Trademarks
Stites & Harbison's trademark attorneys provide comprehensive, personalized services to a diverse clientele worldwide. We have extensive experience helping clients secure and protect their trademarks. Additionally, our team carefully collaborates with select international colleagues to assist clients with the registration and enforcement process internationally.
Services we provide include:
- Conducting clearance searches to select protectable marks;
- Prosecuting trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and state trademark offices;
- Facilitating the registration of trademarks abroad;
- Maintaining and renewing trademark registrations in the U.S. and abroad;
- Negotiating and documenting transfers and licenses of trademarks;
- Recording trademarks with U.S. Customs to help prevent the importation of counterfeit goods;
- Protecting our clients' marks on the Internet;
- Resolving trademark disputes through litigation, including practice before courts, the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board of the USPTO, and arbitration panels; and
- Generally assisting clients with management of their trademark portfolios.
We counsel and assist clients by negotiating licensing agreements, sponsorship agreements, and other relationships with third parties. In transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of trademark portfolios, our intellectual property attorneys team with our firm’s business services attorneys to:
- Coordinate due diligence efforts;
- Evaluate and assess the status of trademark portfolios involved in a transaction;
- Draft and negotiate the appropriate terms related to trademarks in a transaction, whether they are central to or incidental to the larger transaction; and
- Ensure the accuracy of documents that reflect the transfers of trademarks.
We also have experience working on secured transactions in which trademarks and other intellectual property form a significant part of the collateral securing a loan. In such transactions, we draw on the firm's interdisciplinary experience to achieve successful completion. We understand the value of communication and networking, so we are active members in a number of trademark organizations, including the International Trademark Association and the American Intellectual Property Law Association. These memberships enable us to advocate for trademark issues, maintain connections with trademark counsel around the world, and remain educated about emerging and significant issues facing brand owners today.
See our Intellectual Property Litigation information.
Strategizing International IP Filings
Time: 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Zoeller Pump Co. Center for Excellence, 3649 Cane Run Rd, Louisville, KY 40211
Join speakers Jeffery Langer (formerly with Stites & Harbison and now General Counsel at Zoeller Company) and Robert Sterne, Co-Founder of Stern, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox, for perspectives on strategizing international IP filings. Panel discussion to be followed by networking event sponsored by Stites & Harbison.
Artificial Intelligence and Inventorship Under U.S. Patent Law
In recent years, the capabilities of, and applications involving, artificial intelligence (“AI”) have dramatically increased, so much so that AI systems are now able to produce works of creativity and ingenuity once thought only to be possible through human efforts. The U.S. Copyright Office has already wrestled with the question of whether creative works authored by AI are eligible for federal copyright protection and determined that they are not in an opinion letter dated February 14, 2022.
When Can a Trademark Owner Take Action for Unauthorized Use of its Trademark Online?
Time: EST: 12:00 - 2:10 PM / CST: 11:00 - 1:10 PM / MST: 10:00 - 12:10 PM / PST: 09:00 - 11:10 AM
IP attorneys TJ Mihill and Julie Comer will speak at this myLawCLE webinar on July 29, 2022.
Trevor Graves Selected for Leadership Kentucky's Class of 2022
LEXINGTON, Ky.—Leadership Kentucky has selected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Trevor Graves as a member of the 2022 Leadership Kentucky program. This year’s 51-member class will participate in seven three-day sessions from June through December at locations throughout Kentucky.
Managing IP Honors Stites & Harbison Attorneys on “IP Stars” 2022 List
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Managing Intellectual Property (Managing IP) magazine has named nine Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys to the 2022 “IP Stars” list. Managing IP recognizes the most highly regarded intellectual property attorneys in the U.S.
Virginia Super Lawyers 2022 Honors John Teresinski
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The 2022 edition of Virginia Super Lawyers recently honored Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney John Teresinski. He was named to the Rising Stars list.
Intellectual Property in the Metaverse
The Metaverse, often characterized as the next level in the evolution of the Internet, is intended to be a virtual-reality, three-dimensional environment where users are able to interact meaningfully with not only other users but with the virtual environment itself. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook (re-branded as Meta) has characterized the Metaverse as “an embodied internet where you’re in the experience, not just looking at it.”
Stites & Harbison Named to 2022 Top 10 Patent Firms in North America – South List
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Patent Lawyer Magazine has named Stites & Harbison, PLLC to the 2022 Top 10 Patent Firms and IP Practices in North America – South list.
Wait . . . What About Trade Secrets?
When one seeks to protect one’s intellectual property, patents, trademarks and copyrights immediately come to mind. Often given short shrift is the "forgotten stepchild" —trade secrets. Trade secrets may encompass a wide range of business information that (a) has value because it is not generally known in the trade and (b) is subject to reasonable efforts to preserve its confidentiality. When considering trade secrets, “business information” should be given a very broad definition and may include, but is not necessarily limited to, processes, procedures, research projects, nonpublic company documents (relating to, for example, recruiting, accounting, financial information and legal information), drawings, blueprints, laboratory notebooks, test data, training manuals, customer information and supplier information.
2022 Business Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation Super Conference
Hyatt Regency Houston, 1200 Louisiana Street, Houston, Texas 77002
Atlanta office attorney T.J. Mihill will be a speaker at this conference being held in Houston, Texas, March 21-23, 2022.
Europe Continues Progress Toward Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court
For decades, inventors have been able to file a single patent application in the European Patent Office (“EPO”) in order to pursue protection across multiple countries in Europe. However, at the end of the examination process, a patent application granted by the EPO still must be validated in each of the countries in which a patent owner wishes to secure enforceable patent rights.
Decoding the Crypto Brand Super Bowl Commercials
Based on commercials that aired during Super Bowl LVI, crypto brands have officially moved from the fringes to the mainstream. But the crypto ads in this prime time space didn’t do much to explain the underlying products and services, especially if the viewers were not already immersed in Web3.
Recent Patent Program Updates by the United States Patent and Trademark Office
USPTO Launches New Pilot Program to Improve Efficiency of Utility Patent Application Examination. In response to concerns expressed by way of a letter sent from Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Tom Cotton (R-AR), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has launched a “Deferred Subject Matter Eligibility Response (DSMER) Pilot Program” for non-provisional patent applications.
Defendants Caught Red-Handed in Patent Infringement Case Get Five Months of Damages Wiped Out for Patentee’s Failure to Mark Its Products
In early September of 2021, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit clarified the notice requirement of 35 U.S.C. § 287. Patentee’s seeking to recover damages on unmarked goods must ensure their notice to a potential infringer is an actual notice of infringement and not merely notice of a patent.
Stites & Harbison Strengthens Intellectual Property Practice with Addition of John Teresinski
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC welcomes attorney John P. Teresinski to the Alexandria, Va., office as a Member (Partner) with the firm.
Heavy Meta: Is Rebranding Worth All This?
Article by IP attorney Mari-Elise Paul in the Louisville Bar Association's Bench & Bar discussing rebranding.
Intellectually Speaking: As more startups come online in Louisville, the need for advice on intellectual property increases — which is where lawyers enter the picture
Intellectual property attorney, David Nagle, discusses how startups can best manage the intellectual property process when launching a business.
USPTO Issues Final Rule for Implementation of the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently published a final rule implementing the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TMA). The TMA amends the federal trademark statute (Lanham Act) in several ways, but the most significant aspect for the business community is the establishment of new ex parte expungement and reexamination proceedings for cancellation of a registration when the required use in commerce has not been made.
Stites & Harbison’s Intellectual Property & Technology Service Group Continues Growing with the Addition of Christina I. Ryan
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC welcomes attorney Christina I. Ryan as Counsel to the firm based in the Louisville, Ky., office. She joins the Intellectual Property & Technology Service Group.
Stites & Harbison Welcomes Samuel Raque
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Stites & Harbison, PLLC welcomes attorney Samuel A. Raque to the firm’s Nashville, Tenn., office. He joins the Intellectual Property & Technology Service Group as a Registered Patent Attorney.