Intellectual Property Litigation

Our Litigation Practice

Brooks Kushman has a long track record of successfully representing businesses in intellectual property and technology litigation. We win difficult cases because our attorneys have the training and background to thoroughly understand complex technical issues, the courtroom skills to take cases to trial if necessary, and a client-focused approach to developing strategies and budgets to achieve every client’s unique goals.

Our Team Philosophy

Strong, personal relationships have proven essential to sustaining and nurturing long-standing and trusted professional relationships between our firm and our clients. Every client receives a curated team to fit their needs. Working closely with our clients, we develop creative and winning strategies to resolve their most complex IP matters.
The litigation team at Brooks Kushman has tried hundreds of cases before juries and judges, in federal and state courts throughout the nation. Drawing on our national experience in solving complex IP matters, we are regularly hired to successfully represent plaintiffs and defendants in IP cases nationally. Our experience spans Federal District Courts nationwide, as well as the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”), and the International Trade Commission (“ITC”).
We efficiently represent clients with an assembled litigation team that has the right complement of talent and skills to give our clients a strategic advantage at trial. Further, when a client prefers to resolve litigation prior to trial, we develop creative solutions to resolve disputes, recognizing that a favorable business resolution may be in the client’s best interest.

Patent Litigation

Patents are key tools used to distinguish a company from its competitors. The Brooks Kushman litigation team has the technical and trial experience to succeed in the courtroom, earning us a national reputation for high-stakes matters and developing winning litigation strategies.
Over two-thirds of our patent and litigation attorneys have gained engineering experience prior to becoming IP attorneys and have extensive experience in a multitude of technical areas. With this experience, we not only understand the innovations, but also the supply chain and trends in the industry. With this knowledge, we understand our clients’ competitors and can help them achieve their business and R&D objectives.
Because we are sensitive to the pressures our clients face while managing legal costs, we have built additional efficiencies into the entire process-from preparing an opinion about infringement, examining the merits of the case, and assessing the likelihood of success, to guiding the case through the complaint, discovery, settlement negotiation, summary judgment, and trial stages. We also believe it critical to work very closely with expert witnesses and guide their efforts, keeping a sharp focus on our client’s overall objectives at all phases of the litigation.

Trademark and Copyright Litigation

To be successful in an increasingly competitive marketplace, our clients must protect their IP in all forms, including trademarks, copyrights, and related IP assets. The law and communication technologies affecting trademarks and copyrights are constantly changing, and thus the strategies necessary to address disputes effectively must evolve to meet new challenges. At Brooks Kushman, we recognize that your company’s brand, logo, website domain, and packaging are the basis of consumer recognition and are considered your most valuable assets.
Our attorneys have extensive experience in protecting and enforcing trademarks and copyrights through litigation and dispute resolution, as well as defending companies from infringement claims. We understand the need to develop a comprehensive strategy for protecting trademarks and copyrights in all important markets, in the U.S. and around the globe. We have a proven track record of serving the world’s most recognizable brands. Our clients regularly turn to us to protect and enforce their rights efficiently and to deliver consistent success.
We have experience both prosecuting and defending trademark-related actions of all types, including:

• Infringement of Federally Registered Trademarks
• Infringement of Common Law Trademarks
• Trademark Dilution
• Trade Dress
• False Advertising
• Right of Publicity
• Trade and Product Disparagement
• Unfair Competition
• Opposition, Cancellation, and Other Administrative Proceedings

We are experienced in representing companies in Internet-related trademark claims, including proceedings against domain name cybersquatters and infringement claims based on website content and other online activities.

TTAB Litigation

For decades, Brooks Kushman’s attorneys have steadfastly protected some of the most recognizable brands in the world. In the United States, when a Trademark Examiner refuses a registration, or when there is a dispute over a registration, the matter is taken to the USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). Unlike many other firms who tout experience at the TTAB, we have successfully tried cases to completion and defended the results before the Federal Circuit.
Practicing before the TTAB has evolved over the years – proceedings now act more like civil litigation, including initial, expert, and pretrial disclosures. Beyond the TTAB, we have significant international opposition experience. Our trademark team manages over 5,000 oppositions and cancellations globally per year.
Our experts have significant experience in resolving disputes, both in and out of court, and recognize that each case is unique. With each opposition and cancellation matter, we work with our clients to truly understand their business objectives and develop watch programs, resolve issues, and mediate conflicts with their specific goals in mind.
We are experienced in all aspects of TTAB proceedings, including:

• Preliminary notice and answer
• Settlement conferences
• Initial, expert, and pretrial disclosures
• Creation and analysis of expert testimony and reports
• Trial
• Trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings
• Ex parte appeals of final refusals issued by the Trademark Examiner
• Concurrent Use Proceedings
• Settlements via co-existence agreements and licensing agreements

PTAB Litigation

Post Grant matters are strategically staffed with a blend of professionals that have extensive experience in patent prosecution and litigation. This allows us better to understand the prosecution history of asserted patents, and become more effective in technical arguments, procedural issues, and amending claims. In most cases, our PTAB work is an integrated and direct complement to our litigation work. Brooks Kushman has extensive expertise in all aspects of post grant proceedings before the United States Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), including inter partes review, post grant review, covered business methods, and reexaminations. Since the adoption of such proceedings in 2012, our team has remained at the forefront of these proceedings and represented clients to navigate the complex rules and procedures that govern the PTAB hearing process.
Brooks Kushman understands the intricacies and implications of post-grant challenges. Our team blends exceptional knowledge of technologies with patent prosecution and patent litigation. We understand how to staff such matters, what resources to deploy, and the technical issues at the heart of each matter. Our attorneys know what it takes to vigorously represent our clients. Our skills allow us to prevail in such administrative proceedings. We strategize with our clients to coordinate efforts with possible parallel district court litigation and on appeal, because we recognize the impact a decision can have on a patent portfolio, market opportunities, and the bottom line. The attorneys at Brooks Kushman are experienced in identifying, prioritizing, and pursuing or defending reexamination and post-grant review options according to each client’s needs and interests.