District of Columbia

Firm overview

Comprehensive worldwide IP protection and strategies.

Katten's IP programs build foundational strength. Our approach is brand immersive and begins with understanding your company and competitive pressures. Industry-rich experience — particularly in apparel and fashion, technology, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and entertainment — adds practicality and common sense. From start to finish, Katten covers your IP concerns domestically and internationally in:

• Advertising, marketing and promotions
• Copyrights and trademarks
• Enforcement
• IP-asset secured financings
• Licensing and related commercial agreements
• Litigation
• Patents
• Portfolio management and counseling
• Trademarks and trade names
• Trade secrets
• Transactions

Securing IP value in deals, in court and across platforms.

Trusted by corporate boardrooms as well as by the artistic forces behind them, we dig deeper than simply what the law or IP search says. Our attorneys are authorities leading the conversation as teachers in law schools and as contributors to Successful Partnering Between Inside and Outside Counsel, Managing Intellectual Property and The Licensing Journal.

Should threats arise to brands, products or services, we protect you swiftly and decisively. We obtain temporary restraining orders to shut down high-profile infringers, navigate multichannel expansion for Fortune 500 brands and secure IP essentials for emerging companies. We also vigorously defend companies against overreaching third-party claims. In the realm of deal making and financings, the influence of IP assets is growing. Katten offers practical insights and guidance in IP valuations and strategies related to:

• Bankruptcies and restructurings
• IP-asset secured financings
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Rebrandings

Firm overview

We are an IP Litigation powerhouse for technology, life sciences and health technology in patents, trade secrets and commercial litigation with unparalleled trial success at all levels at each forum and venue. Our approach integrates our practices to provide businesses with comprehensive intellectual property protections. Our litigation expertise and experience also gives us an edge in advising our clients on the likely outcomes of litigation, including in the context of corporate acquisitions and portfolio management. Our approach, which supports “small firm” key partner attention with the “large firm” resources ensures our clients receive effective and efficient representation at every stage of the case. We are committed to helping clients structure the most comprehensive and workable enforcement and defense for all aspects of their intellectual property. 

Bench and Jury Trials at the U.S. District Courts

• We have litigated and counseled on patent and trade secrets issues across a wide range of industries, including software, hardware, electronics, chemical processes, telecommunications, consumer goods, manufacturing, sales, financial services, and pharmaceuticals.
• We are also experts in §101 invalidity challenges with a near-perfect record in district court and the Federal Circuit, pursuing and obtaining attorneys’ fees, and obtaining wins in Federal Circuit appeals.
• We are experts in the nuances of life sciences patent litigation, including Hatch-Waxman Act and biosimilars patent litigation under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act, and the intersecting FDA regulatory regime in which these cases operate. 

PTAB Proceedings

• We have handled over 400 post-grant proceedings before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board, on behalf of both petitioners and patent owners across a wide range of industries.
• Our attorneys have been hailed as ones who can be “trust[ed] . . . with crown jewels, and have been described as “PTAB mastermind[s],” “PTAB trial guru[s],” knowing the PTAB “like the back of [their] hands,” and “understand[ing] all the rules and subtleties of IPR proceedings better than anyone I’ve ever worked with.”
• Our attorneys worked on the first ever PTAB proceeding on the technology side and also led the first ever successful defense of a pharmaceutical patent.

ITC Section 337 Investigations

• We represent both complainants and respondents, and have been at the forefront of recent cutting-edge decisions at the ITC. 
• We have served as counsel in more than 60 Section 337 Investigations, and have appeared before each of the Presiding Administrative Law Judges (ALJs), including multiple successes before Customs in ensuring our clients’ products are not excluded from the United States. 

International Arbitrations

• We represent clients in all aspects of litigation related to arbitration, including bringing and defending motions to compel arbitration, obtaining and opposing interim and protective measures in aid of arbitration, seeking and opposing recognition of arbitral awards, seeking and opposing the annulment of arbitral awards, and disputes over the taking of evidence in the US in aid of international arbitrations and foreign litigation.
• We regularly draft, advise, and teach courses on the drafting and interpretation of arbitration and forum-selection agreements in circumstances ranging from simple two-party deals to complex commercial transactions involving multiple parties, jurisdictions, and applicable laws. We recognize that each matter is unique and strive to meet our client’s objectives in the most cost-effective manner.

Supreme Court and Appellate Review

• We have top-notch appellate capabilities and can handle an IP litigation matter from start to finish. 
• Our lawyers are skilled in the art of written and oral advocacy, as well as in simplifying technical arguments for generalist Federal Circuit judges.
• We devote our practice to the craft of conceiving and presenting argument on complex, law-intensive issues, bringing to bear our many years of experience in areas of law that cut across traditional legal disciplines, such as constitutional interpretation, damages, procedure, and jurisdiction. 

Firm overview

Kelly IP is an innovative boutique focused on all aspects of trademark, trade dress, copyright, design, domain name, and unfair competition law. The founding partners – Dave Kelly, Rob Litowitz, Linda McLeod, Lynn Jordan, and Stephanie Bald – all are recognised leaders in the trademark field and are known for their creative, practical, responsive, and cost-effective advice. They believe that brand owners deserve lawyers who are as passionate as they are about nurturing and protecting their brands and creative works, and they brought this vision to fruition by opening Kelly IP in May 2013. In doing so, the partners leveraged their 110 combined years of 'big law' IP experience – including leading hundreds of civil litigations and thousands of oppositions and cancellations, sending thousands of demand letters, filing hundreds of UDRP complaints, clearing thousands of marks, and filing, prosecuting and maintaining tens of thousands of trademark applications and registrations – and created a firm with a collaborative, team-oriented approach.
The firm immediately established an international reputation by scoring significant litigation victories in trademark cases before the courts and the TTAB, counselling on cutting-edge issues for many of the world's leading brands, and being recognized as a leading firm for online enforcement. Kelly IP has been consistently ranked as a top firm nationally for both contentious and non-contentious trademark work by IP Stars and others (e.g., Legal 500, World Trademark Review 1000, Managing Intellectual Property) and has received national awards for both trademark litigation and prosecution. We believe that the following client feedback from a prominent publication best sums up Kelly IP: "What makes its group of all-stars super-competitive is that you receive a world-class service at a significantly reduced rate – you get so much for your money."

Firm overview

Perkins Coie is a leading international law firm that is known for providing high-value, strategic solutions and extraordinary client service on matters vital to our clients’ success. With more than 1,200 lawyers in offices across the United States and Asia, we provide a full array of corporate, commercial litigation, intellectual property and regulatory legal advice to a broad range of clients, including many of the world’s most innovative companies and industry leaders as well as public and not-for-profit organizations.

Perkins Coie is frequently recognized for its leadership in the legal profession:

FIRM ACCOLADES

• Named among the "100 Best Companies to Work For" for 21 consecutive years by Fortune, 2003 – 2023
• Ranked among the “Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services” by Great Place to Work®, 2017 – 2023
• Named one of 2021’s Best Workplaces for Parents™ by Fortune
• Recognized as an Am Law 50 firm on The American Lawyer 100 list, 2013 – 2022
• Ranked 14th largest law firm in the United States by attorney headcount by Law360, 2023
• Chambers USA recognized 194 lawyers, with 55 lawyers ranked Band 1, 2023
• Best Lawyers® recognized 388 attorneys, with 30 lawyers named "Lawyer of the Year," 2024
• Named a 2022 Top Workplace by The Washington Post

PRACTICE AND INDUSTRY SECTOR ACCOLADES

• Perkins Coie and three partners ranked in Chambers FinTech 2024 Guide
• Perkins Coie and individual partners ranked in Chambers High Net Worth 2022 Guide
• Named “Environment Law Firm of the Year” by Chambers USA, 2023
• Named “Law Firm of the Year” in Technology by Best Lawyers®, 2024
• Named “Law Firm of the Year” in Mining by U.S. News – Best Lawyers®, 2022
• Named “Law Firm of the Year” in Natural Resources Law by U.S. News – Best Lawyers®, 2021
• Nine intellectual property lawyers recognized in Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) Global Leaders 2023 Guide
• Intellectual Property practice recognized by China Business Law Journal awards, 2022
• Recognized as a leading patent litigation and post-grant firm by Lex Machina’s Patent Litigation Report, 2024
• Perkins Coie and 13 lawyers recognized as leading trademark professionals by the World Trademark Review (WTR), 2024
• Perkins Coie and 51 lawyers recognized by IAM Patent 1000 as patent leaders in United States and China, 2023
• American College of Trial Lawyers named 15 lawyers as fellows of the association

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION RECOGNITIONS AND RANKINGS

• Recipient of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s (MCCA) Thomas L. Sager Award, 2021
• Awarded Mansfield 6.0 Certification Plus for Firm Leadership Inclusion from Diversity Lab, 2022 – 2023
• Named among the Best Workplaces for Millennials by Great Place to Work® and Fortune, 2020 – 2023
• Named the #1 Best Law Firm for Women and Diversity by Seramount, 2023
• Named a 2022 Inclusion Blueprint Champion by Diversity Lab
  Recipient of Weyerhaeuser’s inaugural Law Department Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award, 2022
• Received top rating in Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, 2009 – 2024
• Ranked one of the “Best Workplaces for Diversity™” by Great Place to Work® and Fortune, 2019
• Recognized by Intel Corporation as its Most Diverse Outside Legal Team
• Named among the 50 “Best Law Firms for Women” by Seramount, 2011 – 2022

PRO BONO AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

• Received the Capital Area Immigrants' Rights (CAIR) Coalition's Detained Adult Champion Award, 2023
• Honored by the Washington Attorney General's Office of Military and Veteran Legal Assistance with the Veteran Heroes Law Firm Award, 2023
• ACLU of Washington’s 2021 Kathleen Taylor Civil Libertarian Award for the Black Lives Matter Seattle litigation team
• Named to Public Interest Law Initiative’s Pro Bono Recognition Roster, 2015-2016, 2019 – 2022
• Recognized in the pro bono category in the 2021 China Business Law Journal awards
• Named among the “Top 50 Companies That Care” by PEOPLE, 2021
• Received the Idaho State Bar’s 6.1 Challenge Award in the Large Firm category for Pro Bono service, 2017 – 2021
• Recognized by the Washington Lawyers Committee in 2020 for work with Compassionate Release Clearinghouse
• Honored by the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project with the 2020 Special Partnership Pro Bono Award
• Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco’s 2020 Outstanding Law Firm in Public Service Crystal Award for the Bay Area offices
• Awarded USPTO 2020 Patent Pro Bono Achievement Certificate
• Financial Times Most Innovative North American Law Firms Award named Perkins Coie a “Standout” for Oregon Center of Excellence Project