Patent, Trademarks and Copyright

Due to the increasing complexities and expenses of operating a business in these times, the importance of protecting one’s intellectual property rights has become a critical element of any successful business operation.
 
BrownWinick, with its compliment of three registered patent attorneys and experienced intellectual property paralegals, is well staffed to provide a full range of intellectual property protection as required. Presently, one or more of the BrownWinick attorneys are named the attorney of record on over 250 issued patents and on 40 to 50 applications still being prosecuted. Additionally, the Intellectual Property practice group has filed and prosecuted well over 1,500 trademarks and currently manages over 1,000 trademarks for which they are listed as the attorney of record in the United States Patent and Trademark Office in addition to some 150 state of Iowa registered marks.
 
Transactional
As the above numbers show, the Intellectual Property practice group has knowledge and experience upon which to draw and provide assistance in even the most complex business transactions. Taking part in various aspects of a variety of transactions on a regular basis makes the Intellectual Property practice group a valuable component of the BrownWinick legal teams involved in transactional work. The group regularly participates by providing valuation services, due diligence analysis for mergers and acquisitions, assessment of infringement conflicts, evaluation of risks, validation of ownership rights and negotiation of licensing and cross-licensing agreements.  Many clients also benefit from our counsel regarding the ongoing management of their intellectual property portfolios and our assistance in international transactions.

Patents
The BrownWinick Intellectual Property practice group is active in all areas of obtaining and enforcing patent rights for our clients, both domestic and international. As part of this activity the group performs prior art validity and infringement searches and opinions, prepares patent applications and prosecutes such applications through the Patent and Trademark Office and maintains patents that are issued by assisting clients in filing patent maintenance payments. The BrownWinick Intellectual Property practice group is also experienced in the rapidly escalating area of litigation in intellectual property law. Enforcing patents through litigation or defending clients involved in patent litigation is a critical aspect of the services we provide.
 
Trademarks
The Intellectual Property practice group regularly conducts trademark searches to determine the availability of proposed marks, prepares and files trademark applications and prosecutes these applications through various trademark offices around the world. We assist clients with maintenance of registered trademarks through the filing of required affidavits and renewal applications. Additionally, the group helps its clients build and protect goodwill in trademarks by providing advice on trademark use, negotiating and drafting license agreements and providing litigation services for initiating or defending trademark lawsuits.
 
Copyrights
Providing services to clients for preparing and filing applications for copyright registration and advising clients with respect to protecting a variety of works including writings, art and music is an area in which the Intellectual Property practice group regularly practices. Negotiating licenses of copyright protected material to generate new revenue streams is another way in which we assist our clients. The group also provides litigation services in connection with copyright matters.
 
Domain Names and Websites
Registering and obtaining rights to domain names, handling domain name disputes and addressing cyberpiracy are services provided to many clients by the Intellectual Property practice group. We also advise clients on the proper construction and use of websites to avoid trademark infringement or copyright issues when creating a website, as well as constructing terms of use and privacy policies for posting on the website.
 
Franchising
The Intellectual Property practice group also prepares franchise agreements and the appropriate disclosure documents required for conducting franchising activities throughout the United States. The group obtains franchise registrations in those states requiring registration for franchisors. Reviewing and negotiating franchisee agreements for franchisors and franchisees is another area of our expertise.
 
Trade Secrets
Many clients choose to protect at least some portion of their intellectual property as trade secrets. The Intellectual Property practice group assists clients by conducting trade secret audits, advising them on which strategies to employ to protect their trade secrets and drafting appropriate nondisclosure and nonuse agreements for protected disclosure.  The group also provides litigation services related to the protection trade secrets and creates licensing strategies and related documents when necessary.

Intellectual Property Litigation
Represent clients in all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secrets cases, at the trial level, in the appellate courts and in mediation and arbitration. The firm's attorneys have handled matters in State and Federal District Court and the Federal and Regional Circuit Courts of Appeal.