Schnader has been actively engaged in the broad scale practice of intellectual property law for more than 35 years. The practice includes domestic and international patent procurement and trademark and copyright registration, computer law and associated transactional matters, and related licensing, counseling and litigation.
The Intellectual Property Practice Group consists of lawyers who are registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and lawyers who have experience in such related areas as trademarks, copyrights, computer law, licensing and intellectual property litigation. The group regularly draws upon the experience of the Firm’s tax, antitrust and corporate lawyers.
We understand clients’ technologies and help guide them through the complexities of today’s intellectual property laws. Our lawyers participate actively in intellectual property associations, including the Intellectual Property Section of the American Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the International Trademark Association and the Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association, for which one member of our group has served as president.
Procurement of Rights
Schnader represents domestic and international clients before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in obtaining patents and federal registration of trademarks and service marks, and before the U.S. Copyright Office in securing copyright registration for various types of works.
Our patent practice includes preparation and prosecution of applications directed to inventions in a variety of technologies. Our lawyers advise clients on the prospects for obtaining patents on new inventions.
In the trademark field, we prepare and prosecute applications for state and federal registration. Our lawyers handle contested proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and regularly advise clients on the availability of proposed marks for use and registration.
Lawyers in the group prepare applications for registration of various copyrightable works, including computer programs. We also provide advice on issues relating to ownership and adaptation of works that may be subject to copyright.
Our international practice, which is conducted through corresponding law firms in more than 35 countries, includes prosecution of applications for patents and trademarks. We consult with a network of international agents to provide a strategy of protection tailored to meet the individual legal and business needs of our clients. In addition, we provide local services for international attorneys seeking to obtain U.S. patents and trademark registrations on behalf of their clients.
Protection of Rights
Patent and Other Technical Litigation
Our technical litigation practice is national and international in scope. We represent plaintiffs and defendants in utility and design patent infringements and in trade secret and other technical unfair competition matters.
Clients in utility patent infringement matters have included a large European manufacturer of computer-controlled panel bending machines and U.S. manufacturers of medical products, industrial process chemicals, railroad equipment and numerous electro-mechanical products.
We also are active in trade secret and unfair competition matters. We recently represented several large corporations as plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information by departing employees and independent third parties.
Our lawyers respond quickly and forcefully to litigation situations. We have experience in prosecuting and defending motions for temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions and are accustomed to responding on short notice to the immediate needs of the Firm’s clients, in addition to fulfilling their sustained technical litigation needs.
Nontechnical Litigation
Our lawyers prosecute and defend cases involving domain names, trademarks, trade names and trade dress for regional, national and international clients. For example, we defended a leading U.S. retailer against a claim of infringement involving a logo used on apparel and other soft goods. We also represented that same retailer in its successful efforts to prevent an international conglomerate with a similar trade name from entering the U.S. market under that name. Our lawyers successfully prosecuted unfair competition claims arising from the use of similar trade dress in such areas as franchised fast food outlets. We also tried a complex and novel case involving trademarked colors used on industrial products in the metal forming market.
In the field of copyrights, we represent publishers, broadcasters and other media clients, both in enforcing their copyrights and in defending against claims of infringement. These wide-ranging matters have involved textbooks, baseball cards, aircraft safety evacuation cards and crystal figurines. Our lawyers have also handled claims of infringement of copyright in computer software.
We are often called upon to protect intellectual property rights in the context of license agreements. Our lawyers have brought and defended claims for violation of licenses, and have acted to protect, through interpleader, the rights of licensees confronted with competing claims to royalty payments.
Transactional Matters
Schnader handles transactions, such as licensing, leasing, franchising, distribution agreements, and acquisitions and joint ventures, that have involved clients ranging from large multinational corporations to emerging companies to individual entrepreneurs. We represent both licensors and licensees of patents, trademarks and copyrights in the United States and internationally. Our lawyers have represented clients in the publishing industry in licensing copyrights in connection with translated works as well as the licensing of the original works in English. We represent both lessors and lessees in the leasing of computer hardware and software.
Members of the group are experienced in conducting intellectual property audits, and in representing sellers and buyers in acquisitions of technology, know-how and other intellectual property, as well as computer hardware and software.
As an adjunct to licensing, leasing and acquisition transactions, lawyers in the group negotiate and draft consulting, employment, confidentiality and noncompetition agreements. We represent banks and borrowers where the proceeds of a loan will be used for the purpose of acquiring technology or where intellectual property is provided as security for the loan.