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Practice Areas
A patent is a legally protected property interest and not, as so often is said, a monopoly. If you own a patent, you can exclude others for twenty years. But there are strict requirements that must be met before a patent is granted. The process is complex. In probably no other area of law is it more important to have an experienced professional attorney represent you. A valid patent gives the holder and the public what it never had. Patents are issued by the patent office, a federal administrative agency within the Department of Commerce. A client's patent must be carefully processed in order to add the protection the client expects and the law provides. With patents, the devil is in the details - and careful, thorough legal work is requisite. There are several types of U.S. patents that are available to inventions of certain subject matter. For example, patent protection has been rejected for subject matter such as music, writings, and photographs. With a skilled intellectual property lawyer representing you, there may be other options for you such as Copyrights, Trademarks or Trade Secrets. Without proper legal guidance, you can lose your rights to your patent if you are doing business internationally and do not consult with an intellectual property counsel before you plan your marketing program. Other countries treat patents differently in some ways than the U.S. You cannot afford to make assumptions without a proper legal opinion. WLS makes sure your Patents are protected by doing an inventory of your protectable assets. This is an important step in the Intellectual Property process. Our law firm can answer any questions you may have about Patents, the laws and processes. We welcome the opportunity to discuss them with you. For further information on Patents, check our Web Resources page. You create the work, as a fine piece of craftsmanship. We register the Copyright, protecting your right to prevent your competitor from copying your work. With the changes introduced by the Internet, pirates of your work are an increased threat to your hard-earned work. This is an example of the growth of the need of Copyright and Intellectual Property protection. Only an experienced law firm can meet these new and challenging changes. That's why clients come to the Wilhelm law firm. A Copyright is a number of rights in an original work of authorship, and it arises simply from the creation of the work. Examples are all kinds of written work from books to manuals - and other subject matter such as music and art. Many of the same reasons for inventorying and establishing protection procedures for copyright issues within your organization generally are found in the Patent law protection area. But they are different enough that you must consult legal counsel to see what needs to be established to protect them. Please call us for more information on Copyright law. You may also learn
more preliminary information about Copyrights from our Web
Resources page. You build value and quality in the name of your product. We deliver the trademark or service mark that prevents your competitors from appropriating your good name. We are all familiar with brand names that are trademarks, such as from the pop we drink to the clothes we wear, but there are many more examples. Please call us to find out more about trademarks and how you can protect what
may be one of your most valuable assets. Our Web Resources page is available
to you for more general information about trademarks. You build your business, which includes a secret formula that offers a competitive
advantage because of its secrecy. We counsel and help protect your right to
prevent your competitors from misappropriating your trade
secret. The protection
of trade secrets does not automatically happen. You need agreements and a policy
for monitoring and implementing trade secret/trade dress protection. The agreements
often take the form of Non-Disclosure Agreements when dealing with third parties
that must be given your key information in your business with them.
In all the special areas above, the Wilhelm law firm can establish for you an inventory program that will help you protect your patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets/trade dress assets. Give us a call and discuss it further with us. Please check our Web Resources page for more general information on these topics. We also offer a full range of contracts, confidential disclosure agreements, and employment contract representation to our clients.
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