Intellectual Property Litigation

No matter the forum, Haynes and Boone will protect its clients’ intellectual property from infringers and defends its clients from infringement or misappropriation claims. We have represented IP clients in federal and state courts and in the dispute-resolution forums of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), as well as in international tribunals.

Our definition of success is to achieve client business objectives. That can mean aggressive representation at trial or alternative dispute resolution that achieves competitive goals without the expense of litigation.

A Well-Rounded Team Approach
At the core of our IP litigation team are true patent lawyers who have technical undergraduate degrees and are licensed to practice in the USPTO. They work closely with trial lawyers - many of whom are also licensed patent lawyers - who use their technical knowledge and advocacy skills to clearly and concisely present their client’s case to judge and jury.

Together the members of this multidisciplinary practice can leverage and enforce IP assets and rights throughout the world, representing clients as plaintiffs and defendants in controversies over:

• Patent, trademark and copyright infringement
• Trade secret misappropriation
• Interferences, oppositions and re-examinations
• Technology contracting

Solid Technical Foundation
Unlike boutique IP litigation specialists, our IP litigation group is positioned to protect clients’ intellectual property assets across a full spectrum of technologies and applications. Our lawyers have worked as patent examiners at the Patent and Trademark Office, and as engineers or in-house counsel with leading technology companies. Our trial lawyers are also technologically savvy, and can break down complex concepts for judges and juries alike.

Multinational corporations, emerging companies and established mid-sized business all depend on Haynes and Boone IP litigators to fully understand their technologies. That knowledge enables us to create an effective defense for the IP rights of any product.

Defending Rights to Trade Secrets
Disputes over non-compete agreements often pit employers against each other. We have handled litigation representing both employees’ former and new employers, and are skilled at securing and resisting temporary restraining orders (TROs) and permanent injunctions to protect employer interests in either type of case.

Our lawyers can effectively deal with trade secrets involving both hard (for example, in semiconductor fabricating equipment) and soft (such as software for processing everything from customer orders to income tax returns) technologies.

Copyright and Trademark Litigation
In addition to complex patent-infringement litigation, Haynes and Boone also regularly handles litigation involving trademark- and copyright-infringement claims. Haynes and Boone has successfully represented both plaintiffs and defendants in bench and jury trials, and before federal and state courts.

Handling Disputes at the Patent and Trademark Office
We both pursue and defend against objections to patent and trademark filings before the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board and Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences of the Patent & Trademark Office.

An effective interference action depends on investigation strengths and techniques that we have developed during many actions before the boards. Often we are able to determine that a rival claim seeks to expand and support its claims by relying on materials developed after the filing date, leading to a rejection of the opponent's claim. In other instances we can demonstrate that the claims of other parties are incomplete, or that former employees’ claims are invalidated by the terms of their employment.

Haynes and Boone has also defended and pursued many trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board.

Defending Competitive Advantage
Companies make major investments of time and money in developing patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property assets. Haynes and Boone’s IP litigators know that creating competitive advantage depends on making the risks and rewards of intellectual property development pay off for our clients. We are skilled at finding the most creative ways to help them exploit and protect their intellectual property assets and advantages.