copyright infringement and enforcing copyrights in federal court.
Trade Secrets
We have experience enforcing and negotiating trade secret rights for our clients, including in court and in mediation. We help clients identify potential trade secret rights, draft appropriate documentation to help maintain or secure those rights and transact (e.g., license) regarding those rights, in various contexts including independent contractor and employee-employer contexts.
E-Commerce/Licensing/Litigation
Because of our experienced, business oriented and cost-effective approach to representation, we often serve a role similar to in-house counsel for clients, working closely with them on legal issues that impact products or services covered by their intellectual property. We have helped clients extensively in structuring technology distribution contracts, terms of use, and software licenses. We have also helped clients successfully navigate commercial disputes involving their intellectual property, including in litigation and negotiations.
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The foregoing is only a general description of some of the services we provide, but if you would like to discuss your legal needs with us, please feel free to contact us. Together, we can determine whether our firm is a good fit for you.
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