Polasek, Quisenberry & Errington LLP
Contact Us: 1+832-778-6000
Email: firm@pqelaw.com
PQE attorneys prioritize the immediate and ultimate legal goals of our clients That's why we are one of the few IP firms to represent clients on a contingent fee or modified billing basis. This arrangement benefits independent inventors, small companies who lack the resources to litigate or license their intellectual property against infringers and large companies seeking a more cost-effective way to protect their intellectual property.
PQE - PRACTICE AREAS
The United State Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents, which gives the owner of this intellectual property the limited right to exclude others from making, using, offering to sell or selling the patented inventions in the United States. This exclusionary right typically lasts for 20 years from the day that the application for the patent was filed. Pursuant to the Constitution of the United States, by awarding patents to inventors that exclude other for a limited time from using their discoveries, the USPTO is promoting the progress of science. New developments, ideas and breakthroughs are disclosed to the public through patents, enabling the public to improve and discover other new developments, ideas and breakthroughs.
While the time, effort and costs invested in creating fresh innovations and in obtaining a patent to protect the innovations may be extremely high, this investment is balanced by the reward of having the exclusive right to preclude others from benefiting from those innovations. To obtain or enforce a patent, an inventor must adhere to the numerous and complicated requirements set forth in the United States patent laws and regulations. Because of the sheer number of regulations, as well as their often intricate wording, a person unfamiliar with patents may overlook or misconstrue these requirements. PQE attorneys are primed to assist its clients in obtaining or enforcing patents.
Trademarks and service marks are typically words, symbols and designs, used to specify and discriminate one manufacturer's goods or services from other manufacturers' goods or services.
Trademarks and service marks may be registered with the USPTO, which if done properly and timely, typically provides nationwide priority, thus granting the trademark or service mark owner the right to prevent subsequent uses of the mark or a substantially similar mark throughout the United States. In addition to giving the owner some procedural benefits, a registration usually forms the basis of trademark infringement litigation and an owner’s claim for recover of the infringers’ profits, costs, treble damages and attorneys’ fees.
To obtain a trademark or service mark registration, the owner of the mark files an application with the USPTO, verifying the actual use of the mark on a product or in association with a service or the intent to use the mark on a product or in association with a service. If the registration process is successful in the USPTO, the trademark of service mark owner may use the symbol ®.
As with patents, to obtain or enforce a trademark/service mark registration, the owner of the mark must adhere to the numerous and complicated requirements set forth in United States trademark laws. PQE is equipped to assist in obtaining and/or enforcing trademarks registrations.
A copyright protects the "look" of a person's creative work; a story, a photograph, a sculpture, a song, a movie among other things. A copyright is not so broad as to protect a person's creative ideas, but instead protects the way the ideas are expressed in some physical form.
A copyright is similar to a trademark and may be registered with the United States Copyright Office. While a registration is not necessary, it is necessary before a copyright infringement lawsuit may be filed. A registration also provides other benefits, such as the ability to recover statutory damages. PQE is dedicated to assisting its clients in obtaining and enforcing copyright registrations.
A trade secret, as the name suggests, is secret information used in a person's trade or business that gives the owner a competitive advantage over others who do not know the secret.
Usually a trade secret is a secret chemical formula, a secret way of manufacturing a product, a secret design for a machine or facility or a secret device. One example of a highly protected trade secret is the formula to the popular soft drink, Coca-Cola®.
Unlike patents, trademarks or copyrights, an owner of a trade secret must keep the innovation secret, and thus, does not disclose it or seek a registration with the United States Government.
A trade secret owner, if they have taken precautions to keep the innovation secret, may be able to sue a competitor and recover damages if that competitor improperly learned and used the trade secret. PQE is experienced in protecting and enforcing Trade Secrets.
