Patent Re-Examinations, Trademark Cancellations and Oppositions

Proper protection of intellectual property assets includes management of patents and trademarks, and Haynes and Boone's Intellectual Property lawyers assist in both of these areas.

Patent Reexaminations
According to the Official Gazette of the U.S. Patent Office, 2005-2007, Haynes and Boone is the top filer of inter partes patent reexaminations in the country. With this level of experience, we can advise and prosecute reexaminations that fit our client’s goals, as well as comply with the many Office requirements of patent reexamination practice. Furthermore, in light of the increasing availability of patents that qualify for inter partes reexamination, reexamination is becoming a very practical strategy for handling patents with substantial new questions of validity, and Haynes and Boone is ready and able to assist in this strategy.

Our patent reexamination attorneys work in most areas of technology, including electrical, mechanical, software, and chemical. This allows us to work closely with most, if not all, technology companies.

Trademark Oppositions and Cancellations
There are several options available to companies who feel another entity is infringing upon its brands and trademarks, or whose trademark applications are rejected over another entity’s prior registrations. One of these areas where Haynes and Boone can offer clients help is in administrative proceedings before Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Before undertaking potentially costly litigation for trademark infringement or simply abandoning a registered trademark application, Haynes and Boone counsels clients on the viability of pursuing this potentially less expensive and less time consuming process. The trademark lawyers at Haynes and Boone have guided their clients through hundreds of trademark cancellation or opposition proceedings.

Oppositions or cancellations are useful proceedings when a competitor files for a trademark or if they expand their business into a similar commercial marketplace. We have successfully opposed the registration of trademarks by third parties in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and, have also prevailed against third parties who have attempted to prevent our clients from registering their trademarks.