Intellectual Property— Through decades of practice, the lawyers at Carlson, Boyd & Bailey have established themselves in the forefront of helping businesses and individuals prosper through the protection of their ideas, innovations, and product and business identity. Today our intellectual property attorneys are experienced in the full range of intellectual property protections available worldwide. We also apply common sense and advise clients on the practicalities of their options and what level of protection makes good business sense in the long run. Our intellectual property services include the following:

• Conducting plant patent, trademark, service mark and copyright searches and evaluations
• Obtaining utility, plant and design patent protection
• Counseling in trademark, service mark, trade name and corporate name selection and adoption, and registering and protecting the marks and names
• Obtaining copyright registration and protection
• Structuring, drafting and negotiating franchise, dealership and distribution agreements
• Drafting and negotiating contracts for protection, exploitation, assignment, merchandising and licensing of intellectual property rights
•   Protecting trade dress rights in product packaging and the distinctive appearance of products and service establishments
• Protecting business information and trade secrets, and related nondisclosure, noncompetition, anti-solicitation and anti-piracy issues
• Protecting against counterfeiting and other acts of unfair competition
• Protecting rights of privacy and publicity
• Addressing advertising concerns, including commercial defamation, false advertising claims, and comparative advertising issues
• Resolving plant patent disputes through litigation, as well as through arbitration, mediation, and other alternative dispute resolution approaches

An effective intellectual property practice requires a dedicated team of professionals who can merge their knowledge, legal and technical expertise, and business acumen with the right combination of negotiation and advocacy skills to produce legal solutions that match clients’ business goals and competitive philosophies. In approaching any project, we make sure we know the “big picture;” that is, we learn how the project fits into our client’s short- and long-term goals; what the client hopes to achieve by protecting or licensing a particular piece of intellectual property; whether the project is global in nature or territorially limited; what the competitive landscape is against which the client’s IP strategies will be implemented; and what budgetary constraints and financial expectations for the project our client faces. Armed with this knowledge, we are able to recommend to our clients a balanced but aggressive approach to their IP needs that meets their goals and objectives, maximizes the return on their investment, and limits downside risks. Our attorneys also use sound business and marketing judgment to counsel clients in the selection, protection, enforcement and licensing of trademarks to address the global brand management issues which necessarily confront any company in today’s international economy. For further information, please contact Carlson, Boyd & Bailey today.