Comprehensive service and personal concern

In the midst of life's complexities, we try to keep things simple for our clients. We do this by providing a complete range of intellectual property law services -- including preparation, prosecution, licensing, counsel and litigation. We pride ourselves on our ability to understand our clients' needs and exceed their expectations. We have also developed an international network of associate firms, which allows us to offer intellectual property law services worldwide.

Our major practice areas are outlined below.

Patents

Each year Price Heneveld^® attorneys successfully prepare and prosecute over 300 patent applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Other related services include patentability, infringement, state-of-the-art and patentee/assignee data base searches, international patent protection and patent watching services.

Trademarks

Trademark law is another of our key practice areas. Our attorneys regularly prepare and file applications for trademark registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and/or individual states. We also conduct name clearance searches to help clients avoid selecting trade names that could infringe upon existing names or marks.

Copyrights

Our extensive experience in copyright matters enables us to provide maximum protection for our clients' copyrights in the United States and in foreign countries. In addition to advice and counsel, we help clients apply for copyright registration when appropriate.

Trade dress and unfair competition

Our expertise in product and packaging trade dress allows us to counsel clients in their selection of distinctive product and package designs that avoid infringing on the rights of others. Our practice also involves advising clients concerning unfair competition, which is the unfair imitation of a competitor's product (in appearance, packaging, name or any other protectible feature) in order to obtain the benefits belonging to the competitor's business. We serve as a resource to help clients determine their legitimate business rights and plan marketing strategies and counter-strategies.

Trade secrets and non-compete covenants

Our attorneys help clients determine the best plans for protecting proprietary information from improper use by competitors or past or current employees. Our services include drafting confidentiality agreements and non-compete covenants tailored to cover key technical employees and employees in charge of valuable, sensitive documents and information.

Antitrust law concerning intellectual property matters

Federal and state statutes protect trade and commerce from unlawful restraint, price discrimination, price fixing and monopolies. Violations can result in loss of business property, sanctions such as the invalidity of a patent, and civil and criminal penalties. We advise clients on how to lawfully protect their business property within the confines of antitrust law and still obtain the benefits they have earned.

Licensing and distribution contracts

An important part of our practice involves helping clients take full advantage of their business rights by licensing intellectual property to, or from, others. We have developed hundreds of licensing agreements over the years to help companies reap the benefits of technology sharing.

Entertainment law

Entertainment law -- primarily a blend of copyright law, license law and right to privacy and publicity law -- also requires considerable knowledge of areas such as unfair competition and trademark law. Drawing on our broad knowledge and expertise, we provide a balanced plan of protection for clients in the entertainment industry.

Computer law

Price Heneveld^® has frequently negotiated United States and international computer software licenses. Working closely with our clients' general counsel, we also assist with related contracts.

International law

As international trade becomes increasingly important, even smaller companies feel the effects of international competition and are attracted by the opportunity of international markets. Our experience in international law helps clients avoid pitfalls in global trade. We have been involved in developing many international licenses and joint ventures. Through our active international network of associate firms, we can protect our clients' legal interests in every major industrialized country in the world.

Interference practice

In the United States, patents are awarded to the first inventor of a product or process. We have been involved in numerous interference proceedings in the United States Patent Office.

Litigation experience... A record of success

Protection and enforcement of our clients' patent and trademark, copyright, trade secret and unfair competition rights may require litigation. Although most intellectual property infringement cases are settled before reaching trial, we realize that our ability to successfully negotiate and/or enforce intellectual property is critical to our clients' bargaining position. Our seasoned, experienced attorneys have tried numerous cases on their merits and have managed litigation internationally. Following are examples of the firm's litigation accomplishments:

• We obtained an injunction and a monetary award in a trademark/trade name action on behalf of a leading insurance company.
  
• We successfully enforced the pioneer patents for aligning pipe with lasers.
  
• Working in tandem with a general practice firm, we successfully defended the manufacturer of national brand refrigerated display cases against the charge of patent infringement. We brought a countersuit for infringement of our client's patent, resulting in a multi-million-dollar settlement in our client's favor (after trial and appeal to Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit).
  
• We successfully defended a national brand tuna fish canner in a suit alleging infringement of three patents, breach of contract and theft of trade secret. We obtained reversal of a multi-million-dollar jury verdict at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
  
• We successfully prosecuted a large agricultural cooperative for infringement of our client's textured vegetable protein patent. The case was settled after trial and appeal for multi-million-dollar figure.
  
• We successfully prosecuted and defended numerous other litigation matters in the United States and internationally.