Protection is Proactive
In the area of intellectual property law, Heninger Garrison Davis understands the vital importance of protecting and defending proprietary rights that may include patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, images, brands, and services of our clients. Commercial intellectual property environments are complicated. Challenges often arise contesting patent, trademark, or other rights. Our attorneys possess the skill and experience to evaluate and execute alternatives to best protect, enforce, and defend client intellectual property rights.
Copyright Infringement
Copyrights protect the original expression of ideas in a broad spectrum of media – including software, instruction manuals, novels, music, sculptures, paintings, and dramatic works. Copyright ownership vests in the “author,” or creator of the work, or in an employer if the work is created by an employee and is within the scope of his or her employment. Owners of copyrights have the exclusive rights to reproduce, adapt, publicly distribute, publicly display, and perform their works.
The intellectual property attorneys of Heninger Garrison Davis help clients safeguard their copyrights and investment in works of authorship. We have represented clients with copyrights on a wide range of works that include:
- Computer software
- Online and interactive video games
- Literary works
- Works of art
- Compilations of data
- Audiovisual works
- Sound recordings
- Websites
Trade Secrets Litigation
Swift, legal action may be necessary if a competitor obtains a trade secret through means such as espionage or misappropriation.
Patent Infringement
The vigorous enforcement and protection of patent rights in federal courts throughout the country is one of the foundations of Heninger Garrison Davis’s practice. The attorneys in our patent litigation department are experienced in every facet of patent infringement litigation, from pre-suit investigation of accused products and claims analysis to trial and appellate practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The patent litigators at Heninger Garrison Davis also have experience litigating patent-related matters before the International Trade Commission and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
We are dedicated to protecting the rights of patent holders across a wide spectrum of technological areas, from cutting edge energy and telecommunications applications to highly sophisticated industrial methods and manufactures to consumer and recreational products found on major retailer’s shelves across the country. Our attorneys have filed suits in courts all across the United States seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief for clients against infringing manufacturers.
To date, we have recovered millions of dollars in settlements and judgments on behalf of patent holders, and are fully prepared to initiate complex and very costly patent litigation on a contingency fee basis which we’ve found is of enormous benefit to many of our clients who would not be able to effectively bear the costs of legal action themselves.
We DO NOT handle Patent Prosecution for new patents, however, we can refer you to someone who does.
Trademark Infringement
Heninger Garrison Davis recognizes that a client’s trade or service mark — its brand — can be a vitally important asset. Our trademark attorneys possess extensive experience in all areas of trademark and service mark protection and practice.
Heninger Garrison Davis attorneys handle trademark and related disputes at all levels, including trademark infringement, trade dress infringement, unfair competition, false advertising, and domain name disputes. The Firm also guides clients through these matters from the client’s first awareness of a potential dispute, through initial contacts between the parties, litigation, if necessary, and settlement.
Trade Secrets – Proactive Protection
Pro-active protection of trade secrets includes non-disclosure agreements, confidentiality agreements, and non-compete agreements. Trade secrets can be protected from being acquired by your competitors through the use and enforcement of these agreements. Your attorney can help you draw up legally binding agreements.
Misappropriation
Misappropriation is taking things you are not entitled to, such as trade secrets, ideas, names, and likenesses. It can also involve taking a person or a company’s reputation by misappropriating an image or a name, or by engaging in trade dress infringements, to confuse consumers into unknowingly doing business with a competitor. Severe and sometimes permanent harm can be inflicted on a company by misappropriation.
A recent extension of misappropriation is business identity theft, where someone or a different business deliberately pretends to be the targeted business. Using publicly available information and cyber hacks, criminals can obtain client lists, customer data, trade secrets, and other confidential information.
In some cases of business identity theft, the criminals simply engage in fraud to steal money. They take out loans in the name of the business or get customers to pay for goods and services that are never supplied. However, in other cases, the criminals impersonate the business and steal all of the customers. Then, they go on to ruin the company’s reputation by providing inferior products, services, and customer service. The FBI says one recent case led to a company losing billions in market shares due to damage to its reputation.
Misappropriation and identity theft need to be dealt with swiftly through the courts to limit the widespread damage that they can cause.
