In a world where Intellectual Property (IP) may well be a client's most valuable asset, Taft’s IP practice group focuses on providing comprehensive services designed to develop legal strategies and achieve legal solutions to meet our clients' business goals.
Taft’s IP group is experienced in identifying, protecting and enforcing our clients' IP rights. Our attorneys are well-positioned to address our clients' business and IP needs because of our diverse industry experience, including banking and financial services, gaming, software development and licensing, real estate, e-commerce, telecommunications, electronics, automotive, agricultural, candy and confectionery, food manufacturing and distribution, restaurants and food service, distilled spirits, coffee, sports and entertainment, medical and dental products, clothing and jewelry, manufacturing, metal working and woodworking machinery, hospitals and health care institutions, life sciences, universities, and advertising and marketing.
In addition to patent, trademark, and copyright protection and litigation, our IP attorneys advise clients with respect to protection of trade secrets, unfair competition, false advertising, and the right of publicity.
We represent computer software licensors and licensees, software developers, cloud computing companies, IT consultants, investor groups and Internet companies. Services range from traditional drafting of software development agreements, licensing agreements and employee matters to more groundbreaking counsel on e-commerce marketing and copyrights. Our litigators handle lawsuits involving disputes between software developers and owners regarding alleged software defects and breaches of licenses.
Our attorneys assist individual inventors and research institutions in licensing technology of all types, such as monoclonal antibodies to tumor proteins, prosthetic devices, surgical instruments, software, manufacturing processes, and business methods. Members of our IP group deal with technology from the early research and development stage through commercialization. They also have experience with mature technologies, as well as those not protectable by patent.
We handle a wide variety of disputes involving claims by and against our clients with respect to rights in intellectual property and technology commercialization. Some of these disputes can be resolved short of litigation; others require litigation in federal or state courts or before government agency tribunals. We work to maintain productive business relations between the disputing parties, where appropriate, by creative licensing and other constructive arrangements.
Taft’s IP attorneys are experienced in handling intellectual property rights issues in Internet Web site development, hosting, co-branding, and content license agreements. We provide advisory services to Internet start-up businesses, as well as many established companies, based in the Midwest and throughout the U.S.
Taft’s IP experience includes:
- Searching and clearance of trademarks.
- Patentability Searching.
- Preparation and Filing of US and Foreign Patent Applications.
- Registration of trademarks in the U.S. and internationally.
- Registration of trade dress, product and packaging configurations.
- Watch/surveillance services for conflicting marks.
- Copyrights.
- Patent and Trademark licenses.
- Technology licenses.
- Technology transfers from universities to the private sector.
- Transactions involving technology and e-commerce.
- IP audits, management and counseling.
- M&A due diligence.
- Intellectual Property Litigation.
- International Trade Commission (ITC) investigations.
- Antitrust Litigation.
- Domain name disputes.
- U.S. Customs registration and enforcement of IP rights.
- Sweepstakes and promotions.
- Advertising compliance/clearance.
- FDA and FTC.
- Software Licensing and Development Agreements.
- Licensing agreements.
- E-commerce.
