Steffin Azod LLP can handle all of your intellectual-property needs, whether in the boardroom or in the courtroom. We have in-depth experience across the spectrum, from prosecuting a high-tech patent portfolio to selling a television show, to bet the company litigation. With a network of top ranked associate firms in more than 20 countries, we can help wherever you are located.
IP STRATEGY
Our lawyers can help set your company’s intellectual property strategy to maximize the protection of your assets. Our attorneys have the experience and training necessary to provide advice and guidance on all aspects of intellectual-property management, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade-secrets, licensing, enforcement strategies, and monetization.
Our firm knows the special needs of early stage companies and routinely helps universities with patent programs and technology transfer. We also offer our expertise in drafting opinions on the legal validity and infringement of intellectual-property rights.
PATENT PROSECUTION
Our team of patent prosecutors has experience with complex subject matter in various industries, including wireless technology, biochemistry, pharmaceuticals, chip design, mobile-content delivery, oil and gas, and agriculture. We have handled whole patent-portfolios for companies and know how to manage patent prosecution as part of an overall intellectual-property and business strategy.
Unlike other firms, our patent prosecutors do not work in silos. Some are also patent litigators, and all of them interact with our patent litigators to ensure cross-pollination with current patent-litigation developments that can impact drafting choices. Thus, our patent prosecutors have a sophisticated understanding of how drafting choices may affect future enforcement efforts.
PATENT LITIGATION
Our attorneys have extensive patent-litigation experience. Our senior litigators all have experience litigating high-stakes patent cases, involving many different types of technologies. We can guide a client from the pre-investigation stage all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary.
Our litigators have experience in several forums where patent suits are frequently litigated:
- Central District of California
- Northern District of California
- Southern District of California
- Northern District of Illinois
- District of Delaware
- Eastern District of Texas
- Fourth Circuit
- Seventh Circuit
- Ninth Circuit
- Federal Circuit
- International Trade Commission
- United States Supreme Court
In addition to these forums, our litigators have experience in many other courts throughout the country.
We have litigated various types of patent technology and have the technical background to understand your company’s technology. For example, we have experience litigating the following technologies:
| Computer Software | Mobile Devices | Cellular Networks |
| Memory Chips | LEDs | Video Gaming |
| Web Browsing | Lens Design | Speech Recognition |
| Medical Devices | Automotive / Tires | Set-Top Boxes |
| Wireless Encryption | E-commerce | Hybrid Electric Vehicles |
COPYRIGHTS
Attorneys at our firm work with artists, museums, production companies, and other intellectual-property owners to protect and monetize their copyrights. Working with clients to protect copyright ownership is an important part of our practice.
TRADEMARKS
Our attorneys also have experience filing for trademarks and defending them before the Trademark Office, developing trademark strategies for clients, and litigating trademark and trade-dress cases.
LICENSING
We also help clients monetize their patents, copyrights, and other assets, and we can negotiate license agreements on their behalf. We can help clients understand how to the leverage the value of their intellectual property to benefit their overall business strategy. We also have the experience to help client identify and license or purchase intellectual property to help them meet their business goals. We pride ourselves on finding creative solutions to licensing issues and strategies. We can work with you to find ways to creatively license and monetize your intellectual-property rights.
MERGERS & ACQUISTIONS
Based on our experiences working with various types of companies in many industries, we have the ability to identify opportunities for our clients to merge with or be sold to companies that understand the value our clients can create. A key aspect of our practice is identifying synergies and intellectual-property opportunities that can be maximized through strategic mergers and acquisitions. Many times companies have good intellectual-property portfolios that a missing key pieces of technology that could greatly increase the value of that portfolio. We help companies identify those gaps, fill them, and greatly increase the value of their portfolios. We also help start-up companies develop their intellectual-property portfolios to help them become attractive targets for mergers and acquisitions.
ENTERTAINMENT
Our attorneys have also advised clients with respect to art and entertainment transactions, including selling the rights to a television show, advising art exhibits, and helping a museum with an internal investigation.