VENABLE: A LEADER IN TRADEMARK FILING – WITH GLOBAL REACH

A company or organization’s brand names are some of its most valuable assets. Whether it be a company name, product or service name, logo, or trade dress, the right to use and enforce these brands (or trademarks) is essential to the organization’s value. Each year, organizations and their competitors invest large amounts of money into establishing and developing their brands. Trademark law and the trademark registration process are the legal tools needed to protect that investment.

Venable provides a wide range of brand protection services including trademarks, trade dress, designs, copyright and domain names.  Venable understands that these assets are unique, and it knows how to address a client’s objectives with practical, efficient guidance, designed to accomplish its clients’ commercial goals.  Venable has been instrumental in maximizing the value of intellectual property, in uncovering new intellectual property assets for clients, and in developing strategic and practical solutions for effective protection and commercialization.  Its pragmatic approach, technological capabilities, transactional experience, and legal insight make the difference in the results it achieves for its clients.

Venable’s Trademark team brings a depth of knowledge and experience to each and every client.  The trademark team is bolstered by four former USPTO Trademark Examiners and two former in-house counsels.  The team has worked on trademark matters in virtually every country in the world working closely with an established, extensive, and cost efficient network of trademark lawyers and agents on a wide range of trademark-related matters.  Venable’s trademark practice is truly high-volume in reach with a portfolio of more than 35,000 trademark applications/registrations under management.  Its experience ranges from brand clearance and licensing, to handling trademark litigation and disputes.

In addition to Venable’s National First-Tier Ranking in U.S. News – Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" 2011-2012, Venable ranked in the top 20 law firms in terms of applications filed and registrations issued, based on annual ranking issued in 2007-2011 by Trademark Insider/World Trademark Review and Intellectual Property Today.

Worldwide experience in brand protection.

The Trademark Group’s International experience extends to six continents and an established network of foreign counsel.  The Group is well versed in filing under the Madrid Protocol and frequently advises clients on the benefits and drawbacks of filing under that system as compared to filing nationally in individual countries.  Because of its experience, Venable is able to provide advice regarding the most effective and cost efficient means of providing trademark protection in foreign markets, including recordation of licensing agreements for better brand enforcement.  The team coordinates and manages trademark disputes worldwide including opposition and cancellation proceedings, as well as litigation before foreign courts.

Members of the group have been elected to positions in INTA and Marques, the European Trademark Owners association.  Through these organizations Venable Attorneys have become familiar with other legal systems and have strong personal and professional relationships with the best foreign lawyers in virtually every jurisdiction.

Extensive experience in anti-counterfeiting.

The Venable team features anti-counterfeiting and brand protection professionals with proven industry experience in protecting clients’ brands and reducing the loss caused by brand theft.  The group regularly works with clients, on a global scale, to devise and implement comprehensive brand protection strategies. Venable’s experience in this area covers a wide range of brand protection activities.  These include orchestrating raids, enforcement actions, recording trademarks with customs, online brand protection, customs training, reducing loss caused by parallel imports or "grey market" goods, international lobbying to improve laws and government enforcement against counterfeiters, and helping clients prevent or lessen the loss caused by the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit and pirated goods.  The team members also have in-house counsel experience in the brand protection arena and understand the importance of crafting cost-effective anti-counterfeiting plans that work within budget.  Further, the team members regularly speak and write about Anti-Counterfeiting and Brand Protection, and serve on the Anti-Counterfeiting Committee of the International Trademark Association (INTA).

Cyber pirates and phishing can threaten your brand – we know how to stop them.

Venable is often called upon to counsel on brand-management issues including enforcement of brand names in domain names, on social media, in adwords/keywords, phishing, false blogging and other online brand identity theft, such as the sale of counterfeit goods in online auctions and the use of brand names in virtual-reality worlds. Venable attorneys stay on top of the latest cyber trends that threaten brands.

Prevention begins with a system for monitoring the misuse of your brand in cyberspace. We can help you determine best practices for selecting and enforcing domain names, managing and updating domain-name policies, working with a domain-name management service and dealing with search engines.

Venable attorneys have recovered hundreds of domain names around the world through inter partes proceedings. Venable’s trademark attorneys resolve domain-name disputes under the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) Uniform Domain Dispute Resolution Policy and in lawsuits under the federal Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. In other cases, demand letters and negotiations achieve our clients’ goals. Venable also works with our legislative advisors on initiatives to combat Internet brand problems, such as the online sale of counterfeits.

Copyright issues you should understand.

Every company has copyright issues. Copyright issues may arise when using software, maintaining a Web site or doing business online, creating ads, and publishing newsletters or any type of written material (hard copy or electronic). Issues also arise if a company uses music, art and text. When a company is approached to use material they have created, copyright and licensing issues are present.

Venable can assist in acquiring the rights needed for projects by obtaining any relevant licenses, copyrights and trademarks.  Venable can help you profit from your creations through licensing and joint ventures. If someone violates your rights, or accuses you of infringing on the rights of others, Venable is there to help. Our attorneys counsel clients on copyright infringement issues (nationally and internationally), assignments of rights, work-for-hire agreements, ownership disputes, branding issues, licensing and IP audits.
Venable has decades’ worth of litigation experience on both the state, federal and appellate level (including the U.S. Supreme Court) in copyright and related matters.

Arts, media, licensing, publicity, online and entertainment copyrights are a special focus.

Venable works with wire services and media companies on an almost daily basis. In the literary world we negotiate book publishing contracts, author and agent agreements, option agreements and life-story rights. We assist in music and film agreements on both coasts. In the art world, we negotiate artist/gallery agreements, art licensing agreements, agency agreements, art publishing contracts, public work commissions, art donations and tax-exempt projects, as well as advising on auctions, collector’s issues and estate-related concerns dealing with art works.

Venable is regularly called upon to write photography, television and film production agreements, talent contracts, host or spokesperson arrangements, and video game development agreements. We help clear rights (copyright, publicity and trademark) for a wide variety of projects.

With a deep knowledge of brand protection rights and a network of highly-skilled international attorneys, Venable has what it takes to help you protect and defend the intangible assets you’ve worked hard to create.