Patent, Trademark & Service Mark Services in Danville

The Audit: Identifying Your Existing Patents, Trademarks, Trade Names, and Service Marks

You can’t protect it if you don’t know what you’ve got or how to protect it. Whether you’re unsure of what your patent, trademark, trade name, and service mark assets are or are concerned that they aren’t adequately protected, we are here to help you. We will audit your business to identify trademark assets and assist you in obtaining appropriate protection, ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and conduct due diligence in connection with mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate milestones.

Regular trademark and service mark audits as part of the organizational management audits serve two key functions. The first is to properly manage the risk associated with creating and using trademark and service mark assets. This requires the company to determine which of its properties are being used by third parties without authorization and which third party properties the company may be using without proper authorization. The second area of the audit can be more rewarding. Here, the focus is on the property owned by the company that has not been exploited at all or, at least, not to its full potential. A thorough audit should help corporate managers identify new opportunities to exploit those assets the company already owns. Through this process, a company can turn “so-called” corporate liabilities into profit centers.

Creation of New Patents, Trademarks, Trade Names, and Service Marks
USA trademarks, trade names and service marks can be created by common law usage and/or by registration of marks used in interstate commerce with the US Patent and Trademark Office. Most USA states also have laws that provide for creation of intrastate trademarks, trade names and service marks by usage and/or registration in a specific state. All foreign nations also have some type of procedure for protecting trademarks, trade names and service marks used in their countries. Some nations, such as European nations, have procedures, such as the Madrid System and the European Directives, that allow trademarks, trade names and service marks to be registered in numerous European nations under one application. Other countries require separate applications to be filed for each country.

Protection of Patents, Trademarks, Trade Names, and Service Marks
By working with you to implement comprehensive patent, trademark, trade name, and service mark protection programs early on, by the timely filing of registration applications in the countries in which you do business, and by crafting appropriate agreements for use with employees, independent contractors, and third party technology developers, we help to ensure that you protect and maximize the value of your patents, trademarks, trade names and service marks. You can look to us to help with registration of your trademarks to protect your brands and products, and for counsel regarding your patent, trademark, trade name and service mark licenses and other business contracts that relate to that intellectual property. You can rely upon us for strategic thinking and experienced perspective during the acquisition or sale of any such intellectual property.

Prosecuting or Defending Cease and Desist Demands and Alleged Infringement
Whether you are creating a work or licensing someone else’s, buying a business, hiring a freelancer, protecting a database, licensing images, or posting a website, our attorneys work proactively to make sure you own and register the patents, trademarks, trade names and/or service marks your business depends on. Our attorneys are experienced and up to date in this rapidly evolving area of the law. We give our clients the advice they need to secure their rights, avoid litigation, and maximize their growth.