Unfair Competition
The following professional services are available to clients:
1. Trade Secrets: Counselling to clients concerning the best method of protecting technology internationally, whether by patent or trade secret. Implementation of security procedures to protect trade secrets to the extent possible.
2. Secrecy Agreements: Prepared on a customized basis for business information exchange conferences between company representatives.
3. Employment/Consultant Agreements and Procedures: An agreement is prepared and procedures set in place to assure that all inventions made by employees and consultants relating to the client's business are automatically assignable to the client without further remuneration. These assure full title to the invention by the client rather than a mere "shop right" or a non-exclusive, personal license from the employee/consultant inventor. The agreement provides for the protection of client trade secrets both during and after the term of employment. Policy procedures are implemented to protect the legal enforceability of the agreement by meeting individual State requirements.
4. Intellectual Property Audits: Conducted to determine whether the patents,trademarks and copyrights which the client owns, or believes it owns, are correctly recorded in the records of the U.S. and foreign patent offices, whether liens exist, and whether they are still in force. In an expanded audit, technical personnel are individually interviewed to determine whether intellectual property exists which has not previously been identified. This is especially important for mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buy-outs, venture capital investments, and enhancing the net worth of the business.
5. Online Computer Searching: Performed to determine the existence and legal status of U.S. patents, trademarks and copyrights, as well as on-going litigation concerning U.S. patents and trademark registrations. Searches of granted foreign patents and early published foreign patent applications can provide advance warning of competitor research projects.
6. Patent Monitoring: A program can be instituted for the weekly monitoring of the Official Gazette of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for patents. This is useful for previewing the R&D efforts of competitors.
7. Employee Awareness Program: A presentation is made to participating technical staff members to advise them how to identify intellectual property issues and possible new inventions. An introduction to all forms of intellectual property is provided. Technical personnel can be individually interviewed to determine whether inventions exist which have not previously been identified.
8. Employee Invention Compensation: An employee incentive program through financial participation can be instituted to encourage inventions and improvements for corporate betterment.
9. Corporate Policy Statement: A formal policy statement is instituted and incorporated in the corporate policy manual for the protection of various forms of intellectual property. Current and new employees are made aware of the policy and steps are taken to ensure compliance. This procedure assists in the resolution of employee disputes.
10. Competitive Product Analysis: A program is instituted to routinely analyze the new and existing products of competitors to determine whether they infringe the client's patents.
11. Joint Research and Development: Agreements are negotiated and prepared concerning ownership and use of research results developed jointly by two or more entities such as corporations, universities, independent laboratories and consulting firms.
12. Technology Transfer and Licensing: Assistance is provided in the negotiation of licensing and sale terms for all forms of intellectual property, an agreement is drafted, the required formal recordings made and a monitoring program set in place.
13. U.S. Customs Exclusion Orders: It is a violation of U.S. statutes and regulations to import products which infringe U.S. patents, trademarks and copyrights. Competitive goods which infringe the client's intellectual property rights can be excluded from entering the United States through the enforcement of the U.S. Customs Service. Shipments of goods can be monitored through investigatory sources.
14. Client Counseling: Clients are advised about available strategies and tactics to maximize protection and advancement of their interests in any and all branches of intellectual property.