Intellectual Property

All business with products, services, and goodwill have intellectual properties which make them unique and effectively competitive in the marketplace. Identifying the proper procedures for protecting intellectual property rights and using those rights to their fullest extent are important aspects of Intellectual Property Law.

Our Intellectual Property practice area concentrates on the identification and protection of clients' intangible assets and assists clients in structuring, negotiating, and documenting transactions involving those valuable assets. In addition, as litigators we focus on enforcing and defending a client's intellectual property rights and on achieving client objectives with regard to protection, exploitation, and dispute resolution.

Through registration, litigation, and contractual drafting, at Seiller Waterman, we help businesses enhance their goodwill and market positions, and fend off competitors who would unfairly duplicate or simulate our clients' products, services, or methods of marketing.

By protecting copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, and patents, we help our clients retain their rights to their intellectual property. We also work with our clients to combat unfair competition.

In the area of trade secrets and know-how, we draft documents which clarify our clients' positions both within their companies and in relation to the business world. This includes creating written understandings between owners of trade secrets and those to whom they need to disclose information through the course of business -- whether employer to employee, franchisor to franchisee, or inventor to manufacturer. Carefully drafted documents allow our clients to assert ownership of the secret and to protect it in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure.

Licensing and merchandising also provide valuable opportunities for our clients to benefit from their intellectual property rights. Through specific, individualized contractual agreements, we can help our clients clearly identify distribution channels and methods, license the manufacture and development of collateral products and enhance the marketability and profitability of an idea, expression or invention.

This area of law requires a sensitivity to the creative process, a knowledge of business and the marketplace, and an understanding of constitutional rights and willingness to move quickly and fearlessly into the courts to challenge and restrain infringements and unfair competition.

Our Intellectual Property practice covers the following areas:

Intellectual property advice is provided to individual artists and designers, entrepreneurs, investors and lenders, small businesses, established and emerging companies, private and public companies, and non-profit organizations.

Clients cover a wide range of industries, including arts, entertainment, media publishing, manufacturing, retail, real estate, banking, venture capital, private equity, consulting, and computer technology.

© 2007 Seiller Waterman LLC