What happens when someone steals your IP?

If you do find instances of infringement, you should take action. Ignoring copyright, patent or trademark infringement could make it harder for you to enforce your rights in the future. If you delay too long, you may not be able to stop that specific company from infringing your rights in the future. Depending on the situation, you have several options, including:

Have your lawyer send a cease-and-desist letter telling the infringer to stop. This is a low-cost first step for addressing most any kind of infringement. Though you can send the letter yourself, it will have more impact on the violator if it comes from a lawyer.

If the infringement persists after you’ve sent the cease and desist letter, your next steps will vary depending on the type of intellectual property and the extent of the infringement:

For copyright infringement on the Internet:

Send a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice for copyright infringement on the Internet.
File a lawsuit.

For patent infringement:

Request a preliminary injunction to stop a patent infringer from continuing to make or sell the product.
File a lawsuit.

For domain name use that infringes a trademark:

Contact your attorney for help with pursuing a claim under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act and or filing a claim under the ICANN’s (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.

File a lawsuit

With each type of intellectual property, you may find that you have to file a lawsuit in order to force the violator to stop. If your lawsuit is successful, you may be entitled to monetary damages.

Contact a Washington DC Intellectual Property Attorney

Whenever you have questions about intellectual property, you should consult with an experienced Washington DC infringement claims lawyers at War IP Law, PLLC. We will take the time to answer your questions and, if needed, can take immediate action for you to protect your IP and defend against infringement claims. Call us today for a consultation.