Throughout history, ideas have been the driving force of civilization: the creative sparks of science, technology, and art that propel society to higher levels of achievement. When human intellect creates property of invention and art, specialized legal interests arise. The intellectual property of an individual, company, or other entity is often its most important asset, yet its value is frequently overlooked and rarely fully protected.

Falk & Fish, l.l.p. has attorneys who have extensive experience in handling significant intellectual property litigation involving pharmaceutical and biochemical practices, trademark, trade dress, service mark, and copyright infringement issues, intellectual property ownership, unfair competition, false and deceptive advertising matters, trade secret disputes and noncompete issues. The Firm and its attorneys also represent companies and individuals in the acquisition of domestic and foreign patent rights, copyrights, trademark and service mark registrations, and provide counsel for corporate clients in the establishment of industrial and other intellectual property protection programs.

• Patent, trademark and copyright protection (domestic and foreign)
• Intellectual property litigation
• Patent, trademark, and copyright infringement
  • Trade dress misappropriation/infringement
  • Unfair competition: palming off, passing off, dilution, etc.
  • Protection of trade secrets and confidential information
• Litigation for technology related businesses and entertainment matters
  • Employment agreement disputes

Falk & Fish, l.l.p. assists clients in recognizing, defining, and safeguarding intellectual property and act to preserve that property for full commercial exploitation.

The Firm's Patent, Trademark and Copyright services include:

• Conducting patent and literature searches and studies
• Rendering patentability, patent validity, and patent infringement opinions
• Preparing, filing, and prosecuting patent applications, including utility and design applications, before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in foreign jurisdictions
• Counseling concerning the selection, design, and use of protective trademarks and service marks
• Rendering opinions concerning trademark infringement and registration of trademarks and service marks
• Preparing, filing, and prosecuting applications for registration of trademarks and service marks before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and state and foreign jurisdictions
• Representing clients in trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings
• Counseling concerning copyright protection
• Preparing, filing, and prosecuting copyright registrations before the U.S. Copyright Office and under relevant worldwide copyright treaties

Falk & Fish, l.l.p. offers clients broad legal experience in the commercial exploitation of intellectual property and in commercial matters related to the protection of intellectual property:

• Franchise, distributorship, and dealer agreements
• Trade secret licensing
• Patent, trademark, and copyright license agreements
• Contacts for high technology enterprises
• Employment contracts and non-competition agreements
• Confidentiality agreements
• Software licenses
• Consulting agreements
• Tax implications of intellectual property transactions

When a conflict arises in the intellectual property arena, Falk & Fish, l.l.p. can meet a client's need with an experienced litigation staff. The Firm represents clients, both individual and corporate, at all levels of state and federal courts, and practices before state and federal agencies. The Firm's litigation expertise and capabilities in the area of intellectual property and business tort law permit it to effectively handle litigation in the following areas:

• Patent infringement
• Patent interferences
• Trademark and service mark infringement
• Trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings
• Copyright infringement
• Unfair competition
• Misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information
• Deceptive business practices
• Fiduciary disputes
• License agreement disputes
• Employment contract disputes

The flexibility of Falk & Fish, l.l.p. enables it to handle litigation of modest scope, as well as major complex litigation, with the goal of cost effective results.

An advantage of Falk & Fish, l.l.p. is its technical education and industry experience. The Firm has attorneys with backgrounds in the three general engineering fields of mechanical, electrical and chemical engineering, as well as specific expertise in:

• Applications immunology, including RIA, ELISA, metal sol, dye sol immunoassays
• Biomedical engineering
• Process engineering
• Chemistry
• Electrical and electronic engineering
• Physics
• Industrial engineering
• Metallurgical engineering
• Civil engineering
• Structural engineering

The strong technical background of Falk & Fish, l.l.p. qualifies the Firm to provide counseling and advice concerning the complex interrelationship of technical and legal disciplines that exists in many industries and with respect to many technologies such as the following:

• Biotechnology and the life sciences, including:
  • medical and diagnostic products
  • pharmaceuticals
  • immunoassays
  • hospital disposables
  • genetics
  • animal drugs
  • FDA approvals
  • food processing
  • radiology
  
  
• Chemicals, oil, gas and petrochemicals, including:
  • chemical synthesis
  • polymer chemistry
  • chemical separation and purification
  • oil field drilling equipment and techniques
  • unit operations
  • offshore production
  • offshore pipeline installation
  • refining processes
  • gas compressor systems
  • pipeline systems
  • petrochemical processes
  
  
• Manufacturing and light industry, including:
  • diesel and steam engines
  • pumping systems
  • power generation
  • metal fabrication
  • industrial power tools
  • temperature control systems
  • printing
  • packaging
  • instrumentation
  • solar energy systems
  • lighting and illumination
  
  
• Computers, electronics and the emerging electronics fields, including:
  • hardware and software
  • integrated circuits
  • semiconductors
  • electronic speech synthesis
  • computer graphics
  • robotics and artificial intelligence
  • industrial automation
  • data processing
  • avionics
  • optics
  • communications
  • seismic

The distinctive career histories of the Firm's partners and associates speak for themselves. The result is a carefully designed legal team, balanced in age and experience, with diversity in corporate and private legal practice, academic background, technical expertise, and personality.

Falk & Fish, l.l.p. presents a list of diverse clients. Corporate clients include Fortune 500 Companies, enterprises listed on the New York and American Stock Exchanges, and businesses engaged in industries and services that range from electronics and oil and gas to medical and life sciences, consumer products and manufacturing. The Firm counsels and handles litigation for businesses of all sizes, located in all areas of the United States, as well as in foreign countries. Representative clients of the Firm include Akzo N.V., Enka B.V., PyMaH Corporation, Delmed, Inc., Fresenius U.S.A., Elan Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.

The Firm also represents private individuals seeking intellectual property counseling, including inventors, musicians, composers, authors, artists and sports personalities.

The Firm is retained by multinational and foreign clients because it offers international expertise and legal qualifications. The Firm also has an extensive network of foreign associates who assist its clients in legal matters abroad.

The Firm represents the interests of its foreign clients in American courts before U.S. government agencies, providing services performed by agents, solicitors, and barristers in other judicial systems.

Falk & Fish, l.l.p. support staff permits its attorneys to devote maximum time to the practice of law with minimal attention to administrative concerns, resulting in a timely response capability and a reasonable fee structure. The Firm maintains liaison with associates in Washington, D.C. for immediate access to U.S. government agencies. In addition, the Firm's computerized docketing, document filing, and billing systems are among the most sophisticated available. Other in-house resources include:

• Word processing
• Computer-accessed legal and technical data bases
• Technical reference facility
• Law library
• Modern telecommunications, telex and facsimile transmission