Intellectual Property Litigation Attorney in Washington, DC

In today’s increasingly competiton, most successful businesses have measures to preserve their Intellectual Property, such as unique technology. They also use techniques to avoid being held liable for infringing others’ Intellectual Property rights.

The intellectual property and technology team at War IP Law advises clients on preventing Intellectual Property liability and infringement while providing high-quality service in a professional setting.

Our Intellectual Property litigation attorney in Washington is well-versed in our clients’ businesses, challenges, and worries, and we are qualified and ready to help them as quickly as possible.

Why Do You Need an Intellectual Property Litigation Attorney in Washington?

Copyright, trademark, and trade secret laws are all quite complicated. That is why you require the assistance of our DC Intellectual Property litigation attorney, skilled in IP litigation, to guide you through the process to a successful conclusion. 

There is just too much riding on the outcome of an intellectual property issue for you not to seek legal advice who understands how to defend you. It’s critical that you aggressively seek out violators of your intellectual property, and you want to know that if the case gets to court, you have a good chance of winning.

What is Intellectual Property Law?

The procedures for acquiring and protecting legal rights to innovations, designs, and creative works are covered under Intellectual Property Law. The law protects exclusive control of intangible assets in the same way it protects ownership of physical property and real estate.

These laws aim to encourage people to create creative works that benefit society by guaranteeing that they may profit from their work without fear of others misappropriating it.

What is a Copyright?

Intellectual Property litigation attorneyOriginal works of authorship that are “fixed in a tangible medium of expression” are copyright-protected. A poem, a sculpture, a piece of music, or a film are all examples of copyrighted works.

The Copyright Act of 1976 gives copyright owners a variety of exclusive rights. The exclusive right to reproduce the work, the exclusive right to distribute the work, and the exclusive right to perform or show the work are all exclusive rights.

This rights set allows a copyright owner to be more flexible in determining how to profit from the underlying work. The owner may sell or license any of these rights to a third party.

What is a Trademark?

A trademark is a term, name, phrase, or logo that distinguishes a product or service and helps differentiate it from similar products or services supplied by competitors. Trademarks can be created via actual usage in the marketplace or by filing a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark law allows a trademark owner to sue an infringer to prevent consumer confusion.

What is a Patent?

A patent is a legal document that gives an inventor exclusive rights to their creation’s manufacturing, sale, and importation. This privilege lasts for a set period (currently 20 years following the application date) and allows the patent owner to sue an infringement for damages.

Inventors can apply for various patents, depending on the nature of their invention.

Understanding Utility Patents

You may be eligible for a utility patent if you have a new, helpful innovation that is not evident to others in the field of invention. A procedure, a machine, manufacturing, a composition of matter, or an improvement of an existing concept are the five categories of utility patents.

An innovation will frequently fit into more than one of these categories. For example, computer software is commonly characterized as both a “process” (such as the steps required to get the computer to do a task) and a “machine” (a device that takes information from an input device and moves it to an output device).

Only one utility patent may be issued on an invention, regardless of how many categories it falls under. If you obtain a utility patent, you can prevent others from creating, using, selling, or importing your innovation.

This limitation is beneficial since it allows you to create a niche market for your technology. A utility patent is valid for 20 years from the patent application’s filing date.

Understanding Design Patents

You may be eligible for a design patent if you produce a fresh and unique design that embellishes a manufactured device. For example, an IKEA chair, Keith Haring wallpaper, or a Manolo Blahnik shoe may be given a design patent. A computer screen icon can potentially be patented as a design.

A design patent, on the other hand, comes with stipulations. It cannot be utilitarian; the design must be beautiful or artistic.

You can prevent anyone from creating, using, selling, or importing your design after you get a design patent. Your design patent is only valid for 14 years after it is issued.

Understanding Plant Patents

Plant patents are the least common form of a patent for any innovative, nonobvious, asexually reproduced plant. It’s improbable that you’ll file for a plant patent unless you’re a research scientist or an agricultural specialist.

What types of inventions may a plant patent cover? Consider a novel approach for promoting asexual plant reproduction: the propagation of a plant without using genetic seeds to ensure a perfect genetic duplicate of the plant being replicated.

Any known asexual reproduction process that produces a genuine genetic clone of the plant can be used. This might entail growing diverse types of plants to develop mutants or hybrids and producing newly discovered seedlings.

For at least 20 years from the date of the application, this patent protects the owner by prohibiting other persons or corporations from generating or benefitting from the plant.

Other Types of IP

Rights of Publicity

This is the right to control the commercial use of your name, image, or likeness. The law acknowledges that famous people have a valuable property interest in their name and image.

Without these protections, people could exploit the goodwill and reputation that a person has built up, for commercial gain. For example, imagine if your name was used on a cereal box without your permission.

You would not get any of the revenue from sales of the cereal, even though your name is what helped to sell the product. That’s why state-by-state right of publicity vary. They are meant to strike a balance between protecting people’s intellectual property rights and making sure that others can freely use names and images for newsworthy purposes.

Trade Secret

Trade secrets are protected if they give a business an edge over competitors, are kept secret, and are unknown to competitors. Federal and state laws safeguard corporate secrets. A trade secret could be the marketing plan for a new software product or a salsa recipe.

If your company has a trade secret, it’s important to have procedures in place to keep the information confidential. If you have questions about protecting your company’s intellectual property, contact the best lawyers for IP litigation.

What’s the Difference Between Patents and Trademarks?

A patent permits the creator of particular inventions, including fresh ideas, to prevent others from exploiting those ideas commercially without their consent. On the other hand, Trademarks are unconcerned with how new technology is applied.

Instead, they safeguard product and service names, logos, and other devices—such as color, sound, and even smell—that are used to identify the source of goods or services and set them apart from the competitors.

Patent and trademark laws, in general, do not intersect. However, when it comes to a product design—say, jewelry or a uniquely shaped musical instrument—it may be conceivable to secure a patent on a design feature of the object while also using trademark law to protect the design as a product identifier.

A design patent for the aesthetic fins that are part of a car’s rear fenders, for example, may be granted to an automaker. Then, if the fins were meant to be utilized to differentiate the specific model automobile in the marketplace, trademark law may apply to protect the fins’ look.

What’s the Difference Between Copyrights and Trademarks?

Copyright prevents anyone from duplicating or financially exploiting creative works of expression such as books, fine arts, music, audio recordings, photography, software, video, film, and dance without the copyright owner’s consent. Copyright rules do not protect names, titles, and brief phrases.

By contrast, trademark law protects distinctive words, phrases, logos, symbols, slogans, and other devices used to identify and differentiate products or services in the marketplace.

The purpose of trademark law is to assist customers in rapidly identifying the source of products to minimize confusion. The famous computer company’s trademark is “Apple.” The company’s trademarked apple-shaped logo is likewise a trademark.

However, there are circumstances where both trademark and copyright law can be utilized to protect different features of the same product. To protect advertising content, trademark laws are frequently used with copyright laws. Copyright rules protect the additional original written expression in the commercial, while trademark laws protect the product or service name and any slogans used in the advertisement.

What’s the Difference Between Patents and Copyrights?

Patents are closely connected with beneficial innovations and procedures, except for innovative designs. On the other hand, copyrights are frequently used to protect expressive works, including books, paintings, music, phonorecords, photography, software, and films.

While it is possible to get a patent for technology used in the arts, copyrights are often utilized to allow one artist to “own” their work and prohibit others from “stealing” it.

An inventor may, for example, seek a utility patent on a novel camera lens used to make a film. However, the screenwriter’s copyright would be protected, and the cinematographer’s copyright might be protected separately.

Design patents, which protect the decorative design of items, can overlap with copyrights, which is an exception to the usual norm. When valuable goods, such as guitars, table tiles, clay pots, or running shoes, have a distinctive or pleasant visual appearance, these two legal rights overlap.

What is Intellectual Property Litigation?

Article I of the United States Constitution protects Intellectual Property (IP) rights. IP litigation involves disagreements over the intellectual property rights of discoveries, inventions, artistic works, methods, and goods.

These conflicts are litigated in both state and federal courts, as well as through arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution forums because state and federal laws protect IP. IP rights are also a worldwide matter, given the global economy.

Patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets are IP protection laws; these laws recognize an innovator’s ownership of their unique product and grant that inventor the exclusive right to use and benefit from it for a specific time.

IP disputes are litigated in a variety of ways. Patent infringement is the unlicensed use of a patented innovation, which can lead to legal action. A “Hatch-Waxman” litigation is a type of patent dispute involving generic versus brand pharmaceutical items and procedures and violation of the patent(s) that cover them.

What Are the Common Reasons for Intellectual Property Litigation?

Intellectual property litigation is brought about for a variety of reasons. Many business owners select a logo, prepare written documents for distribution to staff or outsiders, or devise secret manufacturing procedures.

This Intellectual Property (“IP”) might sometimes end up in the wrong hands. Your Intellectual Property might be used without your permission by another company. Or you can find out that you’ve been accused of plagiarizing someone else’s intellectual property.

Infringement of trademarks or copyright, misappropriation of commercial secrets, and licensing are all common legal issues. Litigation involving intellectual property can quickly become complicated.

If you are involved in a disagreement like this, you should get legal advice on the appropriate course of action. To explore your options for settling the matter, contact our experienced Intellectual Property litigation attorney.

Patent Infringement

It is a serious issue of patent litigation, and those who are found to be infringing on someone else’s patent can be sued in court. However, it’s not always the patent owner who sues for patent infringement cases. In some cases, the person who has been granted a license to use the patent can sue for infringement, as can anyone who is claiming under the patentee.

Trademark or Copyright Infringement

In the area of Intellectual Property litigation, trademark or copyright infringement allegations are prevalent. A trademark is “used in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods.”

Trademarks are essentially brand names that a company employs. They can be “word(s), name(s), symbol(s), or device(s).” For example, if your company has a unique logo, you may discover that another company providing a comparable product has a logo that is quite similar to yours. On the other hand, someone may accuse you of plagiarizing your logo.

Litigation over trademark infringement may be very controversial and fact-intensive. Similarly, Copyright infringement litigation, like trademark action, may quickly become complex. You’ll need a lawyer in charge of the case who is well-versed in the extensive case law on the issue. Our skilled Intellectual Property litigation attorney can examine the strengths and weaknesses of your position in the context of the IP dispute and assist you in resolving it.

If you have a copyright problem, you should get legal assistance from our experienced Intellectual Property litigation attorney. We can handle your intellectual property problem promptly and effectively at War IP Law.

Misuse of Trade Secrets

Another typical basis for intellectual property litigation is the misappropriation of trade secrets. Custom manufacturing procedures, private business methods, client lists, and other unique information are developed by many firms.

Food firms, for example, frequently have secret formulas for their products that their competitors are unaware of. Disgruntled employees may disclose trade secrets, or corporate rivals may find them. This is frequently where intellectual property disputes originate.

The law provides remedies when a company’s trade secrets are stolen or disseminated to the public without consent. Please call our professional Intellectual Property litigation attorney for a consultation if you suspect your company has a legal issue with trade secrets.

We pay special attention to our client’s unique situations, which vary from case to case. Get legal help right now if you have a trade secret conflict.

Licensing Agreement Disputes

Licensing agreement disputes are the third most prevalent type of intellectual property litigation. A licensing agreement is a legally binding contract in which one person or company agrees to allow another person or company to use intellectual property in exchange for something (usually money).

For instance, a corporation could agree to license software it developed in-house to another company that wants to utilize it in its everyday operations.

Licensing arrangements do, however, lead to legal problems. For example, a license agreement’s beneficiary may begin to use the intellectual property for purposes other than those specified in the contract. The property owner may be able to take legal action to protect its ownership rights or collect additional licensing costs.

People with informal or oral agreements to utilize a piece of intellectual property without particular written permission might get into trouble. If you’re having trouble with a license problem, contact our experienced Intellectual Property litigation attorney for help.

What Are Some of the Intellectual Property Cases We Handle?

Our professional Intellectual Property litigation attorney uses our firm’s worldwide network and diverse knowledge to build innovative strategies and litigation approaches for our clients – from strategic settlement to mediation to trial – that best suit their business needs.

Our team’s global reach, technical experience, and industry knowledge, combined with a creative and strategic vision, gives our customers a one-of-a-kind and holistic solution to their most challenging IP issues. We are proud to take on the following Intellectual Property lawsuit cases:

Patent Litigation

Our Intellectual Property litigation attorney has experience prosecuting and defending patent litigation cases in federal district courts around the United States and before the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. 

We stress early articulation of case strategy and hands-on leadership from pre-suit considerations to discovery, motion practice, and trial.  Our Intellectual Property litigation attorney gives our clients – from small private firms to some of the world’s largest organizations – agility and innovation to satisfy their patent demands, thanks to our extensive worldwide network, technical backgrounds, and broad industry experience.

Trademark Litigation

In trademark, trade dress, domain name, false advertising, unfair competition, and other relevant Lanham Act and state law matters, our trademark litigators represent plaintiffs and defendants.In federal and state courts in the United States and judicial bodies worldwide, we handle all aspects of litigation, including applications for emergency injunctive relief, declaratory judgment procedures, trials, and appeals.

Our Intellectual Property litigation attorney practices in complex litigation involving trademark licensing issues, parallel trade, trademark infringement, trademark counterfeiting, trade dress infringement, trademark dilution, false advertising, fair use, the innocent publisher’s defense, and related claims such as CDA preemption and copyright and right of publicity disputes.

War IP Law has specific experience in conflicts involving the internet, mobile, social media, software, and the entertainment business. We also regularly appear before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).

Our team can practice in strict jurisdictions across America because of our established worldwide network, which allows us to take a comprehensive approach to our customers’ trademark issues.

Copyright Litigation

Our Intellectual Property litigation attorney represents clients in a wide array of complex copyright matters. We’ve worked on some of the most challenging, cutting-edge issues in the courts today, including instances involving software copyrightability, database protection, screen scraping, secondary responsibility, DMCA compliance, fair use, and state law pre-1972 sound recordings, among other things.

We have a lot of experience defending platforms in instances involving secondary responsibility, the DMCA, and fair use. We’ve also handled copyright conflicts in the entertainment industry.

Trade Secret Litigation

Our Intellectual Property litigation attorney represents both plaintiffs and defendants in federal and state trade secret litigation. We have deep knowledge of technology, customer lists, innovative company models, and instances involving employee trade secrets.

In jurisdictions where this sort of remedy is possible, we also have extensive experience enforcing restrictive covenants and exposure under the inevitable disclosure theory and the interaction between trade secret laws and the Communications Decency Act. We also advise clients on how to secure their trade secrets effectively.

Right of Publicity Litigation

We represent both plaintiffs and defendants in right of publicity cases in state and federal courts. We are well-versed in the various liability regimes under state common law and statutory remedies across the United States.

In complex right of publicity lawsuits, our experienced Intellectual Property litigation attorney often represents sports, actors, celebrities, and internet and mobile corporations. We advise on fair and incidental use, damages, choice of law concerns, and CDA preemption.

Database Protection and Screen Scraping

In both federal and state courts, our Intellectual Property litigation attorney represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a complicated database and screen scraping lawsuits.

We have considerable experience defending parties in disputes involving online databases, website content, multiplayer video games, and fair use or First Amendment problems. We also comprehend the breadth of potential claims and defenses available under numerous law theories.

International Trade Commission’s Section 337 Litigation

War IP Law is uniquely positioned to handle practically every facet of Section 337 inquiries before the United States International Trade Commission (ITC). Litigation under Section 337 is fast-paced and complicated, necessitating a team of educated and experienced lawyers.

Our members are from all corners of the globe and have combined years of experience conducting Section 337 litigation, representing complainants and respondents in over 70 investigations. We are well-versed in the ITC’s methods and procedures, which include trial proceedings before the ITC’s administrative law judges and ITC review and related proceedings before US Customs and Border Protection.

When representing clients in Section 337 investigations, our Intellectual Property litigation attorney may draw on and leverage the firm’s more extensive Intellectual Property litigation experience.

Get Help From Our Experienced Legal Team Today

Protecting the Intellectual Property you generate in your organization is critical to reaping the benefits of excellent ideas and the time and effort required to bring them to reality.

You offer yourself the best chance of controlling and profiting from your company’s Intellectual Property in the long term by filing for copyrights and trademarks.

Enforcing your Intellectual Property rights, which are critical to your company’s competitive edge, might be crucial to your success.

Similarly, suppose you have been accused of infringing on another person’s or company’s intellectual property. In that case, you should expect a severe enforcement effort, and you will require a strong defense from our experienced Intellectual Property litigation attorney in Washington.