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Services Available
As a leading national litigation firm, Manatt’s IP litigation practice encompasses traditional and novel claims, including a number of significant cases in copyright, trademark and Internet law. Our attorneys combine aggressive protection and effective leveraging strategies to help clients:
§ Select, clear, register, enforce and defend trademarks;
§ Register and enforce copyrights;
§ Obtain and enforce patents;
§ Develop, maintain, license and protect trade secrets, business processes, databases and rights of publicity;
§ License, sell and collateralize music, film, software and written text;
§ Exploit the most innovative types of digital rights; and
§ Navigate the regulatory maze that encompasses new technology, from medical devices to telecommunications, with the help of our government advocacy group in Washington, D.C.
No matter what your legal or business need is, Manatt intellectual property lawyers will draw on our firm’s comprehensive global resources to help you with any of the following critical issues:
Copyright Protection and Litigation
Our attorneys handle copyright infringement litigation, registration, licensing, counseling and opinion work, maintenance and protection. We focus on some of the most complex and copyright-intensive businesses in the world, including:
§ Prominent media companies with film, cable, broadcast and print operations;
§ Internet content and service providers, database companies and portal sites;
§ Computer software and hardware companies;
§ Motion picture studios; and
§ Authors, artists, record companies and publishers.
We advise all these clients on the nature and scope of traditional copyright protection, service provider liability and electronic media concerns such as the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Rights
Our attorneys help clients register and license copyrights, establish ownership of copyrighted works with the United States Copyright Office or the equivalent offices of foreign jurisdictions, and protect their rights in business arrangements involving the licensing, transfer and assignment of copyrights.
Infringement
Manatt attorneys regularly litigate copyright liability and damage issues, as well as novel legal claims involving a broad spectrum of software, database, Internet and intellectual property infringement issues. We have unsurpassed experience with electronic and multimedia copyright infringement claims involving website content, website and software interfaces, reverse engineering, computer source code and object code, infringement of “industry standards,” ownership rights in databases and digital content, musical compositions, music videos, motion pictures and cartoon characters. Our litigators also have been actively involved in litigation clarifying the relationship between intellectual property rights, fair use and the First Amendment.
Licensing
Manatt attorneys advise clients on new and emerging protection and digital rights management issues, as well as more traditional matters involving rights clearance, global work-for-hire concerns, and the scope of fair use involving motion pictures, new media and Internet technologies and applications. We negotiate and draft complex copyright development, transfer and licensing agreements, and advise on the tax consequences when a client acquires, sells or licenses intellectual property.
Copyright Registration
We ensure that our clients have proper registration with the U.S. Copyright Office covering the most specialized works of authorship, including computer software, sculptures, books, artwork, music, toys, sheet music, motion pictures, websites, and comic books.
When clients make the business decision to buy, sell or assign these rights, we develop the proper copyright assignment documentation and file it with the U.S. Copyright Office so that the titles to the works are current and accurate. Our services encompass the most complex activities, from performing complex chain of title searches to securitizing copyrights, patents, trademarks, domain names, and trade secrets as financial assets. With our network of foreign associates, we can handle these and other registration issues anywhere in the world.
Database Protection
We use our copyright skills and our understanding of computer applications to help owners of databases and database content protect their rights, license their works, address Tasini issues, and litigate infringement matters. Typifying our work in the most cutting-edge issues, Manatt is lead counsel for one of the media defendants in the In re Literary Works in Electronic Database Copyright Litigation pending in the Southern District of New York.
Digital Entertainment and New Media
Our work in the field of digital entertainment and new media is nationally recognized. No other firm has such a fully integrated team of seasoned technology, content, advertising, entertainment, intellectual property, financing and government service professionals to provide practical, creative and innovative solutions.
Transactions
Because legal standards governing new media are still evolving, we use creative solutions to help corporations and other businesses complete profitable transactions involving their ownership rights. Our attorneys draft license agreements and electronic document retention and destruction contracts for service providers, content providers, Internet security firms and others. We have a strong focus on representing all key players in the music industry with every type of agreement pertaining to the digital distribution and licensing of musical material and on working with the developers, publishers and distributors of video games.
Litigation
We are in the forefront of representing clients in litigation that involves digital media, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and other Internet and computer-related issues. Our attorneys brought or defended some of the first cases ever filed relating to the Internet, involving claims over database infringement, computer trespass, inevitable disclosure, linking, framing, metatagging, spoofing and spamming. In addition, we resolve domain name disputes, both domestically and internationally, and regularly litigate complex copyright, trademark, database, patent and antitrust suits in courts nationwide. We also advise technology and entertainment clients on their digital rights issues involving traditional copyrighted materials transferred for use on CDs, the Internet and other electronic uses. Among other things, our attorneys recently represented Macrovision Corporation in patent infringement and DMCA litigation against 321 Studios in the Southern District of New York.
General Counseling
We have handled both traditional and novel entertainment and media-related intellectual property issues for almost four decades. We help entertainment clients select, use, register, exploit and transfer their intellectual property rights, and are a recognized leader in specialized issues involving rights of privacy and publicity. We also represent and litigate publicity, privacy, copyright and contract claims for a wide variety of internationally renowned clients.
Domain Name Policing and Enforcement
We enforce our clients’ rights against cyber-squatters and others who improperly register and use Internet domain names that are identical or confusingly similar to our clients’ names or trademarks. Working with a network of attorneys in other countries we combat such abuses around the world, using traditional trademark laws, the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, and ICANN domain name dispute resolution procedures. Manatt has successfully acquired and recovered domain names for numerous businesses and entertainment clients.
Domain Name Registration
One key to domain name enforcement is the kind of effective domain name registration that we provide to a broad range of clients. Our attorneys conduct online availability searches for domain names of interest to clients. Once we establish availability, we register the domain names on behalf of the client, docket and monitor renewal deadlines, and renew domain name registrations at the appropriate times. Using our skills at trademark law we also keep a close eye on the opening of top-level domain names, registering them as new top-level domains come online.
Government and Public Policy
Manatt’s intellectual property, technology and new media attorneys regularly collaborate with our Government Practice Group on issues where intellectual property rights and public policy intersect, such as:
§ Drafting of and lobbying for new laws governing intellectual property and the Internet, privacy and work-for hire;
§ Filing “Special 301” petitions with the United States Trade Representative; and
§ Conducting Copyright Office title searches and registering our clients’ intellectual property with the U.S. Customs Service to keep infringing or “grey market” products out of the country.
Our government practice attorneys – in Washington, D.C., major state capitals and economic centers like New York City and Los Angeles – represent some of the largest technology and telecommunications companies, including Oracle Corp., Hewlett-Packard Corp., Intuit, Inc. and Unisys. Because our practice is national we are well positioned to handle IP-related issues at the state level. For example, in California we helped write and negotiate the 1999 amendments to the state’s posthumous right of publicity statute (Civil Code § 3344.1), and worked to draft the recently enacted Anti-Cybersquatting Statute (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17525), which extended domain name rights to deceased personalities. Moreover, because Manatt is a global firm with a specialization in Latin America, we also have substantial relationships with businesses and governments throughout Latin America and are uniquely positioned to help clients who desire to enter these dynamic and increasingly important markets, and other markets throughout the world.
Intellectual Property Litigation
Virtually all of Manatt’s intellectual property services involve our skill and resources as one of the country’s premier litigation firms. We resolve disputes for intellectual property, technology, entertainment and media clients that involve:
§ Copyright, DMCA, database, patent, trademark, trade dress and domain name infringement;
§ Trade secret and idea protection;
§ Common law misappropriation (including inevitable disclosure cases);
§ Rights of publicity and privacy for internationally prominent actors, musicians, sports stars and other celebrities; and
§ Rights of content and service providers.
Manatt’s comprehensive litigation resources are the foundation of our IP litigation practice. We represent plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts throughout the country. Our litigators bring Manatt’s considerable force to bear against infringers of our clients’ intellectual property rights. We have extensive experience in obtaining and enforcing temporary restraining orders, search, seizure and impoundment orders, and preliminary injunctions. When our clients are accused of intellectual property infringement, we achieve innovative and cost-effective results by taking advantage of the full range of alternative dispute resolution procedures, as well as other techniques for quickly resolving allegations with a minimum burden.
Our work with traditional infringement litigation involves a wide range of manufactured products and artistic works, often in precedent-setting cases. Our IP litigators have handled infringement disputes over:
§ Pharmaceuticals, including a pulmonary surfactant and medications for treatment of HIV;
§ A wide range of software and operating systems, such as Internet traffic routers and systems for tracking public transit vehicles;
§ Numerous computer applications, from automotive engine controls to computer-based surgical instruments to non-volatile memory chips;
§ Processed food and beverage products, including a large number of copyright and trademark disputes involving wineries;
§ Diverse manufactured products, such as apparel, electronic equipment and related components (laser and ink jet printer cartridges, for example), and sports equipment; and
§ Copyright issues involving high profile companies.
Manatt has a special strength at IP litigation involving the Internet and digital technologies. We successfully prosecuted some of the first Internet-related suits in the U.S. Our intellectual property litigation attorneys have pioneered the location and seizure of pirated materials from computer bulletin boards and the Internet, with experience in civil and criminal proceedings in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Finland, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein. We have successfully litigated copyright, domain name, trademark and celebrity rights disputes involving rights holders, web page administrators, and independent service providers. Our understanding of the technological, business and substantive legal issues surrounding the Internet help us advance the interests of content and delivery system providers.
Our attorneys also work to resolve issues involving the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, database infringement, metatags, key words, links, in-line links, frames, spamming, spamdexing and traffic diversion. We file and defend lawsuits involving logos, taglines, website and Internet uses of marks, and issues of Internet law, including spoofing and suits against “DOE” and other pseudonymous Internet actors.
Internet, E-Commerce and Computer Law
Manatt understands the digital economy. Our attorneys help both new economy and traditional companies to structure their e-commerce business relationships and cross-marketing arrangements. The range of issues we handle is as broad as e-commerce itself:
§ Co-branding, cross-marketing and promotions;
§ “Private label” service development;
§ Online retailing;
§ Website sponsorship;
§ Professional sports teams sponsorship;
§ Advertising sales and placement;
§ Agreements for audio and video streaming and storage, cross-linking and referral relationships;
§ Multimedia product development;
§ Online content distribution; and
§ Website design, development and hosting.
The following is a detailed summary of the services we provide to Internet and e-commerce clients:
§ Application Service Provider Agreements – We negotiate and draft license provisions and access agreements, including all necessary third-party contracts.
§ Back-End and Infrastructure Technology Agreements – Manatt negotiates, drafts and revises back-end, infrastructure and other technology agreements.
§ Bandwidth Service Agreements – Manatt negotiates and drafts agreements to ensure maximum sustained connectivity and timely and complete network maintenance.
§ Beta Test Agreements – Our professionals prepare alpha and beta test agreements to create detailed testing procedures and reporting of results while minimizing risks to software developers, publishers and distributors.
§ Business Portal and Exchange Agreements – Manatt negotiates, drafts and revises a wide array of B2B transactions, including business portal, e-marketplace and exchange agreements.
§ Co-location Agreements – Our attorneys draft or negotiate agreements to locate a website or other data on shared server space.
§ Computer Network Security Policies and Contracts – Manatt negotiates, drafts and revises policies and contracts to ensure network security.
§ Content Distribution, Aggregation and Syndication Agreements – Manatt negotiates, drafts and revises all necessary third-party contracts and licenses to allow for distribution, aggregation or syndication of content.
§ Content Licenses – Manatt negotiates, drafts and revises agreements that document licensor and licensee rights and minimize potential liability.
§ Content Streaming and Download Agreements – Our professionals negotiate, draft and revise agreements to protect and market creative content, including all necessary third-party contracts and licenses.
§ Consumer Protection and Fair Competition – Manatt counsels clients on federal consumer protection and FTC-compliance issues (particularly involving promotions and advertising) and also advises on similar state rules, regulations and laws governing consumer practices and fair competition.
§ Counseling on Internet Crimes – Manatt helps clients develop and implement plans for detecting and responding to data theft. Our attorneys draft appropriate policies, work with computer crime specialists and law enforcement personnel and help implement strategies that involve civil and criminal remedies and sanctions.
§ Data Collection, Protection and Risk Management – Manatt professionals guide our clients in obtaining protection for factual and other databases under U.S. and international laws. We demonstrate how to structure transactions that maximize protection and control liability risks, while counseling clients on domestic and international privacy law and data management.
§ Database Protection – Manatt helps clients protect and secure their information and data.
§ E-Commerce Joint Ventures – Manatt helps form and document Internet joint ventures and other strategic relationships.
§ Electronic Communication and Record Retention Policies – We draft policies to minimize potential liability and reduce burdens during pre-trial investigation and discovery and avoid liability for spoliation of evidence.
§ Employment Issues – Our employment and labor professionals draft policies regulating employee use of the Internet and e-mail, as well as Extranet and network security agreements that protect network security and intellectual property rights and limit liability. We have extensive experience with trade secret protection programs, and help employers draft agreements to ensure that employee work product is actually owned by corporate clients.
§ Enforceable Click-Wrap – Our professionals draft and structure online assent procedures to ensure that click-wrap and other unilateral contacts are enforceable under state, federal and (where enforceable) international law.
§ Endorsement Agreements – Manatt negotiates, drafts and revises agreements to maximize brand association, while minimizing potential liability under state publicity and privacy laws and the federal Lanham Act.
§ Global Internet and Branding Strategies – Our professionals develop strategies to unify and harmonize brands in ways that maximize international business opportunities.
§ Internet Use Policies for Businesses and Academic Institutions – Our professionals draft policies and procedures that account for First Amendment, privacy and liability issues.
§ Liability Avoidance for Internet Gaming – Manatt helps clients to structure contests and promotions to make sure they do not violate state or federal gaming laws.
§ Licensing and IP Protection – Manatt offers a comprehensive approach to intellectual property protection, acquisition, use, exploitation and litigation. Our licensing agreements apply all the protections allowed under copyright, patent, trade secret, trademark, database, publicity and idea protection statutes and case law. We recognize that licensing agreements are business opportunities, and use novel and creative theories and approaches to maximize financial and market potential for both owners and licensees.
§ Linking and Cross-Promotion Agreements – Manatt professionals negotiate and draft agreements to maximize brand value and cooperative relationships.
§ Managing Jurisdiction Issues for Internet Activities – We establish site practices and procedures to avoid liability and minimize the risk of undesirable litigation.
§ Network and Computer Security – Manatt shows clients how to secure their computers and networks. Our attorneys draft policies and agreements to protect the integrity, security and confidentiality of corporate data, and work with computer security professionals and computer forensics experts on the latest security solutions. Our international trade lawyers counsel clients on compliance with U.S. Encryption Rules and Regulations and also provide advice on Certification Practice Statements.
§ Online Advertising and Branding – Manatt professionals counsel clients on state, federal and regulatory issues governing both traditional and Internet-specific advertising issues, such as defamation, publicity, intellectual property, privacy, and false advertising and other advertising-related injuries.
§ Online Misconduct – Manatt has prosecuted numerous John Doe and related actions to compel the disclosure of the true identity of online tortfeasors, criminals and infringers. Our lawyers keep current on the latest national case law governing privacy rights in anonymity and pseudonymity, and have extensive experience conducting and defending electronic discovery.
§ Privacy Compliance – We work with companies in all industries to develop, refine and periodically assess their compliance with online and off-line privacy statutes, regulatory directives and case law. Our professionals monitor developments in both the United States and abroad to help clients implement global strategies.
§ Service Provider Compliance With the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) – We establish repositories for complaints and procedures for taking down infringing material and ensure compliance with new copy protection requirements.
§ Subpoena Compliance – We help clients respond appropriately to subpoenas while minimizing burdens and potential liability.
§ Website Audits and Compliance – Manatt helps a wide array of companies to structure websites and Internet services (as well as online transactions) in ways that limit liability risks while ensuring that websites achieve key business objectives. Our website and service audits identify and work to limit general liability arising from a company’s own acts or omissions (or those of its employees), as well as the conduct of customers, suppliers or other third parties or users.
§ Website Terms and Conditions – Manatt drafts appropriate rules, policies and commercial requirements for website users, making sure that they avoid liability and protect content while meeting a client’s business goals.
§ Website and Service Acceptable Use Policies – Manatt drafts policies to protect
§ Site users from spam, privacy violations, defamation and other intrusions
§ Site-related intellectual property and information from infringement and misappropriation
§ Site-related brands and competitive advantages
§ Website Development, Hosting and Maintenance Agreements – Manatt professionals negotiate and draft appropriate contracts to create and maintain the integrity, proper operation and maximum protection of a website (including any underlying modules or components and the intellectual property rights associated with the location).
§ Website Co-Branding, Advertising and Marketing Agreements – Our attorneys draft and revise co-branding, advertising and marketing agreements to maximize revenue and brand value, while preserving key rights.
Patent Infringement Litigation
As part of our overall intellectual property litigation practice, Manatt attorneys represent clients in a wide variety of disputes involving patent infringement, trade secret protection, unfair competition and antitrust concerns. On behalf of our clients we have secured multi-million dollar infringement judgments, and successfully defended infringement suits seeking millions of dollars in patent royalties. Internationally prominent companies have chosen us to litigate numerous infringement, licensing and other suits involving patent validity and infringement. Manatt routinely litigates infringement actions involving patents for petrochemicals, software design, computer hardware, semiconductors, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical products, industrial machinery and e-commerce.
Our patent litigators work in partnership with clients to understand their technologies and business objectives. This detailed knowledge, when coupled with the technical and scientific training of our patent litigators, often gives us a decisive advantage over opposing counsel and our clients’ competitors. Our attorneys develop innovative, novel arguments to achieve our clients’ goals, and are not afraid to press an advantage or take aggressive litigation strategies.
Patent Licensing
Manatt negotiates and documents agreements that license patent rights and related know-how. Our professionals have represented licensors and licensees, as well as parties buying or selling intellectual property, and always think creatively to obtain the best business arrangement for our clients while meeting the objectives of the deal.
We have crafted licensing agreements for clients in the manufacturing, biotechnology, chemical, semiconductor, healthcare, automotive, and software industries. Often our work is on behalf of emerging growth companies in advanced technology applications, and we work with their licensing needs as part of an overall business development strategy. Our attorneys have drafted and negotiated such agreements as “straight” patent licenses, cross-licenses, assignment and “license-back” agreements, and manufacturing agreements.
Patent Prosecution
We assist clients with every step of the patenting process, from the filing of applications (and appeals, when necessary) in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) and litigating in the federal courts, before the Board of Patent Interferences of the PTO, and (with the help of Manatt international trade attorneys) in Section 337 international trade proceedings before the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”).
Our registered patent attorneys are adept at handling both patent prosecution and the full range of business transactions associated with patents. We deal with technologies of all kinds, including business methods and mechanical, electrical and chemical patent applications, as well as products such as medical devices and automotive components.
We pursue the patent strategies best suited to the business and marketing objectives of our clients. When patent protection of an innovation is appropriate, our attorneys investigate the potential rights, decide whether the requirements for obtaining a valid and enforceable patent can be met, and secure the most suitable type of patent for U.S. and (if appropriate) international protection.
After a patent is issued we will correct or supplement patent claims through reissue and reexamination, using these procedures proactively to avoid exposure to the claims of potentially conflicting patents owned by third parties. As part of this process we represent clients in disputes concerning the priority of invention, both before and after issuance in the PTO and in federal court proceedings. Such disputes often involve patents owned by competitors. Recognizing the potentially crippling impact of a judgment for patent infringement can have, Manatt develops strategies for avoiding litigation where alternative mechanisms are available. We also work closely with clients to develop alternative designs that will avoid patent claims of third parties when possible.
Privacy
Manatt attorneys are experienced at helping clients find solutions to the privacy issues that arise in the digital economy. We have drafted employee and website privacy policies for clients in the software, e-commerce, financial services, healthcare, construction and many other industries. We work with large software and e-commerce providers to help them structure their websites to avoid the application of overlapping jurisdictions or inconsistent international obligations. Our attorneys also have special expertise in the privacy issues facing banks, healthcare providers and Internet sites directed towards children (including compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act).
Publicity Right Litigation and Counseling
Our attorneys help internationally prominent celebrities protect and exploit their publicity, while preserving their privacy and related rights. We also advise media and entertainment companies on the nature and scope of those rights. We have provided counseling and litigation services on behalf of Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, Kevin Spacey and many others, as well as the Estates of Elvis Presley, Groucho Marx, Frank Sinatra and Jimi Hendrix.
As part of our prominent entertainment law practice, our attorneys have also participated in the drafting of groundbreaking legislation on the nature and scope of publicity rights. For example, in California we helped write and negotiate the 1999 amendments to the state’s posthumous right of publicity statute (Civil Code § 3344.1), and worked to draft the recently enacted Anti-Cybersquatting Statute (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17525), which extended domain name rights to deceased personalities.
Technology Transactions
We help emerging startup companies and “Fortune 500” companies alike in a wide range of transactions to develop and exploit new technologies. Our attorneys are experienced with licensing out proprietary technology, licensing in technology for end use, and licensing in technology for future sale (on a stand-alone basis and combined with other products). We have a thorough understanding of the business environment in which technology companies operate, and take a practical approach that balances legal, business and technical concerns in the preparation of:
§ Licenses;
§ Joint development agreements;
§ Joint ventures;
§ Technology transfers;
§ Noncircumvention agreements; and
§ Agreements covering telecommunications services, web development, web-hosting, co-location, consulting, satellite broadcasting, satellite transponder allocation and manufacturing activities.
Trade Secret Protection
We regularly handle claims involving software, technology, media and business trade secrets, as well as related claims based on unfair competition and common law misappropriation. A number of disputes we have handled have set legal precedents. One of our attorneys, for example, obtained one of the only temporary restraining orders ever entered by a court in California under the inevitable disclosure doctrine.
In addition to litigating trade secret disputes, we also help clients negotiate and prepare effective nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements. Our counsel is often proactive, as we offer guidance on adopting trade secret protection programs, implementing plans to protect trade secrets on corporate Intranets or in other digital media, and educating employees about the importance of ensuring the confidentiality of trade secrets and know-how. Our attorneys draft electronic communications, Intranet policies and extranet agreements designed to protect corporate assets. We also work with companies on reverse-engineering issues and clean room practices.
Trademark and Trade Name Infringement Litigation
Manatt attorneys protect some of the most famous brands in the luxury goods, entertainment, computer software, financial, high technology and wine industries. We are well versed in enforcing the full scope of federal and state laws governing trademark infringement, unfair competition, false advertising, trademark dilution, trade libel and disparagement, cybersquatting and false claims of endorsement or origin. Our attorneys have prosecuted cases using all of these remedies. And when called upon to defend trademark cases, we bring our creativity and experience to bear in crafting fast and fair resolutions, often with a “business” component that allows former enemies to emerge from disputes as allies.
Manatt has vast experience in trademark infringement and unfair competition litigation involving every type of proceeding and case, including:
§ Federal and state court infringement, dilution, and unfair competition litigation, and associated appellate proceedings;
§ Opposition, cancellation, and concurrent-use proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) of the Patent & Trademark Office;
§ Domain name arbitration proceedings under ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Procedures;
§ Mediation, “mini-trials,” arbitration and other methods of alternative dispute resolution;
§ Multi-national proceedings, in concert with our foreign associates throughout the world; and
§ Import and export proceedings before U.S. Customs.
Given our extensive involvement with the digital economy, we frequently are involved with novel and complex trademark protection, branding and fair use issues for companies concerned about both their rights and public relations. Our attorneys register and protect domain names, handle both litigation and UDRP proceedings involving domain name rights, and help clients make strategic decisions about how to most effectively and economically protect their rights in light of changing technological and distribution systems. This involves a host of issues that we regularly address, such as dilution, gray-marketing, ambush-marketing, deep-linking, framing, Internet traffic diversion, spamming, and the improper use of metatags.
Manatt attorneys are nationally known for their work in antipiracy litigation, and have obtained numerous prejudgment seizure orders against pirates of computer software, high-technology products, luxury goods, and celebrity merchandise. Our attorneys were among the first to obtain domestic and international seizure orders for pirated materials on computer bulletin boards, obtain orders freezing the assets of pirates, and obtain a multitude of national “John Doe” seizure orders on behalf of internationally prominent music artists during their world tours. We have also supervised and coordinated international anti-piracy actions in Europe, South America and the Far East.
Trademark Registration
Our extensive trademark registration experience long predates the recent interest in protecting the value of trademarks by registering them with the PTO. We thus have a deeper and more effective trademark practice than that found at many other firms, and we are highly skilled at obtaining traditional and unique trademark registrations. Because of the longtime consistency and professionalism of our trademark registration practice, many of the PTO examiners are familiar with Manatt attorneys and often contact them by telephone to resolve registration issues rather than issuing formal refusals.
We administer a portfolio consisting of thousands of marks, and work with our clients to aggressively police and exploit those marks around the world. Our attorneys conduct the required searches, “clear” rights as necessary, draft the appropriate applications and prosecute those applications through the PTO and equivalent offices in foreign jurisdictions. We also provide our clients with day-to-day advice regarding potential infringement of their trademarks, as well as possible infringement of others’ trademarks. When disputes arise, we handle appeals to the TTAB and litigation before the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (the appellate court designated for patent appeals and appeals from registration issues before the TTAB and the PTO).
Manatt also has an extensive international trademark registration practice involving significant relationships with foreign trademark counsel. Our attorneys also use the services of U.S. Customs by recording trademark and copyright registrations and patents with U.S. Customs to prevent imports of infringing goods into the United States.
After registering trademarks for clients, Manatt maintains them. Because a trademark registration can live forever as long as the mark is used, we have developed a trademark portfolio system that monitors the applications and registrations so that clients’ trademark rights continue to be protected long after their registration issue. We also engage trademark watch services, as necessary, to monitor any infringing uses or attempted registration of our clients’ trademarks and domain names.
Trademark/Trade Name Licensing
Manatt helps clients develop transactions that effectively exploit their trademarks, trade names, domain names, product configurations, and other source designations. We have represented licensors and licensees, as well as parties buying or selling intellectual property, in a wide range of industries that includes entertainment, technology, toys, food products, clothing and wine.
Our trademark lawyers work as a team in cooperation with lawyers in other practice groups focusing on entertainment, financial services and emerging companies, as well as with Manatt’s advertising, corporate and tax professionals, to structure transactions that achieve maximum business advantage while fully protecting the trademark/trade name rights of our clients. We have handled an extremely diverse range of deals that encompass:
§ Merchandising rights;
§ “Co-branding” relationships;
§ Product endorsements by celebrities and professional associations;
§ Private label product distribution; and
§ Purchase and sale of trademarks, business names and domain names.
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