Vedder Price’s intellectual property practice is directed in the development, protection and exploitation of intellectual property assets for its clients, and also at effectively enforcing such rights and defending its clients in courts throughout the country and before federal agencies, such as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the U.S. International Trade Commission, when necessary.

The need for intellectual property protection, as well as the clear, prompt evaluation and resolution of issues and problems surrounding it, has become increasingly important for both large and small clients. Companies and their shareholders today realize the value of intellectual property and recognize the need for consistent and comprehensive attention in this area. Our intellectual property attorneys are capable of handling any project or problem confronting our clients, protecting their investment and strengthening their competitive advantage.

Many areas of intellectual property and technology protection overlap. For example, design patents, product configuration, trade dress and copyrights may cover slightly different aspects of the same product. Therefore, it is important that legal counsel be familiar with and capable of dealing with issues affecting all these areas. We consult our other practice areas, when needed, to ensure that we offer the best solution for intellectual property and technology protection.

In addition, competitive business situations have shown a need for protection by contract and for guidance in employer–employee relationships, areas of confidential information and trade secrets, competitive covenants and manufacturing agreements. All of these issues are familiar to our intellectual property attorneys, who actively counsel clients with respect to various statutes and laws related to patents, trademarks and copyrights, such as the trade secret laws and state employee inventor statutes.

Additionally, our Intellectual Property group works frequently in the mergers and acquisitions area to provide sophisticated transactional capabilities and a significant understanding of the importance of strategic technological and intellectual property assets as well as an established international network of associates.