Intellectual property is the creative product of the human mind—and it is among the most valuable assets your business has. Protecting that intellectual property is an integral part of preserving the reputation and identity of your business, as well as mitigating the risk of lengthy and costly litigation later on. Becker Law LLC provides legal services in three main areas of intellectual property law: trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
Trademarks
Good trademarks establish brand equity and distinguish your products and services from others in a crowded and competitive marketplace. They inspire instant confidence and trust in the products you sell and the services you provide.
How we can help:
- Search for and select trademarks
- Evaluate trademark clearance opinions
- File and prosecute applications for trademark registration anywhere in the U.S. and the world
- Enforce trademark rights through oppositions, cancellation proceedings, and domain name disputes (including enforcement under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act or ACPA)
- Provide brand management and counseling
- Draft trademark licensing agreements
- Address initial business concerns, such as confidentiality agreements, corporate brand usage policies, licensing and rights clearance guidelines, and employee education
- Assist with commercial agreements that have an impact on brand value including supply, distribution, dealer, and sales representative agreements
- Provide anti-counterfeiting advice and counseling relating to the manufacturing, sale, and distribution of unauthorized products
Copyrights
The work you perform for your business and others needs to be protected and controlled. Copyrights are powerful tools to ensure your ownership of your work and control over who makes money from it.
How we can help:
- Obtain copyright registrations
- Prepare, evaluate, and negotiate license and assignment contracts
- Provide opinions and advice concerning copyright requirements, fair use, and infringement
- Recommend and assist in programs to register and/or license copyrights arising from your business
- Offer advice and counseling concerning the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) safe harbor provisions
- Advise and counsel you on how to protect and profit from your works of authorship and how to avoid infringing on the proprietary rights or others
- Evaluate ownership of copyrights based on work made for hire provisions
- Prepare, negotiate, and review outsourcing arrangements
Trade Secrets
Your methods for doing business, such as manufacturing and distributing processes, purchasing habits, sales methods, advertising techniques, and other confidential information, are what give your business an edge over its competitors. If your trade secrets come into the hands of your competitors, this edge could be gone.
How we can help:
- Prepare, review, and negotiate technology transfer agreements covering unpatented trade secrets and confidential information
- Provide advice and counsel on preventing misappropriation of trade secrets of others by employees, customers, and vendors
- Design and implement information security plans, procedures, and policies (including a cybersecurity plan to protect trade secrets from misappropriation and loss)
- Identify your intellectual property
- Show you how to protect your intellectual property
- File applications for registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and Copyright Office
- Draft effective nondisclosure agreements and non-competition agreements to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of your trade secrets
We can also assist in the creation of a trade secret protection program that includes:
- An audit of existing trade secrets
- Identification of other assets worth protecting as trade secrets
- Assistance with an internal trade secret policy including management of employee access to information and other best practices
- Development of a plan for handling new hires and departing employees, which can include the signing of nondisclosure, non-competition, and non-solicitation agreements
Schedule a Consultation to Discuss Intellectual Property Registration and Protection Options for Your Georgia Business
Let Becker Law LLC help you take the important first steps in protecting your business’s intellectual property assets. To learn more about how we can assist you, complete the online contact form or use our online tool to schedule an appointment for an on-demand consultation.