Intellectual Property Litigation

The decision to litigate an intellectual property dispute is never reached lightly, and should only be reached after counseling with attorneys whose primary motivation is the best interest of your company. The attorneys at Parks IP Law have beneficially averted litigation threatened against our clients in the areas of patent and trademark/trade dress, and worked with clients to determine that commencing litigation was not in their best interest at the time. On the other hand, in cases where adjudication was called for, we have successfully litigated from both the plaintiff and defendant side on behalf of our clients.

PRE-LITIGATION SERVICES

We assist clients in avoiding the expense and disruption of litigation altogether by assessing offensive and defensive positions when our clients contemplate litigation or learn of potential or imminent actions against them. For example, we have evaluated and negotiated resolution of patent license demands and infringement allegations from our clients’ major competitors and from non-practicing entities. To date, we successfully handled each such matter entrusted to us – the outcome: our clients took no licenses and made no payments to the challengers.

For those clients and situations where litigation appears to offer a good solution to an intellectual property conflict, we provide a range of pre-litigation services including detailed investigations and analyses directed to questions of patent infringement, trademark/trade dress infringement, copyright infringement, unfair competition, and breach of contract.

Under some situations, an intellectual property owner that has been counseled regarding threatened or pending litigation may benefit from a second opinion. In other situations, a neutral and unbiased opinion of counsel may assist existing litigation counsel or a negotiation process. Parks IP Law provides services such as these to its clients.

LITIGATION SERVICES

The local patent rules for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia make Atlanta an attractive federal court venue for patent litigation. Parks IP Law has represented clients as primary and local counsel in patent and trademark infringement proceedings in the Northern District of Georgia, in State courts, and in proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) and the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI).

Our attorneys form specialized teams as warranted for effectiveness and efficiency, though an attorney may handle particular stages of a matter individually whenever advantageous for the client. We approach each matter with the goal of achieving the desired result – well within the client’s expectations as to cost. To that end, we provide an initial case assessment in advance of litigation, which includes a budget with detailed cost estimates by phase of litigation, forecasted over the anticipated life of the action.

REPRESENTATIVE ENGAGEMENTS

Trademark Infringement (Offense) – N. D. Georgia (Consent judgment for our client)
On behalf of a publicly-traded corporation, we brought an action in federal court against an Atlanta restaurateur for unfair competition and infringement of our clients marks. After discovery, Rule 30(b)(6) depositions, and after securing sanctions for defendants’ discovery abuses, we obtained a consent judgment stipulating the defendants’ agreement to cease & desist all infringing activity.

Patent Infringement (Defense) – N. D. Georgia (Dismissed with prejudice)
Our firm served as local counsel for a major manufacturer of semiconductor devices in an action alleging patent infringement against our client.

Trademark Infringement (Defense) – Fulton County Superior Court (Judgment for our client)
We successfully defended our client, the senior user of the mark at issue, in a trademark infringement and unfair competition action brought by a competitor that alleged that our client abandoned the mark and that the client’s restaurant was outside of the relevant geographical zone. After oral argument on pending motions, judgment was rendered in favor of our client.

Trademark Opposition (Offense) – TTAB (Settlement favorable to our client)
On behalf of a publicly-traded corporation, our attorneys successfully prevented federal registration of a conflicting mark sought by a competitor. The applicant agreed to withdraw its trademark application.

Trademark Opposition (Offense) – TTAB (Sustained in favor of our client)
On behalf of a corporation famous in India for kitchen appliances, our attorneys successfully blocked registration of the client’s valuable house brand by a counterfeiter.

Trademark Opposition (Defense) – TTAB (Settlement favorable to our client)
Against a major U.S. corporation asserting a famous mark, we overcame an opposition to registration of our client’s marks for unrelated goods.