IP Theft and Infringement
We protect company cornerstones: Intellectual Property.
A company’s intellectual property is often its cornerstone—particularly in today’s world, where ideas are power. Our clients involve us when competitors and former staff infringe on those intellectual property rights.
Trade secrets are closely-guarded processes, systems, documents, electronic files, or information that provide an economic edge over competitors. Trade secrets often form the core of a business, and both the Michigan Legislature and Congress have given businesses a robust set of tools to enforce the secrecy of trade secrets and to punish those who take them. Trade secrets are so important to the American economy and companies that Congress enacted The Defend Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1836 et seq. to provide even more firepower to combat trade secret misappropriation, including double damages and attorney fees.
Here is a brief list of items that can qualify as trade secrets under the appropriate circumstances:
- Customer and prospect lists
- Customer pricing
- Acquisition targets
- Financial projections and forecasts
- Compilations of valuable information
- Formulas and recipes
Even experienced business professionals commonly misperceive that trade secrets must be registered, trademarked, or copyrighted to qualify for trade secret protection. This is not the case; a business does not need to do anything special for trade secret protection other than keep the economically-valuable information secret and secure. Secrecy is sometimes achieved through confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements but can also be accomplished through restricted access to the information.
Unscrupulous business partners, contractors, vendors, and former employees can do immense damage by unfairly taking or using your trade secrets. Experience shows that the wisest and most successful businesses safeguard their trade secrets and prioritize their protection through swift legal action.
Cronkhite Counsel routinely pursues court relief to address stop secret misappropriation and to obtain relief. In these cases, the law grants businesses expedited access to the courts so that the judge may quickly enter orders to halt this misconduct and return valuable property.
Trade Secret Protection
We regularly confront and stop companies and individuals from infringing on client trademarks, and protect clients from shakedowns involving weak accusations of trademark infringement.
What is trademark infringement? And what happens if you prove trademark infringement—or it is proven against you?
Trademark infringement occurs when someone uses your trademark—such as a brand name, logo, or slogan—in a way that is likely to cause confusion, deception, or mistake about the source of a good or service. In simpler terms, it involves another party’s unauthorized use of your trademark that is similar or identical to your trademark in connection with goods or services.
To better recognize and understand trademark infringement, it’s essential to know a few key concepts:
Trademark Ownership: Trademarks are symbols, names, or designs that distinguish the goods or services of one party from those of others. Trademark owners have exclusive rights to use their marks in connection with specific goods or services.
Likelihood of Confusion: An important factor in trademark infringement is whether someone is using a trademark that causes a likelihood of confusion. If the unauthorized use of a mark is likely to confuse consumers about the source of the goods or services, it may be considered infringement.
Similarity of Marks: The similarity between the registered trademark and the allegedly infringing mark is an important factor, too. This includes similarities in appearance, sound, meaning, or overall commercial impression.
Goods and Services: Trademarks are registered for specific classes of goods or services. Infringement may occur if the unauthorized use is in connection with similar or related goods or services.
Consumer Perception: Courts often consider how consumers are likely to perceive the marks in question. If consumers are likely to be confused about the origin of the goods or services, it strengthens the case for infringement.
Trademark Infringement
Patent law protects inventions by granting inventors the exclusive right to make, use, sell, offer for sale, or import their inventions for a limited period—generally 20 years. To qualify for patent protection, the invention must be novel (new), non-obvious, useful, and described in sufficient detail.
Here is a brief list of items that can qualify for patent protection under the appropriate circumstances:
- Machines, tools, and devices
- Pharmaceutical and chemical compounds (think aspirin, Lipitor, and the like)
- Technological innovations (for example, Amazon patented its “One-Click” ordering option)
- Consumer products (think Keurig’s coffee pod system)
Companies often spend thousands, if not millions, of dollars developing inventions. To prevent losing that investment, companies patent those inventions to prevent others from using, making, selling, or importing the patented invention—usually for 20 years from the patent application date.
If a company or person uses the patented invention during the patent’s lifetime without permission, the patent holder is entitled to sue for patent infringement. Unlike most legal claims, patent holders must file their lawsuits in federal court due to the federal court’s having exclusive jurisdiction over patent claims.
Patent Infringement
As shown above, both Michigan and federal law exist to protect companies from intellectual property infringement. Those laws provide remedies and protections that are unmatched elsewhere, including not only financial damages and attorney’s fees but also court orders that prohibit ongoing or future infringement. Intellectual property litigation also has unique characteristics that require legal counsel who understand its intricacies and can navigate around common pitfalls to optimize the law’s protections of intellectual property rights.