Intellectual Property Litigation

A competitor introduces a new product that is strikingly similar to yours, and you believe it may infringe your patent, copyright and/or trademarks. You receive a letter claiming that you are infringing a trademark and demanding that you change the name of your business within seven days - or else. Your company receives a letter out of the blue stating that your new product infringes another company's patent and demands that your company take a license. Key employees suddenly resign and start their own business, competing directly with your company, and you believe they have taken critical computer files.

People in business face intellectual property disputes like these every day. Many times, these are truly "bet the company" disputes; other times, you may be faced with a lawsuit that is simply an attempt to make a quick dollar. In these types of cases, you need experienced intellectual property litigators who can provide sound practical and legal advice regarding your options. Duane Morris intellectual property litigators provide such advice to help you make the best decision for your company. If that means taking a case to trial, we will not hesitate to do so.

In today's legal environment, however, only a small percentage of cases go to trial. Thus, it is crucial that you have counsel who is focused on your business objectives and the most cost-effective means of achieving those objectives. If a creative business resolution is in order, we will litigate the case in a manner that will drive the case toward such a resolution. We also have extensive experience in the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. From the outset of each case, we explore with our clients the potential risks, opportunities and costs associated with various strategies for dispute resolution, including litigation, mediation, arbitration, and negotiated settlements.

With Duane Morris, your legal representation is being provided by attorneys who have handled intellectual property cases of all kinds, including patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyrights. Our clients include businesses large and small, universities and individuals. We can litigate cases in a cost-effective manner in any venue, whether it be state court, federal district court, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or the International Trade Commission.

Indeed, our intellectual property litigators have been involved in many of the cases that have defined the scope of intellectual property rights. These cases resulted in decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States or of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the special appeals court for patent cases. Representative lawsuits include College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Educ. Expense Bd., a case that resulted in two Supreme Court decisions defining the limits of applicability of federal patent and trademark laws to state entities; Nobelpharma AB v. Implant Innovations, Inc., a Federal Circuit decision affirming a major award of damages to our client for the plaintiff's antitrust violation in attempting to enforce a patent procured through fraud; and Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., which resulted in decisions of the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court establishing that interpretation of patent claims is a question of law to be decided by a judge rather than by a jury, in what have become known as "Markman" hearings.

Patent Litigation

Duane Morris patent litigators have handled disputes in fields such as biotechnology, medical devices, semiconductor manufacturing, television set-top boxes, Internet and e-mail related technologies, factory automation, oil drilling, water treatment and purification, electrical components and fiberglass boat manufacturing. Our patent litigators combine mastery in trial advocacy, an in-depth knowledge of patent law, an aptitude for science and technology and a focus on our clients' business objectives. We represent clients in enforcing their patents, defending against claims of patent infringement, and disputes concerning inventorship and ownership of patents, and patent licenses. Duane Morris litigators have played a leading role in some of the most important cases in the field of patent law, as well as some of the most complex (including the largest patent case ever tried before the International Trade Commission). National publications recognize Duane Morris among the leading U.S. law firms handling patent cases. In 2005, Duane Morris was recognized as the 13th most active patent litigation firm in the U.S., as well as ranked 16th nationally in the number of new patent litigation matters undertaken in 2005, according to IP Law360. The publication again named Duane Morris in the top 20 percent of firms doing patent litigation in 2006, and IP Law & Business included the firm in their 2006 rankings of firms handling patent cases.

In every patent case, our litigators either have the necessary technical expertise or work closely with patent specialists who have such technical expertise. Dozens of our attorneys practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Our attorneys hold technical or scientific degrees in fields such as computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry, chemical engineering, physics, nuclear engineering, microbiology, molecular biophysics and biochemistry. We have experience in all aspects of patent law, including patent preparation and prosecution, clearance opinions and interference proceedings. Our approach to patent litigation makes it easier for our clients to transfer complex technical information to our attorneys and enables us to present that information to judges and juries in a simple and persuasive way.

Trademark, Trade Dress and Unfair Competition Litigation

In trademark litigation, we focus on protecting the goodwill and brand value that our clients have worked to develop through their trademarks and trade dress. Our attorneys handle an array of trademark, trade dress and unfair competition disputes, including those concerning Internet domain names, consumer product trademarks, business names, trademark dilution, trademark counterfeiting, false advertising, and clothing and accessory designs and other forms of trade dress.

Our litigators counsel clients on the most effective strategies for protecting their trademarks, whether registered or protected under common law. We prosecute and defend trademark and unfair competition lawsuits in state and federal courts throughout the country as well as internationally, and we have extensive experience in seeking and defending against preliminary injunctions. We handle proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, including oppositions to pending trademark applications and petitions to cancel existing registrations. Our attorneys also represent clients in disputes concerning Internet domain names under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy of ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). We also have designed and implemented international brand protection programs, including on behalf of major automobile manufacturers. IP Law360 ranked Duane Morris among the top five percent of firms handling trademark litigation in 2006.

Trade Secret Litigation

Our attorneys have handled trade secret litigation concerning a range of diverse technologies. Duane Morris litigators prosecute and defend claims of trade secret misappropriation in both state and federal courts across the country. As in patent litigation, we assemble teams of attorneys with both trial experience and technical expertise to present complex issues in a comprehensible, persuasive manner.

Copyright Litigation

We assist clients in enforcing copyright claims and defending claims of infringement in a wide variety of areas, including computer software, as well as literary, musical, pictorial, audiovisual, sound recording and other works. Our lawyers have obtained ex parte orders to seize counterfeit goods under both the copyright and trademark laws. IP Law360 ranked Duane Morris among the top 10 percent of law firms conducting copyright litigation in 2006.

Additional Information

For additional information, please contact Woody Jameson, Anthony J. Fitzpatrick or any of the practice members referenced in the Attorney Listing.