IP Protection & Strategy
Regardless of what type of business you run, it has intellectual property rights; whether its patentable processes or technology, trade secrets, copyrights, or just trademark rights in your name or brand. At a certain point in your growth, you will need to think about protecting and monetizing those rights. It could be when you catch someone palming off their products as yours or scraping some of your website or it could be when someone approaches you with a licensing opportunity, but it’s best to consult with an IP attorney before there’s an issue.
Intellectual property has always fascinated me. Before law school, I studied music and worked as a music critic, where I learned about royalty streams for songwriters and other creators. In law school, completed a summer entertainment law program at Southwestern Law School, wrote a law review article on trademark, copyright, and artists’ moral rights published in the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law, and took patent law courses so I could understand the concepts even without a science background.
Since I became an attorney, intellectual property has been a significant part of my career. I have written cease and desist letters that stopped online trademark infringement and resulted in the transfer of infringing web domains; helped marketing teams license music, characters, sports-league IP, and other creative assets; performed trademark searches; registered U.S. trademarks; advised on avoiding infringement; and managed a team reviewing customer-submitted designs for potential trademark and copyright issues.
As general counsel, I also managed a portfolio of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets and developed the company’s strategy for protecting those rights and maximizing their value. Whether you need help with a one-off infringement, a registration issue, a licensing opportunity, or a longer-term IP protection strategy, I can help.
Here are some IP-related services I can provide:
Advising on Trademarks, Copyrights, Trade Secrets and patents and finding you the right patent attorney to draft and file your patent application (because I am not a patent attorney).
Writing and responding to infringement notices and cease and desist letters.
Searching and registering trademarks and registering copyrights.
Developing, drafting, and implementing a Digital Millennium Copyright (DMCA) Policy for websites with user-generated content.
Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating work made for hire agreements and IP assignment agreements.
Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating non-disclosure agreements to protect trade secrets.
Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating licenses for songs, animated characters, videos, and other IP.
Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating song-publishing agreements and recording contracts.
Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating name, likeness, and image releases.
Helping your company develop an IP strategy to protect and maximize your IP portfolio.
These are a few of the IP-related services I can provide. If you have an intellectual property question or need that is not on this list, please reach out and I will help you or refer you to someone who can.