Intellectual Property

Commercializing and Protecting Your IP

Safeguarding one’s unique ideas, creations, and proprietary information is important in enabling innovation, maintaining a competitive edge, and cultivating trust among consumers. As a law firm, we understand the importance of protecting the intellectual property of your business.

Trademark Protection

Trademarks are tools that distinguish goods and services in the marketplace. Trademarks are used to protect consumers and businesses by ensuring that they can identify the source of goods or services. This source identification allows consumers to make informed choices about products and services based on their origins and the associated reputation.

Our services related to trademark protection include:

  • Trademark Clearance and Risk Assessment: We advise clients on the registrability of their marks and potential infringement risks.
  • Application Filings: We submit your trademark applications with the USPTO and communicate on your behalf with the examining attorney through its registration.
  • Consent/Coexistence Negotiations: In more difficult registrations, we will advise on obtaining consent and coexistence agreements from another trademark holder.
  • Infringement Actions: Handling post-registration issues, such as trademark cancellation actions and infringing use by third-parties.
Trade Secret Protection

Trade secrets consist of formulas, practices, designs, processes, or any information that provides a business advantage over competitors. Unlike patents, trade secrets can protect this information indefinitely as long as it remains confidential.

We assist clients with:

  • Risk Assessment: Evaluating potential vulnerabilities in maintaining trade secrets.
  • Protocols for Secrecy: Establishing rigorous confidentiality protocols to ensure that sensitive information remains undisclosed.
  • Drafting Agreements: Formulating precise confidentiality, non-disclosure, and non-compete agreements tailored to meet each client’s needs.
  • Employee Training: Educating employees about the importance of maintaining secrecy and their roles in ensuring its confidentiality is maintained.

Insights

Can Non-U.S. Citizens and Start and Operate a Business?

In the United States, ownership of a business, including Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) and corporations, is not restricted to U.S. citizens. Individuals who are non-U.S. citizens are eligible to own these types of businesses. However, with this broad permission, there are specific considerations that needs to be taken into account concerning the type of corporation and the owner’s visa status when it comes to employment.

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Bypassing Proposition 19 and Property Tax Reassessments

Proposition 19 has significantly altered the landscape of property tax regulations in California, particularly affecting the longstanding parent-child exclusion for property tax reassessment. This legislative change has directly impacted how real estate properties are transferred from parents to children, necessitating creative approaches for families and real estate investors eager to pass down real estate assets to their heirs in a tax efficient manner. To achieve this goal, real estate limited-liability companies (LLC) need to be established and used as a vehicle for property transfers.

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Navigating the Corporate Transparency Act: A Guide for U.S. Businesses

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was enacted in response to increasing worries about the use of anonymous shell companies for illicit activities such as money laundering and terrorism financing. The CTA marks a major shift from the current corporate reporting norms in the United States. Under this law, specific entities are required to disclose their beneficial ownership details to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The CTA reporting requirements went into effect on January 01, 2024.

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