Intellectual Property

Intellectual property: def. an artistic, literary, or other work that is the product of creativity; intangible rights protecting the products of the human mind via a limited monopoly against unauthorized use by others.

Our goal is to protect your intellectual property. Intellectual property consists of several forms of intangible property, including copyrights and trademarks, and is often a company’s most valuable and least protected asset.

• Copyright law protects original works of authorship and gives copyright owners exclusive rights to prevent unauthorized copying of those works. Works eligible for copyright protection include books and other literary works, software and computer coding, photographs, motion pictures, sculptural works, toys, social media postings, internet content, architectural plans, and more.
• Trademarks are words, symbols, or designs that identify a company or product to the world. Trademarks identify a brand to the consuming public, and as such, can be among a company’s most valuable assets.

Our firm handles all aspects of copyright and trademark litigation, registration management, and content review and clearance.

Management

Shullman Fugate assists its clients in all aspects of copyright and trademark prosecution and management. Our attorneys counsel clients on whether, and to what extent, they should seek registration, including preparing and monitoring copyright and trademark applications in the Copyright Office and USPTO. We draft and negotiate assignments, licenses, works for hire, and other agreements governing the permissible use of intellectual property. The firm polices unauthorized uses of your intellectual property, opposes registration of marks and works that infringe your rights, and litigates when necessary. From start to finish, we can guide you through the process of obtaining copyrights and trademarks and then protecting these valuable assets.

Clearance

Rights clearance is the process of obtaining permission to use intellectual property owned by third parties. Our attorneys assist content creators with assessing intellectual property rights, resolving copyright and trademark issues, and licensing material as necessary. Our extensive intellectual property litigation experience brings a well-rounded perspective to even the beginning stages of content creation. We work with studios, production companies, streaming services, networks, publishers, individual artists and other content creators to learn each client’s goals and to counsel clients through fair use and acquiring necessary permissions to accomplish those goals. If an intellectual property dispute results in litigation, Shullman Fugate has you covered there as well.