Stites & Harbison, PLLC

The Intellectual Property and Technology (IPT) Group has extensive experience in litigating intellectual property matters before federal and state courts throughout the nation, as well as all levels of appeals, including the United States Supreme Court. The firm's litigators aggressively protect the intellectual property assets of our clients as well as defend those who have been wrongfully accused of infringing other's intellectual property rights. The firm has handled a number of significant and well-known intellectual property disputes and has served as lead counsel in intellectual property litigation in more than 30 states. Examples of the work of the IPT Group include:

Patent Infringement Litigation

• Representation of a patent holder in the lighting industry in a patent infringement trial that resulted in a multi-million dollar jury verdict
• Defense of a developer of finanical software and systems in a patent infringement trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, which resulted in a judgment as a matter of law in favor of our client
• Defense of a toner cartridge manufacturer in an action brought by one of the world's largest printer manufacturer
• Defense of a supplier of accelerometers in suit brought by patent holding company against several large automotive manufacturers
• Defense of a national manufacturer of athletic pads in an infringement action brought by a competitor. Litigation was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and eventually resulted in an award of attorneys' fees to our client.
• Representation of a manufacturer of nacho cheese dispensers in multiple actions against infringers of its patents
• Defense of a manufacturer of cable reels in an infringement action brought by a competitor

Trademark Infringement/Unfair Competition Litigation

• Defense of a local automobile service company against a national oil company's claim of infringement of the INSTANT OIL CHANGE mark
• Defense of a financial company that offered variable annuities under the MARQUEE mark that was accused of infringing a bank's MARQUIS mark used for mutual funds
• Defense of a new pizza franchisor accused by a major national franchisor of trade dress infringement
• Representation of a cabinet retailer who owned the SCHEIRICH mark in an infringement action against a homebuilder and its related cabinet company using the SCHIERICH mark with kitchen cabinets
• Defense of a local, family-owned auto parts business using the ADVANCE AUTO mark in an action brought by a major regional chain using the same mark

Copyright Infringement Litigation

• Representation of Microsoft Corporation in several infringement actions against companies who have loaded pirated software onto computers for resale, and against resellers who are distributing counterfeit software
• Representation of a marketing company in several infringement actions throughout the nation against car dealerships and billboard advertisers who misappropriated a distinctive advertising campaign
• Defense of a credit information agency accused of infringement by a former software provider
• Representation of a dissolved partnership that created and marketed electronic data interface software
• Representation of an architect who was dismissed from a project and whose plans were then misappropriated in creating the final plan for the project
• Representation of an electronics training company whose advertising materials were copied by a competitor
• Representation of a doctor whose scholarly work was infringed in the creation of a monograph for distribution to surgeons