FRANCHISE LAW WITH ZING

How Can Your Business Protect Its Trademarks And Copyrights?

Plave Koch PLC offers a full range of services to assist clients in building and protecting the brands that are integral to their business operations. The most valuable assets for many businesses are often their trademarks, copyrights and other forms of intellectual property. We walk businesses through the often-complex process of registering and protecting their IP, nationally and in countries across the world.

Our trademark and copyright services are outlined further below. For more information on how we can help you, we encourage you to get in touch with our attorneys. Call us today at 703-774-1200 to get started.

Our Trademark Services

Choosing a strong mark. We guide clients on selecting trademarks that have the greatest chance of successful legal protection. We steer them away from spending time and money on brands that will not be defensible against copycats and competitors.

Clearance searches. We arrange availability searches of proposed trademarks and service marks and advise on the risk associated with the desired brand. We also analyze concurrent uses of marks that may conflict with that brand and, if needed, negotiate co-existence agreements with other users.

Trademark registration. Our attorneys can help you file applications for registration of trademarks and service marks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Contested proceedings. We go to bat for clients in contested proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Foreign trademark protection. We coordinate the filing and prosecution of trademark and service mark applications in other countries through a trusted network of local lawyers and trademark agents or file directly using international designations under the Madrid Protocol.

Making sense of cyberspace. We protect brands from unauthorized uses by others in cyberspace – including cybersquatters and other domain name disputes, cybergripe sites, social media and unauthorized e-commerce.

Enforcing trademark rights. We challenge infringing uses of identical, counterfeit, or confusingly similar trademarks through cease and desist letters and litigation in federal court and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. We prosecute and defend claims involving abandonment of trademark rights, holdover licensees, domain name piracy, false advertising, passing off and unfair competition.

Managing trademark portfolios. We provide comprehensive services related to portfolio management: docketing, maintenance and renewal filings, watch services, and brand strategy.

Our Copyright Services

Fair Use analysis. Determining whether an unlicensed use is “fair” can be fraught. We handle the fact-based analysis needed to minimize your exposure.

Copyright registration. Registering copyrights is crucial for effective protection and enforcement. We handle every step of the process.

DMCA notice and take down. We help clients with effecting removal of infringing content from the internet. We also assist in defending improper take-down requests.