Overview
Locke Lord knows that intellectual property assets are the lifeblood of many of our clients, and our nationally-recognized IP Transactional Practice Group has years of experience – both domestic and international – in helping our clients identify, secure, exploit and maintain their valuable IP assets.
Our IP Transactional Practice Group has a devoted core of highly skilled, sharp and smart attorneys and professionals, across the United States, who focus on the fundamental acquisition and maintenance of IP rights. Our well-known and extensive team of attorneys concentrate on general and specific IP client counseling, including all aspects of IP opinion work (e.g., infringement/non-infringement, validity/invalidity) and the negotiation of IP agreements, such as license agreements, ownership transfer agreements, and research and development agreements in a vast range of technologies.
The well-respected attorneys in this practice group are recognized for their quality of work and many are known as pioneers in their fields. They routinely counsel clients concerning the internal administration of IP rights, such as negotiation and review of IP covenants in employee agreements and company manuals and contracts; implementation and review of company IP procedures (including trade secret protection); company IP audits; and company technology development seminars.
Our People
Several of our IP Transactional team members have 30 or more years of experience in IP law. Our IP practice was recently recognized in Tier 1 nationally as part of the U.S. News-Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” lists. In addition, our attorneys have been recognized by Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America, and other peer reviewed publications. We have numerous scientific advisors and patent agents with advanced degrees across the scientific spectrum from electrical engineering to molecular biology. Our wide range of skills helps us cut to the key issues of each individual case, saving time and money for our clients.
The IP Transactional Practice Group property lawyers are members of all major professional associations, including the American Intellectual Property Law Association, Licensing Executives Society, International Trademark Association, Computer Law Association and American Arbitration Association’s Panel of Arbiters. Our team of intellectual property attorneys includes many recognized among The Best Lawyers in America.
Our Clients
Our clients include Fortune 500 companies, mid- and small-cap enterprises, Internet and bio-tech startups in the United States and around the world. Their businesses compete in the energy, banking and financial, consumer, medical, electronic, pharmaceutical, energy, biotechnology, entertainment, media and broadcasting, manufacturing, merchandizing, franchising, consulting and accounting industries, as well as educational institutions throughout the country.
Intellectual property and technology develop at a fast pace and requires fast action and intimate knowledge of the technology in rapidly changing industries. The IP lawyers and professionals in Locke Lord’s IP Transactional Practice Group are aggressive and proactive in their approach -- we help our clients take advantage of the opportunities available to them, and we act quickly and decisively to provide creative solutions and solve any business problems that need to be addressed.
Patents
Attorneys in the IP Transactional Practice Group secure patent rights involving virtually every area of science and technology, product, composition and process both in the United States and abroad. Our patent procurement experience includes original applications, reissues, offensive and defensive reexaminations, interferences, defensive publications and appeals within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to the Board of Appeals and Interferences and from the PTO to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.
Many of the attorneys in the IP Transactional Group previously worked as engineers and scientists for the industries we serve, such as chemical, biotechnology, petroleum and aerospace companies and chemical and mechanical engineering firms. We have former in-house counsels to software makers, universities and global multinationals and former examiners for the PTO. Our IP attorneys have diverse educational backgrounds and degrees in a variety of fields, including aerospace, mechanical, electrical and chemical engineering, biochemistry and molecular genetics, biology, biomedical science and cellular biology. Many of our attorneys and professionals have PhD’s in their field of study, including biogeochemistry, biological chemistry, inorganic chemistry, materials science and engineering, microbiology and molecular biology. Locke Lord’s patent procurement experience covers a broad range of technologies, from business methods to electrical and mechanical technologies to medical device, chemistry and biotechnology.
Trademark and Branding
Our attorneys counsel clients involving confidential business and technology information and trade secrets. We work with the Uniform Trade Secrets Act and the corresponding laws of various states. We design programs for protecting trade secrets and confidential information for businesses, including preparation of appropriate confidentiality and non-disclosure/non-use agreements.
General IP Counseling
Our attorneys have the experience and strategies to help our clients exploit their intellectual assets through licensing, transfer and research and development agreements. We negotiate a broad range of commercial agreements for the licensing, financing and sale of intellectual property, know-how and technology, including consulting agreements and technical assistance agreements. We draft complex patent, know-how and technology licenses, taking into account the antitrust laws and laws dealing with patent misuse. We are proficient at financing transactions with intellectual property as collateral.
Our IP attorneys provide sophisticated legal opinions to our clients on freedom to operate issues, validity, infringement, ownership and enforcement of IP rights. We are experienced in working with our clients to develop and implement intra-company IP procedures to identify and protect nascent and established IP assets, including design and design-around efforts, IP audits, and review of company employment, contractor and other contracts. Attorneys and professionals in this practice group routinely work with Locke Lord attorneys from other practice groups, such as IP due diligence investigations for mergers and acquisitions and IP Litigation.