Managing and Protecting Trademarks
Our attorneys advise clients on the selection, registration and use of trademarks, including conducting trademark availability searches, preparing legal opinions, and facilitating U.S. and non-U.S. trademark registration. Clients turn to us for advice on issues relating to domain names, social media handles and other new media identifiers. We also assist with monitoring for trademark infringement and enforcing and defending trademark rights. Our work involves all legal aspects of brand strategy, including managing clients’ global trademark portfolios.
Our team is known for our enforcement and defense of trademark, trade dress and domain rights in federal court, before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and in arbitration panels, including UDRP proceedings.
Our trademark work includes:
- Advising on different strategies for protecting trademarks worldwide, including filing via the Madrid Protocol or by working directly with our network of foreign associates.
- Overcoming complex issues arising during the examination of trademarks, including refusals pertaining to a likelihood of confusion, descriptiveness, ornamentation, mis-descriptiveness, functionality, surnames and more.
- Advising on appropriate trademark use, selection of specimens of use and responding to post-registration audits.
- Counseling on trademark and trade secret protection.
- Conducting trademark portfolio audits.
- Handling trademark oppositions, cancellations and ex-parte appeals before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
- Negotiating and drafting trademark licenses, co-existence and consent to register agreements.
- Enforcing and defending trademark rights.