Practice Areas & Industries: Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Cadwalader's top practitioners offer "a depth of experience that clients welcome"
- Chambers USA 2008

Cadwalader’s Intellectual Property Group provides clients with a full range of intellectual property legal services – from complex patent and trade secret litigation (including “bet the company” litigation), ITC litigation and trademark litigation, to counseling on important patent and trademark issues and various licensing matters, to patent and trademark preparation and prosecution.  A large and growing team of almost 30 lawyers helps Fortune 500 clients protect their bottom lines, whether that involves enforcing or defending IP claims in litigation, providing expert opinions, evaluating, selling, or licensing intellectual property, obtaining the most comprehensive IP protection available, or conducting due diligence.  These lawyers are also well versed in, and adept at, handling IP issues abroad and frequently partner with local counsel in a large number of foreign countries to coordinate protection and enforcement of a client's IP rights around the world.

The practice is built around nationally and internationally recognized intellectual property lawyers, including those with Ph.D., medical, engineering and other advanced degrees, who are highly experienced in the intricacies of patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright law.  Many have served in prestigious leadership positions with, and as members of, industry groups, including the New York Intellectual Property Law Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the International Trade Commission Trial Lawyers Association, the Licensing Executives Society, Intellectual Property Owners, the Patent, Trademark & Copyright Law and Intellectual Property Sections of New York State Bar Association and American Bar Association, and C5 International Patent Litigation.  Their industry expertise is equally wide ranging, covering virtually every sector, including computer hardware/software, all telephone technologies, semi-conductor technology, medical devices, electro-mechanical and mechanical subject matter, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and many others. 

The Intellectual Property Group has handled every aspect of complex patent and trade secret disputes and litigation before state courts, the U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, and in arbitrations and mediations. We have successfully guided clients in determining whether they have a viable, enforceable claim or whether an adversely asserted claim is defensible. 

Our IP litigators are experienced in the supervision and management of large, complex cases, efficiently handling the burdens of enormous discovery in highly contentious litigations, and working closely with technical consultants, experts and other counsel to effectively further the interests of our clients.  We continually explore state of the art technologies to help us organize and manage discovery and trial materials, design exhibits and communicate with our clients.  We are highly experienced in conducting Markman hearings and carrying those efforts forward to achieve successful summary judgment and other case dispositive motions, which significantly reduce or eliminate the issues remaining for trial.  In several instances, our lawyers have achieved summary judgment of an entire case against our client, and on more than one occasion, have even obtained the affirmative grant of summary judgment of patent infringement in favor of our client.  While we have been particularly effective in utilizing carefully focused motion practice to reduce or eliminate costly discovery and trial issues and burdens, in those cases that have gone to trial, our lawyers have been successful in achieving highly favorable jury verdicts and judgments. 

The team also has extensive experience in evaluating the patentability of client inventions, preparing and prosecuting patent applications for patents that are highly valued.  Among the patents obtained by lawyers in our group is the famous “Priceline Patent” which helped launch one of the leading companies during the advent of the internet era.  Other patents have served to protect the core business segments for our clients.  We have coordinated patent infringement trials and hearings throughout Europe (including trials seeking preliminary relief and cross-border injunctions), as well as nullity, cancellation, and opposition proceedings on important patent rights in European courts and patent offices, coordinating the corresponding activities in the U.S. with respect to the U.S. counterpart patents.

We have had similar success with trademark matters where we have produced significant results, working diligently to obtain protection for our clients’ house marks and successfully guiding clients in avoiding potential infringement issues with others in their field, including by facilitating the acquisition of marks that would otherwise present obstacles.  We also provide clients with assistance in worldwide trademark risk analysis, and the clearance and management of domestic and foreign trademark portfolios, trade dress, copyrights, and Internet domain names.  We also manage domestic and foreign registration and enforcement programs and counsel clients on the rebranding of products and services; the clearance of advertising, promotional materials, packaging, and websites; and trademark and copyright licensures and audits.  In the transactional area, we partner with the firm's corporate and capital markets attorneys regarding the acquisition and divestiture of intellectual property portfolios and the securitization of revenue streams from intellectual property assets.

In support of their efforts, our IP lawyers are able to rely on Cadwalader attorneys in other areas and geographical locations, including over 150 litigators and specialists in the areas of antitrust, corporate law, healthcare, and regulation.