Quick Reaction Force (QRF) Litigation Team
QRF will organize quickly to take action to protect your trademark and copyrights across all borders. We may seek Temporary Restraining Orders or Preliminary Injunctions to bring you immediate legal help through the Court system. Our nationwide capabilities and local knowledge enable us to work collaboratively to provide seamless, innovative strategies enhanced by the latest technology to protect your rights.
Trademarks
A trademark protects a word, phrase, symbol or device — the mark — used in commerce to identify and distinguish one product from another. Trademarks help businesses and the public by making the differences between products clear.
Copyrights
Copyrights protect original artistic works. That includes things like photos, books, movies, songs, paintings, software code, architecture and even the article you are reading right now. Copyrights give their owner the exclusive right to reproduce and profit off the underlying work. The underlying principle is simple: If you create something original, you get to choose what to do with it. Other parties may be granted permission to use those works through licensing arrangements or may purchase the works from the copyright holder.
Patents
Patents protect novel inventions or discoveries like pharmaceutical drugs, complex machinery or advanced software. By prohibiting others from using or importing the invention, a patent essentially grants its owner a monopoly on the innovation, but only for a limited time — generally 20 years. After that, anyone can use it free.
With increasing globalization, it is difficult for companies to know where their next IP issue may arise. Whether it is trademark litigation and licensing in the US, developing legal strategies to maximize and protect the commercial potential of brands, ideas and technological advances as a new market entrant or brand management, we can help you manage your trademarks, designs and copyright wherever you do business. Our top-tier trademark and copyright litigation lawyers work on notable matters in every jurisdiction. We pride ourselves on giving multi-jurisdictional, practical and commercial advice to our clients.
Copyright Infringement
Copyright infringement is the use or production of copyright-protected material without the permission of the copyright holder. Copyright infringement means that the rights afforded to the copyright holder, such as the exclusive use of a work for a set period of time, are being breached by a third party. Music and movies are two of the most well-known forms of entertainment that suffer from significant amounts of copyright infringement. Infringement cases may lead to contingent liabilities, which are amounts set aside in case of a possible lawsuit.
With the advances in digital imagery, it’s become easier than ever to copy an image. Various copyright issues may develop for photographers, illustrators and graphic artists.
Not all copyright infringement results in a measurable monetary loss per se. Moral rights are enforced as well, which cover an author’s right to be identified as the author of a work-called the right of attribution. Also, authors look to prevent changes or distortions of their work-called the right of integrity.
Trademark Infringement
Trademark infringement is the unauthorized use of a trademark or service mark on or in connection with goods and/or services in a manner that is likely to cause confusion, deception or mistake about the source of the goods and/or services.
What will happen if someone sues for trademark infringement?
A trademark owner who believes its mark is being infringed may file a civil action (i.e., lawsuit) in either state court or federal court for trademark infringement, depending on the circumstances. However, in most cases, trademark owners choose to sue for infringement in federal court. Even when a plaintiff chooses state court, it may be possible for the defendant to have the case "removed" to federal court.
If the trademark owner is able to prove infringement, available remedies may include the following:
Conversely, a court may find instead that: 1) you are not infringing the trademark; 2) a defense bars the plaintiff's claim(s); or 3) other reasons exist why the trademark owner is not entitled to prevail.
Patent Infringement
Infringement of a patent consists of the unauthorized making, using, offering for sale or selling any patented invention within the United States or U.S. Territories or importing into the United States of any patented invention during the term of the patent. If a patent is infringed, the patentee may sue for relief in the appropriate federal court. The patentee may ask the court for an injunction to prevent the continuation of the infringement and may also ask the court for an award of damages because of the infringement. In such an infringement suit, the defendant may raise the question of the validity of the patent, which is then decided by the court. The defendant may also assert that what is being done does not constitute infringement. Infringement is determined primarily by the language of the claims of the patent and if what the defendant is making does not fall within the language of any of the claims of the patent, there is no literal infringement.
Precision help is what you need in an urgent situation where your competitors or employees are stealing and capitalizing on your intellectual property. Our top-tier trademark and copyright litigation lawyers rapidly practical and intelligent strategies in complex and multi-jurisdictional cases.
With increasing competition and ease of copying, it is difficult for companies to know where their next IP issue may arise. Whether it is trademark litigation and licensing in the US, developing legal strategies to maximize and protect the commercial potential of brands, ideas and technological advances as a new market entrant or brand management, we can help you quickly, and intelligently protect your trademarks, patents, designs and copyright wherever you do business.
Our highly experienced trademark lawyers assist clients with a strategic approach to the protection and enforcement of their trademarks, including attending to preliminary clearances and the registration of trademarks, dealing with opposition, non-use and infringement actions, assisting with commercial transactions and providing experienced litigation services. Many of our clients outsource their entire trademark function to us to establish, maintain and protect their portfolio of brands.
