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Thank you for considering our firm for your intellectual property needs. 

Intellectual property is an indispensable component of modern business. For many enterprises, the value of intellectual property exceeds the value of all other business assets. Clearly, this is property worth protecting. CWS&S offers a complete suite of services to assist clients in protecting their valuable intellectual property including trade secret procedures, federal and state trade mark registrations and copyright law.  

Too often, we find that our business clients do not recognize intellectual property assets which are capable of protection under various state and federal laws.  Assisting in the identification of protectable intellectual property assets is often the first service performed by CWS&S attorneys for our intellectual property clients.   

When our clients have the need for protection of their inventions, processes and other property under the patent laws, CWS&S works with its specialty referral system to obtain the best qualified and most economical specialist for the particular need.

A Short Primer On Basic Intellectual Property Concepts:

Intellectual property includes ideas, designs, logos, writings, processes, data, softwareCany original artistic or intellectual creation fixed in tangible form. This property can be sold, assigned, or licensed, and, unlike other forms of property, once created, can be copied indefinitely at minimal cost

What are Trademarks and Service Marks?

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or combination of them, used in commerce to identify and distinguish your goods from those produced by someone else. Service marks distinguish services. A mark which infringes on a legitimate existing mark cannot be used. The test of whether a mark infringes is whether buyers of goods or services sold under the mark are likely to be confused or misled as to the origins of the goods or services.

It is not necessary to register a mark in order to own the mark. Actual first use of a mark in commerce is sufficient. However, registering the mark in the Patent Trademark Office (PTO) secures important benefits, such as creating a public record so that others will be advised of your first use. Moreover, the owner of a registered mark is presumed to be the actual owner of the mark for goods or services specified in the registration. While any goods or services used in commerce may display the@J@ or AK@ symbol, only registered marks can use the 7 symbol.

We strongly recommend registration of all marks used by our clients. Any mark may be registered, but the registration must be submitted in the proper form and with appropriate PTO fees. Since legal costs can vary depending on the mark, we would be pleased to discuss costs and fees of registration in advance.

Trademarks and service marks last as long as they are in use, but must be re-registered every ten years. As long as the mark is properly registered and used in commerce, your mark is entitled to protection from unauthorized use.

Copyright is the legal protection given to authors of original works of authorship@ for literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, or intellectual works such as computer software and architectural designs. The owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, or make derivative works from the copyrighted work. A copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 50 years. The test for infringement is whether the work at issue is Asubstantially similar@ in whole or in part to the original work.

A copyright is created automatically when the work is fixed into tangible form. Registration is not required, however, we strongly recommend prompt registration of any work the author expects to use for commercial gain. Registration offers legal benefits, and is required in order to bring a suit for infringement. Costs and fees to register a work are usually modest.

Copyright protects the expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves. For example, source code in software contains instructions for the manner in which a computer will perform a certain task. Since it is a unique expression of ideas, the software is protected by copyright. The task or function performed by the software, however, cannot be copyrighted. The key to ownership of a copyright is whether the work or compilation of information is the author=s original creation.

A patent is a grant of a property right to an inventor by the United States government to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or importing the invention into the United States. Patent law is a highly specialized area of the law and requires representation by an attorney admitted to practice before the PTO. We can refer you to competent patent counsel if required.

Almost every business has exclusive information or unique methods that sets them apart and drives their ability to compete. A trade secret is information such as a formula, device, or compilation which is used in business and which gives the holder the opportunity for advantage over competitors who do not know or use it. Customer lists and similar data can sometimes be protected as trade secrets, depending on the source or openness of the list.

Many companies invest considerable resources in developing and utilizing trade secrets, the loss or dissemination of which can be a serious blow. Means to protect this information include the use of employee confidentiality and no-compete contracts, secrecy measures, and periodic inventory of proprietary data. As long as businesses take reasonable steps to keep this information out of the hands of competitors, laws exist to protect business from harm caused by wrongful disclosure of trade secrets. By taking the necessary legal steps before problems arise, business can more reliably safeguard their valuable trade secrets.