Always responsive to client needs and priorities, Venable's intellectual property team consistently delivers high-quality, practical analyses and advice rooted in real-world experience. Our nationally recognized team of professionals covers virtually every facet of intellectual property law—from litigation to the acquisition and protection of patents, trademarks, and copyrights, to transactions, and global brand protection.
Maximizing and protecting the value of your intellectual portfolio requires a comprehensive, practical strategy led by attorneys with experience and insight. Venable offers depth you won't find at many general-practice firms, as well as breadth you won't find at most intellectual property boutiques. Organizations of every size count on us to balance aggressive and efficient litigation with strategic counseling in all areas of intellectual property, both in the United States, and around the world.
We know the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and we understand the forces driving the value of intellectual property across industries. Many of our professionals have in-house experience, others served as USPTO examiners, most hold technical degrees, all have the skill and savvy necessary to help clients realize the potential of their IP.
Intellectual Property Litigation
Venable's Intellectual Property Litigation team has a long history of outstanding results in complex intellectual property disputes. As one of the largest groups in the nation, we have successfully represented innovators, patent holders, and brand owners in federal courts, before the International Trade Commission (ITC), in administrative proceedings, and in arbitration and mediation across the country. Our experience extends to nearly every kind of dispute, including patent, trademark, and copyright litigation, as well as Section 337 investigations.
Patent Prosecution and Counseling
Led by former patent examiners and reinforced by attorney-scientists from a variety of technical disciplines, we have prepared and prosecuted tens of thousands of patents for U.S. and international clients. We advise clients whose portfolios total in the tens of millions. In IP audits, we uncover hidden assets, evaluate new technologies, survey the competition for possible infringements and assess the patents of potential acquisitions.
PTO Contested Proceedings
Venable's PTO Contested Proceedings Group is dedicated to representing both patent challengers and patent owners before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Our team includes seasoned patent litigators and registered USPTO practitioners with decades of experience successfully prosecuting patent applications before the USPTO—including reissues, re-exams, and interferences—and arguing appeals before the PTAB and its predecessor.
Trademark Prosecution and Counseling
Venable is dedicated to helping clients protect their brands while providing comprehensive advice on strategy, filing and prosecution, licensing, and related enforcement (e.g., oppositions and cancellations). Globally, we work with an extensive network of trademark lawyers on disputes and transactions as well as the prosecution of trademark applications.
When it comes to domain names, we help clients enforce URLs and combat false search-engine placement. Our attorneys recover names across all domains through administrative dispute resolution procedures. We also counsel clients on threats to their brands, including issues such as "phishing" and "typosquatting."
Copyrights
Venable attorneys have handled seminal copyright disputes in courts throughout the country. We assist leading entertainment companies, video game and software firms, industry associations, and technology organizations in protecting their content against infringement and piracy, in licensing and exploiting their valuable works, and in navigating a variety of matters that include work-for-hire and ownership disputes.
IP Licensing and Transactions
Our licensing team includes not only traditional intellectual property licensing attorneys, but also attorneys in adjacent areas such as advertising and marketing, import and export, bankruptcy, unfair trade, franchising, offshore transactions, tax, and regulation. Many of these attorneys have been engineers, software developers, bench scientists, and consultants for technology businesses. The hands-on experience they bring is critical in negotiating technology licenses, technology transfer agreements, joint ventures, and research contracts.
Practice Focus
- Copyrights
- Domain names
- International Trade Commission (ITC)
- Licensing
- Litigation
- Opinions
- Patents
- Trade secrets
- Trademarks and trade dress
- Unfair competition
Industry Focus
- Aerospace
- Arts
- Automotive
- Chemical
- Computer hardware
- Computer software
- Consumer products
- E-commerce
- Financial services
- Hospitality
- Life Sciences
- Mechanical
- Media and entertainment
- Medical devices
- Pharmaceutical
- Publishing
- Research Institutions
- Retail
- Telecommunications
- Toys and games
