Practice Areas & Industries: Fowler White Boggs P.A.

Practice/Industry Group Overview

The Intellectual Property Group provides litigation and intellectual property legal services.  The protection of intellectual property includes all kinds of intangible assets that are protected under the laws of the United States, the individual states, agreements between parties, international treaties, and foreign laws.  These intangible assets include patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain names, trade secrets, and other information or technology disclosed or licensed under an agreement between two or more parties.  The Intellectual Property Group considers not only protecting and licensing of intellectual property in the United States but also globally, filing applications under international rules, such as the Patent Cooperation Treaty and Madrid Protocol, and through our network of foreign associates.  We also represent our clients in litigations relating to infringement of their own intellectual property and with respect to alleged infringement of the intellectual property rights of others.  Also, the Intellectual Property Group is often selected by other firms to serve as local counsel, representing clients of firms located outside of Florida, when a lawsuit is adjudicated in the state or federal courts of Florida.

Services Available

Global Intellectual Property
The Intellectual Property Group of Fowler White Boggs provides global IP protection.  We have working relationships with firms worldwide, including firms in the TerraLex network and many other firms that specialize in obtaining and enforcing patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets and know many of the attorneys personally.

We file international applications for patents under conventions and the Patent Cooperation Treaty.  An applicant may claim priority to a U.S. application if filed within one year of the earliest U.S. application priority date. 

We file for global protection for trademarks under conventions and within the Madrid Protocol. The Madrid Protocol limits the scope of the description to be the same as the description in the U.S. application and may allow worldwide cancellation by cancellation of only the U.S. registration.  Nevertheless, the reduced burden in obtaining and maintaining a global brand strategy using the Madrid Protocol system is attractive to many of our clients

Copyright registration at the Copyright Office and proper marking provides global protection for copyright owners.

Trade secrets must be protected from disclosure using measures reasonable to their value and customary within the specific industry in order to provide for remedies under state and federal laws.  Federal laws provide protections against computer hacking and international espionage, which may be used to combat the growing problems of international theft of trade secrets and other sensitive information.

Increasingly, global competition and opportunities in global markets require enterprises to think beyond geopolitical borders.  A global intellectual property (IP) of ideas and innovation, whether offering goods or services, multinational branding, licensing and franchising must be supported by a program of IP protection and enforcement.  Adopting a global perspective has helped many of our clients improve their prospects even in a tight domestic market. 

Patents and Trade Secrets
Patents provide a limited monopoly for a period of twenty years from the date of filing of utility applications or fourteen years from the date of issue of patents for an ornamental design.  A patent is granted in exchange for public disclosure of a new, useful and nonobvious invention and gives the patent holder a right to exclude others from making, using, selling and importing goods and services that infringe the claims.  It is very important to consult with a registered patent attorney or agent early in the process of developing and commercializing an invention.  Otherwise, foreign and U.S. patent rights might be lost forever, if timely action is not taken to file an application.  Our patent professionals include attorneys with advanced technical degrees and expertise in areas of semiconductors, materials science, nanotechnology, bioscience, medical devices, computer science and many other technologies.  We assist clients to protect their inventions and know-how in the U.S. and worldwide, to develop portfolios that bring value to the client, to license and enforce their patent rights, and to defend against infringement of third party patent rights.

Proprietary information may be protected by agreement or by state law.  The Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which has been adopted by all but 5 states in some version, is codified in Title 39, Chapter 688 of the Florida Statutes.  In Florida, a trade secret is defined by a two-part definition as information that “(a) derives independent economic value… from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means…; and (b) is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.”  The attorneys of the Intellectual Property Group counsel clients on how to protect proprietary information, draft confidentiality agreements and litigate disputes relating to trade secrets and proprietary information.  Clients must take reasonable efforts to protect their proprietary information in order to qualify for protection as a trade secret.  Our attorneys recommend reasonable efforts for protection of information from inadvertent public disclosure and intentional misappropriation.

Trademarks and Trade Dress
Trademarks, trade dress and service marks identify a source of goods or services to the consumers of those goods or services.  Words, colors, shapes, and even tastes are capable of being registered. We prepare opinions concerning the potential strength and ability of proposed marks to be registered, we file applications to register trademarks and service marks with state agencies, with the United States Patent & Trademark Office, and with foreign Trademark Offices, and we prosecute those applications before the appropriate offices.  We also represent clients in administrative proceedings, such as cancellations and oppositions, prepare and defend trademark cease and desist letters, and litigate trademark and trade dress infringement claims, domain name disputes, and cybersquatting proceedings.

Works of Authorship and Copyrights
A copyright protects the creative expression in “works of authorship” which are “fixed in a tangible medium of expression,” such as writing, music, recordings, motion pictures, and sculpture.  While a copyright does not protect facts and ideas, it does protect the way that the author chooses to express them.  We prepare applications for copyright, provide legal opinions, and license and enforce rights in copyrights.  Although a copyright comes into being upon creation of the work of authorship, there are important reasons to register a copyright in a work.  If a work is registered either before or promptly following publication, then the author may request statutory damages and attorney’s fees, which is a valuable right lost to authors that fail to register their copyrights.  Our attorneys and staff assist authors with filing of registrations and in copyright litigations.