For many companies, intellectual property is their greatest asset.  At Bell Nunnally, we work closely to help clients identify, realize and protect these valuable resources through informed counseling and strategic litigation.

Our attorneys work closely with companies to protect their intellectual property, whether it take the form of patents, trademarks, copyrights or trade secrets, and have worked with all sizes of companies and technologies that include telecommunications, computer hardware, software, manufacturing, electronics, e-commerce and medical devices.

Our intellectual property litigation experience includes licensing disputes and patent infringement litigation involving complex technologies, copyright and trademark infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets and related claims, as well as false claims, Lanham Act claims, unfair business practices, and internet related claims such as domain name disputes, cybersquatting, and internet security.

Bell Nunnally has an experienced intellectual property transactional practice with attorneys who ably serve client needs in nearly every area of intellectual property, including patent, trademark and copyright prosecution, trade secret, Internet, technology, and licensing. We help clients safeguard their patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and rights of fair competition. We are also engaged to draft and enforce a multitude of agreements designed to secure their intellectual capital, such as joint development, outsourcing, licensing, technology transfer, employment, confidentiality, trade secrets, and nonsolicitation agreements as well as covenants not to compete.

Patents

With experience in the prosecution, licensing, acquisition, and litigation aspects of patents, we assist clients in crafting and implementing overall strategies for protecting and exploiting new technologies. In the areas of patent prosecution and transactional activity, our services include:

• Analyzing the patentability of new technology
• Filing and prosecuting U.S. and foreign patent applications
• Drafting and negotiating license agreements
• Drafting and negotiating asset purchase and technology transfer agreements
• Representing patent owners and third party requestors in reexamination proceedings
• Managing, developing and auditing patent portfolios
• Due Diligence and Freedom to Operate
• Preparing and negotiating manufacturing research and development agreements

Our attorneys have extensive experience in preparing and prosecuting patent applications involving all types of complex technical subject matter. With substantial experience in both domestic and international patent preparation and prosecution, we are able to deliver high-quality services at competitive rates.

Trademark

Bell Nunnally handles all aspects of intellectual property issues that confront growing as well as established companies. Our attorneys are heavily involved in the registration of trademarks and service marks for our clients. We also serve these clients in special trademark proceedings in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office such as oppositions, cancellations, and appeals.  Although the bulk of our practice involves securing and maintaining trademark registrations in the United States, we also assist clients who have portfolios of marks overseas and routinely deal with trademark registrations in the European community and a host of other foreign jurisdictions.

Our trademark practice is distinguished from other firms in that we take a creative, problem-solving approach to the entire process, from trademark selection through registration and renewal. In addition to trademark prosecution and maintenance, we also counsel clients on a variety of topics, including infringement risks, combating infringement and dilution, domain name registration and use of trademarks on the Internet.

Our attorneys have extensive experience in searching and clearing marks for adoption and use by our clients and then filing and prosecuting applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office all the way through appeal.  Our firm's experience and skill is in protecting and enforcing our clients’ rights against infringers, whether in courts across the country or in opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the Patent and Trademark Office.

Our attorneys have experience in all varieties of trademark-related cases from trademark infringement to false advertising, from unfair competition to dilution, and from cybersquatting to trade dress infringement.  Our attorneys are involved in protecting client brands through policing efforts not only through demand letters to brick-and-mortar infringers but also in cyberspace, including stopping Internet scams and frauds, terminating unauthorized online auctions, counseling on First Amendment and fair use issues and participating in domain name proceedings against cybersquatters before the World Intellectual Property Organization.  In addition, our attorneys are well versed in counseling on licensing and franchising issues.

Copyright

Bell Nunnally attorneys help clients protect and defend their copyrights through counseling, licensing and, if necessary, litigation. Bell Nunnally helps its clients build upon and protect their copyright portfolios by identifying copyrightable material, such as software, training manuals, and website content and helping to secure registration rights in those copyrights through applications filed with the U.S. Copyright Office.  We offer advice in a variety of copyright-related areas, including qualifying for copyright protection, copyright infringement, fair use, obtaining permission to use a copyrighted work, and the use and protection of copyrighted works in a variety of media. Our firm also vigorously protects our clients’ copyrights by preventing websites from making unauthorized use of copyrights through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act or initiating litigation for infringement in federal court. Our attorneys have the knowledge and breadth of experience to build and protect our clients’ copyright assets.

Intellectual Property Litigation

Our attorneys are experienced at handling intellectual property cases involving injunctions; trademark and trade dress infringement; copyright infringement; trademark dilution; technology agreements; unfair competition; trade secret misappropriation; noncompetition agreements; and licenses.  We have also represented clients’ interests in government proceedings such as trademark and service mark opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

We have represented clients in connection with various Internet-related disputes and litigation, including domain name disputes (domestic and international); trade secret violations in Internet postings; chat room and bulletin board liability issues; business defamation; data privacy and information rights; security and website “hacker” issues; and liability issues regarding linking, framing and metatags.  Additionally, we regularly advise clients on how to protect trademarks, copyrights, and domain names from infringers and how to avoid infringing the intellectual property rights of others.