Patents

Whether you need a patent, need to enforce a patent, or someone is wrongfully accusing you of infringing their patent, Gunn, Lee & Cave can provide you with the assistance you need.

All of the attorneys at Gunn, Lee & Cave are licensed patent attorneys and they have a diverse background in hard sciences, with undergraduate degrees including electrical, mechanical, chemical, and biomedical engineering, as well as biology, chemistry, and genetics. Our multidisciplinary expertise has allowed us to successfully prosecute and acquire patents in a wide array of technology and useful arts, including inventions such as complex electrical and computer systems, space shuttle technology, medical devices, fishing lures, board games, and everything in between.

Our attorneys litigate patent infringement lawsuits in addition to prosecuting patent applications. If you obtain a patent and someone infringes on your patent rights, a patent infringement lawsuit can be brought to Federal Court to stop the infringement. We have an excellent track record of bringing and defending patent infringement lawsuits.

At Gunn, Lee & Cave, we believe our multifaceted approach of providing a variety of patent-related services gives us the best tools to represent your patent matters efficiently. While some firms have attorneys that only litigate or only prosecute patent applications, we do both. We believe to be the best patent litigator possible, you also need to be an adept patent prosecutor, and vice versa. We invite you to call us or visit our Patents FAQ page for more information.

Trademarks

Your trademark is a symbol of your business's reputation and should be protected accordingly. Gunn, Lee & Cave can assist you with acquiring trademark registrations, enforcing your trademark rights against others, or defending you against trademark infringement and related claims.

Trademark rights develop simply by conducting business under one or more particular words, names, symbols, or devices (collectively, "Marks"), but registering your Mark provides significant advantages. The attorneys at Gunn, Lee & Cave regularly prosecute trademark applications to obtain trademark registrations. Although attorneys don't have to be specially licensed to prosecute trademark applications, our experience with the process allows us to efficiently and effectively represent our clients' trademark matters. This experience helps us identity avoidable issues from the outset and helps us address issues that arise when the application is examined. Initially filing the trademark application may be deceptively simple, but choices you make at the initial filing can affect your rights in the long run.

Our attorneys are also experienced in bringing and defending trademark infringement lawsuits, and you may be entitled to legal recourse against someone using a Mark that is confusingly similar to yours, even if you don't have a registration. Many of the same issues that arise during trademark prosecution also arise during lawsuits and our trademark prosecution experience better helps us protect our clients' interests in trademark infringement litigation, and vice versa. Visit our FAQ page or give us a call for more information.

Copyrights

Copyrights protect your creativity, and Gunn, Lee & Cave can help you register your copyright, enforce your copyright against others, or defend you against copyright infringement and related claims.

Copyrights protect an author's rights when the author creates an original work of authorship. Similar to trademark rights, copyrights develop simply by creating the original work. Registering your copyright provides significant additional benefits. To obtain the fullest effect of these benefits, you should register your work within three months after you first publish it. Failing to meet this deadline could limit your recovery in a copyright suit. But, "publication" under the copyright laws is not the same as publishing a work with a publisher; it has a much broader definition and your actions may constitute a publication without you even realizing it.

Registering the copyright is a prerequisite to bringing a copyright infringement lawsuit. The attorneys at Gunn, Lee & Cave have the experience to guide you through the process. Our attorneys are also experienced in bringing and defending copyright infringement lawsuits, and are familiar with common mistakes made during registration that could affect your copyright claim during litigation. Visit our Copyright FAQ page or call an attorney for more information.

Contracts

Contracts are agreements between two or more parties that may be enforced by a court of law. Contracts are a necessary part of running any business, and can be tailored to just about any situation.

Contracts are a useful tool in protecting intellectual property. Employee agreements and nondisclosure agreements can help maintain the secrecy of your trade secrets or confidential ideas. A trademark license or a patent license allows others to use your trademark or your patented invention in exchange for a royalty payment or other consideration. A company operating agreement can set out how a business's intellectual property is handled. The list of different types of contracts is endless.

Whether you're already running a business, looking to start a business, or simply seeking others to invest in your ideas, the attorneys at Gunn, Lee & Cave can help you draft and negotiate the contracts necessary to protect your intellectual property. Our attorneys also have an accomplished record of litigating breach of contract claims should the need arise, some of which you can read about here. No matter how big the opponent, we won't be intimidated. Visit our FAQ page or call an attorney for more information.

Trade Secrets

Whether it's taking necessary preventative measures or litigating claims in a court of law, the attorneys at Gunn, Lee & Cave can help protect your trade secrets, and help defend you against claims of trade secret misappropriation.

A trade secret is any information that has actual or potential economic value if the information remains secret and reasonable efforts have been made to maintain the secrecy of the information. Trade secrets may include information such as recipes, formulas, patterns, compilations, programs, devices, methods, techniques, processes, financial data, or lists of actual or potential customers or suppliers. Regardless of what the information is, it must be kept secret. Business owners should take practical steps to maintain the secrecy. Failing to do so could sacrifice your trade secrets altogether.

Our attorneys have extensive experience litigating trade secret claims. We can advise you on the necessary steps to protect your trade secrets before getting to the courthouse. Our assistance includes helping you identify these valuable assets and advising you on practical steps for maintaining their secrecy. Once we have come up with the proper plan for your needs, we can help implement the legal protections. Visit our FAQ page or call an attorney for more information.