Firm overview
Skadden’s Intellectual Property and Technology Transactions and Intellectual Property Litigation Groups offer clients a full range of legal services relating to the acquisition, enforcement and commercialization of IP and technology assets.
Our services include counseling on engagements involving patents, copyrights, trademarks, outsourcing, privacy and data security. Attorneys in our group also litigate these issues in federal and state courts. Skadden attorneys advise on virtually every type of IP transaction and dispute, negotiating and drafting numerous licenses and alliance agreements and handling a wide variety of matters relating to the creation, use, licensing and transfer of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrencies, digital assets and NFTs. We also provide IP support in conjunction with M&A, IPOs and financings. In addition to understanding IP matters and the science and technology underlying them, our attorneys are familiar with the business models used by our clients to maximize the value of these technologies, and we seek to create or add value to their IP and technology portfolios.
The nationally recognized attorneys in our group also successfully represent clients in all stages of disputes and provide strategic business advice concerning all manner of intellectual property issues, including patents, misappropriation of trade secrets, trademarks and trade dress, license agreements and disputes, copyrights and misappropriation, artificial intelligence, and advertising and consumer claims. Whether it is winning high-profile multimillion-dollar jury verdicts, obtaining swift dismissals at the pleading stage, or providing practical advice about reducing legal risk in everyday operations, we emphasize a holistic, business-driven approach that considers our clients’ needs both inside and outside the courtroom, including arbitrations.
Copyright
We provide copyright advice to a wide range of clients, particularly in the online, publishing, entertainment and communications industries, such as mobile app developers, internet technology providers, social media companies, software developers, broadcast and cable television networks, television and movie producers, recording artists and authors. Our lawyers also have extensive experience representing content creators, including authors and artists.
Trademark
We assist clients in obtaining, protecting and enforcing trademarks in the United States and worldwide, including:
- Conducting and reviewing searches and investigations for trademark clearance.
- Preparing opinion letters.
- Filing and prosecuting trademark applications.
- Handling the prosecution and defense of trademark administrative proceedings.
- Monitoring and policing the use of trademarks by third parties.
- Providing general trademark and domain name counseling.
Patents and Trade Secret Strategy
In connection with transactional matters requiring sophisticated reviews of patent and trade secret assets, we:
- Analyze target and competitor patents and unpatented technology.
- Perform “deep-dives” to review the background, scope, strengths and weaknesses of target and competitor patent portfolios.
- Analyze patent and proprietary-technology protection strategies.
- Advise on intellectual property monetization portfolio practices.
- Structure various agreements with respect to the evaluated technology.
Many of our patent attorneys are registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and hold technical or scientific degrees. We evaluate patent transactions based on proprietary statistical research and historical patent disputes; complement traditional legal advice with a range of analytics capabilities; and provide data and insights for specific strategy development and market entry, such as “patent troll” investigations and industry/sector-specific exposure analyses.
Life Sciences
We have considerable knowledge in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device licensing and
collaborations, as well as alternative transactions such as drug royalty purchases. We advise clients on all IP and related aspects of licensing, collaboration, JV and financing agreements and in transactions involving the research, development, manufacture and commercialization of pharmaceutical and biotechnology products and medical devices.
Licensing
We advise across the spectrum of IP and technology licensing arrangements, ranging from traditional license agreements to complex ventures for joint development of products, applications and systems.
Privacy and Cybersecurity
We are well-versed in privacy laws and regulations worldwide and understand the business models and technologies underlying data usage. We also provide clients with the key resources they need to prepare for, and respond to, any type of data security incident.
Artificial Intelligence
We advise clients on various AI-related IP issues, including those regarding AI usage, strategies and deployments. We have advised clients, including leading AI, social media, music, movie and sports entities, on:
- Developing and drafting enterprise-wide AI IP strategies and policies, including with respect to licensing and enforcement issues.
- Advising companies on IP protection and registration for works with AI-generated elements.
- Negotiating agreements to license content, names and images for use in AI models and tools.
- Negotiating enterprise AI agreements.
- Drafting form language for use with in-bound and out-bound AI-related agreements.
- Counseling AI tool developers on IP protection and licensing approaches.
- Advising on transactions involving the acquisition or sale of, and investment in, AI-related companies.
Our attorneys draw on their deep knowledge and experience to empower clients with a complete understanding of the legal issues presented by potential IP disputes and deals. Hallmarks of our practice include:
- Experience Across Industries: We routinely handle matters in various fields such as consumer products and services, biotech, pharmaceuticals, sports, media and entertainment, gaming and gambling, communications, computer technology, video games, esports, food and beverage, consumer products, financial services, ecommerce, social media, semiconductors, medical devices and life sciences.
- Creative Solutions: Favorable jury verdicts and judicial opinions are not the only measures of success. We work with clients to find practical and business-centered resolutions to disputes, as well as provide strategic advice to anticipate and preempt disputes before they occur. When our clients encounter litigation, we regularly dispose of matters quickly and efficiently. For example, in the past decade, our team has secured the dismissal of more than a dozen IP matters before any discovery is conducted. We also like to address matters of first impression (i.e., there is no law, and we are the ones creating the law).
- Multidisciplinary Approach: To ensure the best and most forward-looking outcomes, we work with clients to tailor our approach to each matter, and we seek the insights of our colleagues from a wide range of practices as needed, such as antitrust, regulatory compliance, tax and corporate.
- Thought Leadership: We stay on the cutting edge of IP and related issues and keep our clients informed through client alerts, articles, presentations and seminars, and an exclusive monthly CLE-credit webinar that summarizes the biggest legal developments across all areas of IP law, and provides practical advice to in-house counsel for managing and protecting their IP. We are well-positioned to address the many novel challenges and potential disputes that businesses now face, and our insights and expertise are shared at industry-leading events and conferences.
