Your business relies on the strength of your brand, and trademarks and copyrights play an important role in protecting that brand throughout the intellectual property (IP) lifecycle. Competitors can dangerously impact your bottom line when they encroach on your corner of the marketplace and use (or misuse) your trademarks and copyrights, capitalizing on your hard-earned goodwill and reputation. False or misleading claims made by those same competitors when advertising to consumers could also cause irreparable damage to your brand.
To protect your company and your brand, you need a trusted advisor by your side to enforce your trademarks, safeguard your copyrightable material, and defend your intangible assets. You need McDermott.
Our lawyers are business strategists who excel in IP litigation, and clients trust us with their high-stakes trademark, copyright, and advertising disputes. We operate under one of the strongest and most active global trademark and copyright practices.
McDermott’s established global legal platform provides seamless cross-border collaboration between our US and European offices and our network of lawyers across more than 150 countries. We can mobilize instantly in nearly any region of the world to tackle the most challenging infringement issues as quickly as possible.
Capabilities
Litigation
Our lawyers have knowledge of the laws that affect brand owners and the experience to enforce claims, when necessary, in US state and district courts and appellate courts, as well as before regulatory bodies and arbitration tribunals. We help clients with:
- Claims of trademark, copyright, and trade dress infringement, as well as publicity, privacy, and false advertising (including those brought under the Lanham Act) in federal district, appellate, and state courts
- Federal court litigation under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), including the ACPA’s in rem provisions and traditional trademark and unfair competition causes of action
- Domain name disputes involving pre-dispute negotiations and Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy proceedings before the World Intellectual Property Organization and FORUM (formerly known as the National Arbitration Forum)
- Proceedings before regulatory bodies, such as the National Advertising Division, the US Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Trade Commission
Cross-Border Enforcement and Anti-Counterfeiting
Our lawyers work with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on behalf of many clients to combat the importation of counterfeit goods by:
- Recording our clients’ trademark and copyright registrations with CPB and providing the information necessary to seize shipments of counterfeit goods
- Holding educational meetings with CPB agents to help them identify suspicious shipments and distinguish our clients’ genuine goods from counterfeit products
- Collaborating with global trademark and copyright counsel for quick emergency filings
Trademark Oppositions and Cancellations
We advise trademark applicants and opposing parties in filing and defending opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and aide in:
- Navigating the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and strict timelines
- Conducting effective discovery
- Drafting compelling motions
- Handling necessary depositions
- Arguing cases to the relevant judicial panels
We have helped several trademark holders protect their marks and prevent competitors and infringers from using them unlawfully.
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