Consumer products present some of the most challenging and often overlooked areas of intellectual property law. Our sophistication in this area has its foundation in understanding the life cycles of various consumer products and thus the appropriate levels of IP protection and enforcement to apply for our client’s brands. From beverages to makeup, toys to tools, and fashion apparel to sports and exercise equipment, we analyze the positioning of products at the retail and wholesale levels in light of contemporary legal principles. We then apply impactful IP strategies consistent with our clients’ business objectives. Always in focus is the packaging for products – the layout and design of which often provide an effective avenue for growing a brand.
Practical, as opposed to extravagant, approaches are developed and win the day with our clients. We strive to understand the short-term and long-term goals of our clients so that we can tailor the most effective and efficient strategy to protect their IP wherever their products are currently designed, manufactured, imported, sold or licensed as well as where they plan to be in the future.
With a myriad of available IP tools, we work with our clients to determine the most effective IP tools, such as design protection, utility patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. With decades of experience, we help clients identify the best course of action to maximize brand value and monetize the assets you seek to protect and enforce.
Our counseling does not stop at passive protection. When a brand is under threat by a competitor, we seek to build defenses and counterattacks towards reaching an effective resolution, preferably without an extensive period of valuable time that can be better spent building the brand.
And when threats to a brand arise in the marketplace, we tailor enforcement approaches aligned with our clients’ business goals:
issuing a cease-and-desist letter
negotiating a license agreement
obtaining an ex parte seizure order
filing suit in District Court
seeking an exclusion order at the International Trade Commission (ITC)
coordinating with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to prevent unauthorized imports