Intellectual Property
Briggs and Morgan assists clients with intellectual property needs (in the U.S. and internationally) that involve patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret and licensing matters; corporate issues involving restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, antitrust and trade regulation, unfair competition and franchising; and technology relating to inventions, computer software and hardware, the Internet, electronics, medical devices and bioinformatics.
The two most valuable assets a company can possess are its employees and the ideas they create. As the pace of invention, innovation and competition accelerates, the need to protect intellectual property rights has become more urgent and the issues more complex.
To meet client needs, Briggs and Morgan provides assistance in training managers and employees to recognize and protect business assets using intellectual property. In addition, we can identify situations where intellectual property laws can solve specific business problems or address particular competitive concerns. Briggs attorneys can also address how to use intellectual property in a comprehensive way to maximize the value of a business, protect its strength and integrity, stay competitive in the field, and stimulate growth and progress. We give practical and understandable advice wherever intellectual property rights affect decisions or policies relating to employment, taxation, human resources, financing, or the general operation of a business.
In addition to training and counsel, Briggs can evaluate a company’s intellectual property portfolio and policies, suggesting alternatives that will enable the use of intellectual property for achieving specific strategic goals and meeting long-range plans. We show clients how to strategize with intellectual property serving as the foundation of a product distribution or expansion strategy.
Briggs also assists clients in securing U.S. and foreign patents, state, federal and international trademark registrations, copyright registrations, and other property rights that protect and preserve the work of employees and authors. We help enforce intellectual property rights against infringers, provide advice regarding how to determine if a client is infringing the intellectual property rights of others, and determine whether those rights are valid and enforceable.
We help clients utilize and license technology, structure business and financial transactions (where underlying assets include intellectual property), and facilitate commercial endeavors where intellectual property and technology play an important role.