Intellectual Property Prosecution & Counseling

Shook, Hardy & Bacon has a long history of success representing multinational and U.S. companies in patent, trademark and copyright infringement cases. Staffed to meet the challenges of this fast-paced area of law, the SHB Intellectual Property Prosecution & Counseling Practice comprises more than 30 patent attorneys who hold various Bachelor of Science degrees; eight patent agents, including one former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiner; and five patent analysts. In addition, this practice leverages the expertise of 125 SHB analysts with advanced degrees in fields such as agriculture; biochemistry, immunochemistry and organic chemistry; electrical and mechanical engineering; pharmacology; toxicology; and computer software and hardware. With access to both veteran litigators and business law specialists, the SHB intellectual property team delivers cost-effective strategies calculated to satisfy the full range of legal needs.

The SHB Intellectual Property Prosecution & Counseling Practice works on behalf of clients to procure both domestic and foreign patent, trademark and copyright protection. SHB maintains an active docket of cases with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in addition to managing hundreds of similar client files outside the United States. To this end, SHB attorneys have established a network of associate counsel in more than 80 countries to handle national filings and patent proceedings under the Patent Cooperation Treaty and the European Patent Convention. Well-versed in drafting and negotiating patent, trademark and trade secret licenses, this practice has also prosecuted patent applications in a wide variety of technology areas.

The SHB intellectual property group supplements this focus on portfolio development with extensive counseling services designed to assist clients in maintaining, protecting and exploiting proprietary trade secrets. In particular, this practice addresses ownership rights between employer and employee, as well as between businesses and their independent contractors. SHB attorneys also handle strategic acquisition projects involving the identification and attainment of third-party patents and applications of potential value to clients. Moreover, SHB practitioners excel at conducting offensive reviews in order to ascertain which target products or technologies are most likely to infringe on client patent holdings.