Business Strategy Guidance

Intellectual Property Lawyers Advising Clients Worldwide

Sometimes patents, copyrights, or trademarks are among a business’ most vital assets. The way that a company protects its intellectual property can make a huge difference to its worth. At Chavous IP Law, our attorneys use their experience to advise businesses all over the world on how to mitigate risks and move forward with intellectual property development. Our litigation experience affords us a deep understanding of the potential pitfalls that businesses may encounter when entering or developing a market. If you need comprehensive business strategy guidance in connection with your company’s IP, you should contact the experienced Boston intellectual property lawyers at Chavous IP Law. Our attorneys can evaluate situations for clients in a broad range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, engineering, computer sciences, finance, fashion, and nanotechnology.

Business Strategy Guidance

We help businesses build and leverage intellectual property portfolios. We also help them defend these important assets against copying or theft by others. Our sense of the risks and strengths of IP litigation in the areas of patents, copyrights, and trademarks permits our clients to determine the appropriate course of action for their business in many different kinds of situations.

Patent Protection and Infringement

Patenting your company’s work can be a crucial part of building a strong business. Anybody who discovers or invents a useful and new manufacture, machine, process, or composition of matter or improvement of one of these can obtain a patent, subject to certain legal requirements and conditions. A patent is a powerful asset because it allows the business that owns it to stop others from making, selling, using, importing, or even offering to sell any of the techniques or products that are covered by the patent.

However, patents need to be enforced by their owners, and litigation is expensive. To establish the right to damages and an injunction, your attorney will need to prove that it is more likely than not that the defendant infringed your patent. The defendant will have an opportunity to establish that the claims that you set forth in your patent are invalid, and it may file for inter partes review. When infringement is successfully proven, you can ask for monetary damages and an injunction, but due to the expense, not every case should be litigated. In some cases, it may be possible to stop infringement through a cease and desist letter. When there is great risk involved in aggressively asserting patent rights, negotiations rather than litigation may be appropriate. From our Boston office, we can guide clients throughout the world in obtaining a patent, asserting infringement claims, and defending against claims of infringement by others.

Copyright Protection and Infringement

Copyright protection inures to any original work of authorship that is fixed in a tangible medium of expression from which it can be reproduced, perceived, or communicated either directly or with the help of a device. When your business owns copyright in a work of authorship, it has the exclusive rights to distribute, reproduce, perform, display, or license it, as well as the exclusive rights to prepare any derivative works of it. These exclusive rights last for a specific term and are limited by the right of fair use. When somebody else infringes on your copyright, it is important to consult an experienced strategist. There are situations in which a cease and desist letter may be effective, but there are also situations in which aggressive litigation is the appropriate solution.

Trademark Protection and Infringement

Both federal and state laws protect trademarks. Trademarks can be descriptive, generic, suggestive, or arbitrary and fanciful, and they receive protection or not accordingly. When you own a trademark, you can enforce your rights in several different ways. One method of enforcement is a trademark infringement lawsuit, in which you will need to show a likelihood of confusion for consumers. The courts will examine the likelihood of confusion by looking at these factors: the strength of the mark, the proximity of the goods, the similarity of the marks, any evidence of actual confusion, the caution used by a typical buyer, the similarity of marketing channels, and intent. However, another method of enforcement is a dilution claim. In a dilution claim, you will need to prove that somebody else’s use of the mark dilutes its distinctiveness through blurring or tarnishment.

Consult an Intellectual Property Lawyer at our Boston Firm

We guide our clients through the process of obtaining IP protection and defending against copyright, trademark, and patent violations without breaking the bank. We also provide guidance on using an IP portfolio to maximize market share and obtain a return on investments. This may involve analysis about whether to assert IP rights against infringers in litigation, or whether to try to come to a mutually agreeable resolution outside court. If you are seeking business strategy guidance in connection with your company’s IP, the Boston attorneys at Chavous IP Law may be able to help you. Our principal has a decade of patent experience in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biochemistry, biotechnology, immunology, and medical devices. We represent clients throughout the United States and the world. Contact us at 351-207-5972 or via our online form.