IP Protection Services
Patents and trademarks are only a part of the IP asset portfolio that gives a firm a competitive advantage. Patents, trademarks, service marks, copyrights, trade secrets, etc. are valuable assets for a company. Taken together, this type of asset portfolio can help protect a company’s market position while expanding its ability to generate revenue and margin. WJC LEGAL is able to rely on extensive commercial experience to assist a client to evaluate its IP assets, and employ methods that are effective in maximizing the value of its IP asset portfolio or acquiring rights to third party IP assets.
Effective protection of IP assets requires the development of safeguards that respect a company’s business culture and work environment, and the avoidance of a “one-size-fits-all” approach to IP protection. WJC LEGAL draws on both its commercial and legal experience to assist the client in developing policies, procedures and various agreements that allow the client to maximize its return on investment in its intellectual property asset portfolio.
WJC LEGAL can assist a client with:
IP Protection Services
- Copyrights
- Trade Secret Protection
- Technology Transactions: Negotiate, draft and implement technology transactions (e.g. licensing agreements, technology transfer agreements, distribution agreements, manufacturing agreements, etc.) that respect the intentions of the contracting parties while simultaneously protecting the client’s intellectual property assets.
- Mediation and Early Neutral Evaluation: Resolving IP disputes in today’s world calls for special expertise. WJC LEGAL can act as an independent neutral for mediation and early neutral evaluation.
- Internet Related Services: Protection and registration of patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, service marks and other intellectual property, as they pertain to, and are used by, Web sites.
Copyright Protection
Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship.” Copyright protection provides for the protection of a wide range of works, including software, computer databases, internet materials, books, artwork, plans, etc., both published and unpublished. A copyright exists from the very moment the work is fixed in a tangible medium. Copyright registration is not mandatory, but there are advantages to registering a copyright. Proper protection of a copyright can be the difference between an author/creator/owner profiting from a work and the author/creator/owner watching while someone else profits.
New technology gives rise to potential problems for both authors of original works and consumers of works of authorship. On the one hand, a party wants to protect its copyrightable materials. On the other hand, a party wants to protect itself from exposure resulting from the inadvertent use of another’s copyrighted materials. WJC LEGAL can assist a client in managing the risks and rewards associated with issues implicated by copyright protection, both as a registrant and as a consumer.
WJC LEGAL can assist a client with:
Copyright Services
- Copyright registration for all of the types of works entitled to copyright protection.
- Copyright clearance, analysis and monitoring.
- Negotiation and preparation of copyright licensing agreements and other copyright related agreements.
- Help establish guidelines indicating what work products should be registered and the use of copyrighted materials belonging to others.
- Provide education concerning copyright law to individuals and company employees
Trade Secret Protection
Trade secrets are critical to the success of a business and include such things as customer lists, formulas, algorithms, software codes, unique designs, inventions, industrial techniques and manufacturing processes. Trade secrets are proprietary to a business and provide the business with competitive and/or economic advantages.
Following a trade secret protection program, where possible, prevents competitors from acquiring an organization’s proprietary information and know-how, and allows the organization to use a trade secret in perpetuity. WJC LEGAL will work with clients to establish internal confidentiality procedures and determine a suitable means of protecting trade secrets, including the development and implementation of employment agreements, non-disclosure agreements, consulting agreements, distribution agreements and manufacturing agreements.
WJC LEGAL can assist a client with:
Trade Secret Protection Services
- Identify trade secrets that need protection.
- Conduct misappropriation analyses.
- Help establish trade secret protection programs, including employment policies and agreements.
- Develop confidentiality agreements, including non-disclosure agreements.
- Negotiation and preparation of trade secret licensing agreements and other trade secret related agreements.
- Provide education concerning trade secret law to individuals and company employees.