Intellectual Property Services
- Patent searches, analysis, application and prosecution
- Trademark searches, application for registration, prosecution and defense
- Brand analyses and development strategy
- Copyright registration and defense
- Trade Secret protection
- Intellectual property mediation, arbitration and negotiation
- Licensing and distribution agreements
- Assignments and equity transfer
- IP portfolio development and management
Protecting Intellectual Property
The law firm of Sandman Law Office, PLLC counsels and represents independent contractors and businesses with concerns regarding intellectual property law, also known as IP law. This can include legal matters surrounding everything from trade secrets, to written content and photographs, to graphics, logos, music, website content, video or film and beyond.
Intellectual property usually originates as an idea, but it’s never too early to begin protecting your ideas and the related products and services that may generate profits for you and your company. Today, companies are well served to consider intellectual property portfolios that include patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. By investing in and building your IP portfolio, you can add value that will increase as you market and build your brand.
When you partner with the law firm of Sandman PLLC, our team will provide sound and comprehensive legal advice and other useful IP resources to you and your business. We take the time to fully understand and thoroughly investigate your concerns, but our attorney will act swiftly, strategically and decisively to protect your legal and intellectual property rights.
•What’s the Difference Between Usage Rights and Exclusive Rights?
When it comes to copyrighted or trademarked material, you may acquire or grant various rights to or from another party, typically for a fee. Usage rights are typically licensed or assigned to a third party who is granted permission to use protected material in a limited capacity. For instance, your company may own the copyright to a photograph and you may opt to grant usage rights that allow a magazine to publish that photograph in an upcoming issue of the publication.
Attorney Sandman can help to draft an intellectual property contract if you opt to hire an independent contractor or another third party to create content on your behalf. We can draft a purchase agreement so you can be sure that you are acquiring appropriate rights to the content in question.
•What’s Considered Fair Use? And What Does It Mean for My Business?
At Sandman PLLC, we also tackle cases of copyright infringement and other IP infringement claims, which may arise when a piece of intellectual property is used without your permission and the usage falls outside of the realm of fair use.
Fair use doctrine refers to a very narrow scope of usage for intellectual property, such as written content or images. IP laws allow for the usage and reproduction of images or portions of written content for the purpose of critique and criticism, news reporting, research or teaching. When intellectual property usage falls under the realm of fair usage, there is no need to get permission from the copyright holder. You are also not required to pay the copyright holder to use the content in a manner that is considered fair use.
Of course, it’s common to encounter a dispute over whether a particular usage is considered fair use. Our attorney can offer insight as to whether a specific situation involves fair use or constitutes a violation of your intellectual property rights. In cases where another person infringes upon your rights, we will issue cease and desist letters, in addition to making demands for compensation when appropriate. In situations where the matter cannot be settled out of court, our legal team will help you file a lawsuit in an attempt to seek justice and fair compensation.
We prefer negotiation to litigation, but we relentlessly advocate for our clients and strategically strive to address legal matters in a way that will maximize your chances of seeing the justice you deserve in the courtroom and beyond.