Advertising & Marketing: Husch Blackwell’s advertising and marketing law services address four main areas: clearance, transactions, regulatory compliance and dispute resolution. We guide advertisers and agencies on strategies for promoting products and services while minimizing the risks that accompany online and print advertising, food labels, product claims, coupons, sweepstakes, endorsements and sponsorships.
We strive to help clients quickly and efficiently comply with advertising, trademark and copyright laws; state and federal regulations; and rights of publicity. We counsel clients on general advertising terms and usage, and on regulatory compliance with specific industry standards, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state attorneys general, the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau and the Children’s Advertising Review Unit.
Intellectual Property Counseling: In helping clients protect and manage intellectual property (IP) assets, Husch Blackwell pays close attention to details while never losing sight of the big picture. With client business and technology objectives clearly in mind, we advise on the pros and cons of IP strategies involving patents and trademarks; joint ventures; and transfers and licenses.
Once a strategy is developed, our team counsels clients on which assets to protect, conducting searches and advising on registration availability. We develop portfolio maintenance schedules and assist with all necessary filings for patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain names, licenses and agreements. We prepare and negotiate agreements such as nondisclosure, confidentiality, website hosting and noncompetes. And we provide watch services for all forms of intellectual property worldwide.
Intellectual Property Litigation: Husch Blackwell prosecutes and defends claims of infringement, misuse, dilution and unfair competition in courts nationwide, at the U.S. International Trade Commission and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Our intellectual property (IP) trial attorneys understand the commercial value of aggressive litigation prosecutions, but are also skilled at carefully negotiating settlements. We have a hard-earned reputation for winning complex verdicts in intellectual property litigation.
Our intellectual property litigation attorneys have extensive experience in core technical sciences, intellectual property theories, commercial relationships and economics. We prepare intellectual property litigation strategies in close association with our patent, trademark, copyright, antitrust, franchise and technology attorneys. We pride ourselves on getting the science right and building our legal theories around technically sound arguments.
Patent Preparation & Prosecution: Husch Blackwell counsels companies of all sizes, universities, research facilities and individuals on patent preparation and the obtaining of life sciences patents. Early on, our Patent team conducts patentability searches and analyses to ensure that clients make sound decisions on whether they have freedom to operate (FTO) in the selected patent area. In drafting FTO opinions, we address problem results, roadblocks, privilege and confidentiality, and alternative resolutions.
Our Patent team has extensive experience navigating the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on behalf of clients, including handling appeals before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Our patent attorneys are skilled in patent prosecution and enforcement across industries and our goal is always the same: to ensure that clients manage risk and monetize their discoveries while advancing the life sciences.
Post-Issuance Proceedings: Husch Blackwell’s patent litigation team has represented clients before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) since its inception a decade ago under the America Invents Act (AIA). Our firm secured the PTAB’s first final written decision stemming from the AIA’s post-grant review process in 2016. Since that time, we have amassed an enviable track record before PTAB, achieving an 86% success rate for petitioners seeking to institute an inter partes review (IPR). But we don’t stop there; our group also has an exceptional batting average in achieving favorable results for both petitioners and patent owners.
Our team knows PTAB practice in and out. Most recently, our group secured a precedential PTAB decision for Sotera Wireless resulting in an industry-wide impact on patent litigation. Following the PTAB’s May 2020 Apple Inc. v. Fintiv, Inc. decision, which established a six-factor test for denying IPRs, PTAB discretionary denials increased more than 60 percent. Undeterred, our team devised a strategy utilizing district court stipulations—now commonly called Sotera stipulations—to avoid IPR institution denials under the Fintiv test. As a result, IPR institution rates are rising again, preserving an important tool to challenge weak patent claims.
Our team comprises leaders of the PTAB bar and regularly speaks and publishes on post-issuance issues. A member of our team, now retired, literally wrote the book on PTAB practice under the AIA (The America Invents Act: A Guide to Patent Litigation & Patent Procedure), and our group features numerous attorneys who are recognized as leading practitioners in top legal directories, including Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation, and IP Stars.
Section 337: Whether acting for complainants or respondents, Husch Blackwell’s Section 337 team brings together a powerful collection of attorneys focused on intellectual property, administrative law and international trade. Having handled dozens of matters before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), we understand the essential elements of a successful Section 337 action in this specialized venue, where cases move significantly faster than standard federal litigation and follow unique processes and procedures. Our team has handled Section 337 cases spanning a wide variety of products, industries and technologies, thus becoming very well-versed in the substantive and procedural peculiarities of the ITC.
Moreover, our Section 337 expertise does not end at the ITC: our attorneys have extensive experience handling enforcement matters before U.S. Customs & Border Protection and policy issues before the U.S. Trade Representative and Congressional committees. We also work closely with seasoned economic experts, whose testimony on issues such as domestic industry and public interest can be crucial to obtaining a favorable result.
Section 337 actions typically involve a company seeking injunctive-like trade remedies in connection with one or several of the following areas:
- Patent infringement
- Copyright infringement
- Trademark/trade dress/false advertising/Lanham Act claims
- Unfair competition or antitrust claims
Given the breadth of the ITC’s scope and jurisdiction, as well as the expansive economic impact of its decisions, it is important for all market participants to anticipate the offensive and defensive strategies available. We assist clients in developing their broader trade, intellectual property and commercial strategies and are equally skilled in asserting or defending against claims when litigation is inevitable. Our team also excels at using key inflection points in ITC proceedings to fashion favorable settlements when ending the litigation is of primary importance.
Technology Commercialization: Our group advises companies of all sizes on developing, buying, selling, marketing and licensing proprietary technology to maximize its value in everyday business operations. Our attorneys recognize the need to create and implement a unique commercialization strategy for each client that may include securing or licensing patents and trademarks, structuring joint ventures, and negotiating angel and venture capital investments to fund client growth.
For companies at all stages, emerging or established, Husch Blackwell serves as a “one-stop shop” for technology commercialization. We offer experienced legal advice, smart business direction, and assistance in forming strategic relationships important to business success.
Trade Secrets & Business Information Protection: Thanks to new digital and communications technologies, as well as a decline in workplace loyalty and trust, company secrets are more vulnerable than ever. Valuable business information is at risk for inadvertent disclosure, misappropriation or employee theft. To guard their competitive positions, smart companies develop strong trade secret and business information protection plans. These plans help to secure a company’s most-valued trade secrets and proprietary information and prevent confidential details from falling straight into a competitor’s hands.
Our law firm's Trade Secret & Business Information Protection team begins by understanding the controls and systems that business units have in place. From there, we help develop an appropriate protection model that efficiently and strategically integrates and builds on existing controls and systems.
Since the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DSTA) was enacted in 2016, trade secret litigation has increased by well over 30 percent annually as businesses have moved quickly to use the new law to protect their confidential information. Indeed, Husch Blackwell filed one of the first complaints under the DTSA for a Fortune 500 client whose crop seed technology was exfiltrated by a former employee who was a foreign national.
Husch Blackwell attorneys are regularly retained for their expertise in trade secrets litigation. Since long before the DTSA, our team has advised clients on all aspects of trade secret and contractual protections regarding their key proprietary information, including on a proactive basis before litigation becomes necessary. Our experienced trial lawyers prosecute and defend complex cases involving trade secrets, breach of confidentiality and unfair competition.
Trademarks & Copyrights: Husch Blackwell counsels clients on the strategic use of trademarks, service marks, copyrights, trade dress, and product and packaging configurations. Our law firm's trademark team has helped register thousands of trademarks worldwide for clients such as Naturalizer, Famous Footwear, Sunbeam, Build-A-Bear Workshop and Conagra. We also actively manage domestic and global trademark portfolios and provide surveillance of marks in the United States and abroad.
Our firm's trademark law team develops corporate and brand identity programs for startups, as well as for companies that are rebranding or entering new markets. We offer intellectual property audits designed to identify trademark protection opportunities, as well as licensing services. Our trademark and copyright law team also develops innovative litigation strategies to enforce, defend and advance clients’ intellectual property interests.
