Patent Services

Full-service patent procurement before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the counseling that surrounds it.

Patent preparation and prosecution — U.S. provisional, non-provisional and national stage filings, office action responses, examiner interviews, and appeals to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Continuation and divisional strategy across a family, and coordination with foreign associates on international portfolios.

Opinions — patentability and prior art analysis before you commit to a filing. Freedom-to-operate analysis before you commit to a program. Invalidity analysis when someone else’s patent is in your way.

Post-grant and third-party proceedings — inter partes review, post-grant review, and ex parte and inter partes reexamination, as petitioner or patent owner, together with support to litigation counsel on claim construction and invalidity.

Portfolio diligence — patent due diligence for acquisitions, licensing transactions and strategic collaborations. Landscape analysis to map a competitive space before you enter it. Portfolio audits to find what is worth maintaining and what is not.

Trade secret counseling — assessment of what should be protected as a trade secret rather than patented, and the practices needed to keep that protection intact.

Cross-border practice — support for Chinese companies protecting intellectual property in the United States, and for U.S. companies working with Chinese partners.

Fee arrangements are discussed at the outset and confirmed in a written engagement letter before work begins.