Intellectual Property

Honigman lawyers are skilled in helping clients maximize the value of their intellectual property and understand the intellectual property landscape throughout the automotive industry. Our services include the domestic and international procurement of patents, registration of trademarks and copyrights, and protection of trade secrets. Our experience ranges from searches, registration, enforcement, and anti-counterfeiting to litigation and transactional work involving intellectual property rights.

We assist foreign clients in extending protection for intellectual property rights developed in their home countries to the U.S. market and U.S. clients in securing U.S. and foreign protection of intellectual property rights developed in the U.S. We are experienced in U.S. and foreign patent and trademark procurement, clearance and freedom-to-operate searches, licensing, and litigation, with particular skill and experience in the automotive and manufacturing industries. We provide services in trademark clearance and registration, both domestic and foreign, and also offer a watch service for our clients' registered marks.

In addition to securing patent protection and evaluating and defending claims of infringement of existing patents, we advise on brand management, trademark search, clearance and registration, investigation enforcement, and litigation.

Our litigation team handles infringement actions representing both plaintiffs and defendants. We have extensive experience working with experts in mechanical and electrical engineering, the automotive fields, computer science, mathematics, and other disciplines in federal and state courts.

• Provided policing, enforcement, and defense of trademark, trade dress, trade secret, patent and personal rights in the U.S. and in foreign markets through investigation, pre-litigation enforcement, civil and criminal litigation, and administrative proceedings (including Customs, oppositions, and cancellations)
• Assisted with registration, maintenance, and renewal of trademarks, domain names, and copyrights in the U.S. and foreign markets, including searches and opinions on availability of trademarks for use and registration and copyright clearance searches
• Advised clients regarding portfolio management and patent and trademark prosecution in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for U.S. and foreign clients, including handling international registrations and applications in the USPTO and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
• Provided market analyses involving products and technologies, clearing products and technologies and designing around third-party intellectual property rights as may be prudent to minimize infringement risks
• Obtained temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions, including a case involving theft of trade secrets and confidential information from a major multinational Tier 1 supplier
• Provided legal and business guidance and advice on global brand protection and intellectual property management
• Advised on selection and suitability of trademarks for registration and proper use for packaging, labeling, and advertising
• Assisted with enforcement and prosecution of trademark portfolios nationally and internationally