Arent Fox LLP

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Practicing Law Since 1942, with Offices in Washington, DC, New York City and Los Angeles

Intellectual Property

Your company has worked hard to develop its products and services and build an excellent reputation with your customers. How do you ensure that competitors won’t slow you down? You need an IP firm that understands your business.

Arent Fox recognizes that to be a valued and trusted partner, a law firm must play an active role in the growth of its clients’ businesses. We start by ensuring that we have a thorough understanding of their business objectives, operations and competitive challenges. We bring years of experience in industries such as life sciences, electronics, software, consumer products, media and entertainment, and many others. We know that only with this knowledge can we properly implement a forward-looking strategy to both protect and leverage our clients’ valuable IP assets and to design around existing technologies.

As a full-service law firm with more than 70 full-time IP professionals, we offer a broad range of services related to the acquisition, enforcement and commercial exploitation of IP rights and assets. With extensive experience prosecuting and defending against infringement claims in state and federal courts throughout the United States, Arent Fox is one of the nation’s preeminent IP litigation firms. We have brought and defended numerous lawsuits and proceedings in federal district and appellate courts, the US Supreme Court, the US Patent Office Board of Appeals and Interferences, ADR tribunals and the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board as well as before the International Trade Commission.

We are proud of our track record of delivering exceptional legal services, facilitating the launch of innovative new products and services and, most of all, helping our clients to achieve their ambitious business goals. Our focus areas include:

IP Litigation

Arent Fox has represented clients in numerous suits involving claims of patent, trademark and copyright infringement, unfair competition, trade secret misappropriation and false advertising in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout the country.

We have handled many cases before the administrative tribunals in the US Patent and Trademark Office and in foreign IP offices and courts in many other countries. We also have handled hundreds of domain name disputes using Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.

Patent Law

Arent Fox has significant experience in the electrical, chemical, biotechnology and mechanical arts. Due to the proximity of our Washington, DC, office to the US Patent and Trademark Office, Arent Fox encourages clients to use personal interviews to advance their patent applications. The lawyers (several of whom are former patent examiners), patent agents and legal assistants in our patent group provide all services required to secure and maintain patent ownership and protection, including:
* Counseling and preparation of opinions on infringement and validity of patents
* Litigating cases involving patent infringement, validity, licensing and related matters
* Investigating and preparing opinions on the potential patentability of inventions
* Drafting and filing provisional, utility, design, plant and Patent Cooperation Treaty international patent applications
* Obtaining term extensions for pharmaceutical patents
* Advising, creating and overseeing patent portfolios for technology and consumer products and services businesses
* Assisting with technology transfer and know-how licensing
* Assisting clients in using their patent rights to leverage their profitability

Trademark Law

Arent Fox is consistently rated as having one of the country’s top trademark practices; our lawyers serve clients in a broad range of industries in the United States and worldwide. We assist clients with issues related to:
* Clearance: searching and advising on the availability of trademarks and trade names; devising creative solutions for clearing marks; advising on when to obtain rights to marks owned by others
* Registration: managing brands globally; registering marks in more than 120 countries; maintaining a docket of more than 40,000 active trademark applications and registrations worldwide.
* Policing: designing programs tailored to prevent infringement of our clients’ trademark rights; using third-party watch services and independent research to identify infringers
* Anticounterfeiting: coordinating anti-counterfeiting programs; working with customs service officials in apprehending shipments of counterfeit goods; working with investigators to find counterfeit goods
* Litigation: representing plaintiffs and defendants before federal and state courts and the International Trade Commission in trademark, unfair competition, cybersquatting, antitrust and breach of contract claims
* Transactions: preparing license agreements, assignments and security interests in these rights

Copyright and Entertainment Law

Arent Fox represents clients across the copyright spectrum, including motion picture and television producers, advertising agencies, interactive software companies, online service organizations, live theatrical producers, music publishers, music record labels, architectural firms, photographers, artists, as well as manufacturers of toys, apparel, textiles, carpets, industrial tools, automotive products and other copyrightable works. The practice encompasses all phases of copyright law, including:
* Counseling and preparing opinions on infringement and validity of copyrights
* Preparing and prosecuting applications for copyright registration
* Litigating copyright issues
* Handling transactional issues involving rights clearances and acquisitions
* Negotiating and drafting outsourcing and other agreements related to copyrighted software
* Counseling clients on international copyright treaties and how they interact with domestic copyright laws; advising on bilateral copyright relations between the United States and foreign countries

Right of Publicity Law

Arent Fox represents and counsels motion picture, television and music producers; advertising agencies; licensing companies; photo stock houses; and individual rights holders regarding right of publicity law. Our lawyers have served as counsel in several landmark right of publicity cases in California and other jurisdictions, and they have published and lectured extensively in the area. The practice encompasses all aspects of right of publicity law, including:
* Representing plaintiffs and defendants in right of publicity actions in state and federal courts nationwide
* Designing policing programs tailored to prevent infringement of our client’s rights, leveraging in-house and third-party watch services and independent researches to identify infringers
* Negotiating and handling rights clearances and acquisitions, including license agreements, assignments and security agreements for publicity rights
* Preparing and filing right of publicity registration statements
* Advising clients regarding the estate and trust planning aspects of postmortem rights issues

Contests and Sweepstakes Law

Arent Fox is known for its experience in regulations pertaining to sweepstakes and contests, from initial conception to postpromotion activities, including:
* Structuring promotions to achieve clients’ goals and to comply with US and international laws
* Drafting promotion rules to protect clients’ interests
* Clearing promotion rules and procedures with foreign counsel
* Registering promotions in states, provinces and countries and procuring surety bonds
* Reviewing advertisements, including direct mail, Web sites and banner advertisements
* Assisting clients in awarding prizes and preparing affidavits of eligibility and liability releases
* Managing consumer complaints and litigating promotional and advertising matters

Advertising Law

Arent Fox advises on all aspects of advertising and trade regulation law. We counsel businesses on how to avoid and respond to investigations by federal and state government agencies for alleged false advertising, unfair sales and marketing practices. We litigate false advertising and unfair competition claims between competitors in court and in the industry’s self-regulatory proceedings. Focus areas include:
* Advertising
* Internet law
* Sales promotions
* Telemarketing and other direct marketing activities
* Distribution and order fulfillment
* Product safety
* Franchising and business opportunities
* Warranties

Internet and E-Commerce Law

Arent Fox was a pioneer in the Internet and e-commerce arena and is recognized as one of the leading law firms offering guidance on online legal issues. Some of our attorneys teach courses on e-commerce and have been named by trade journals as experts in their fields. We negotiate industry-leading arrangements and provide counsel on all major technology innovations used to monetize content and maximize brand awareness, including application service platforms, search technology, video and audio streaming and mobile download content licensing and syndication.

Arent Fox LLP
1050 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington DC 20036-5369
Tel: 202 857-6000
Fax: 202 857-6395