Calfee has one of the largest Intellectual Property practices in a general practice firm within the Midwest. The attorneys in our IP group have broad experience and a deep bench in prosecution, litigation, opinions and counseling.
Of the approximately 40 skilled attorneys in Calfee's Intellectual Property practice, more than 30 attorneys are registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
In addition to the comprehensive nature of our expertise, there are at least three distinct reasons why we believe our lawyers provide significant “added” value when representing intellectual property clients:
Most of the lawyers in our practice have undergraduate and/or graduate degrees in mechanical, aerospace, electrical, computer, biomedical, or chemical engineering; or in chemistry, bio-chemistry or the biological sciences. Our attorneys offer a unique combination of technical capabilities and strong communication skills with pragmatic business counseling. Many of our attorneys have decades of experience practicing IP law.
Our Intellectual Property practice develops and protects the intellectual property and technology assets of a broad spectrum of clients. Our IP attorneys conduct patent and trademark searches; prepare and prosecute U.S. and international patent, trademark and copyright applications; and they work with clients to maintain and enforce issued patents and registered trademarks.
We provide corporate counseling on issues of licensing agreements; assignments, security interest and confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements; trade secret protection; and patent and trademark infringement.
Calfee attorneys also represent clients involved in intellectual property disputes and litigation – helping resolve or litigate issues of infringement, trademark oppositions and cancellations, Inter Partes Reviews (IPRs) of patents, and trade secret and unfair competition violations.
Serving a national and international client base comprised of both established and entrepreneurial enterprises, Calfee provides fully integrated, high-quality legal services throughout the United States and around the world. Our attorneys work with clients to develop strategies for utilizing the client’s intellectual property, protecting trade secrets, and for dealing with adverse claims of patent, trademark and copyright infringement.
Click here to view our qualifications at a glance.
Chambers USA Band 2 Ranking (Ohio)
For well over a decade, our Intellectual Property group has been ranked and recognized by Chambers USA. In 2019, Chambers USA researchers reported that Calfee's IP group is "esteemed for its handling of IP litigation and portfolio management on behalf of large clients in Ohio and the Midwest and across the USA. [They are] highly experienced in the engineering, chemical and biological sectors, with notable abilities in handling matters for consumer products and manufacturing clients." One client reports: "It's an excellent firm; they're strategic and bring a lot of value to the table."
Chambers USA has also reported that their researchers found Calfee's IP team to be held in "very high regard by fellow practitioners who note our extensive experience representing clients in wider patent and trademark matters, IP litigation matters, appellate work, and advising companies on managing IP assets in China."
U.S.News – Best Lawyers in America "Best Law Firms" Rankings
Calfee was selected for inclusion in the 2019 "Best Law Firms" rankings by U.S.News – Best Lawyers in America in Intellectual Property Litigation (National and Metropolitan Cleveland rankings).
Among the fastest growing, most rapidly-evolving and valuable intellectual property asset categories in today’s marketplace are those in computer software, hardware, firmware, networks and related information technology (IT) goods and services. Among other notable features, various facets of such IT assets may enjoy protection under all forms of intellectual property (IP) – patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets.
Calfee’s highly-regarded IP attorneys have deep and extensive experience in securing, protecting, defending and enforcing all of these forms of IP in IT. That experience includes drafting and prosecuting patent applications for some of the most sophisticated IT inventions, registering copyrights in software and websites and helping clients develop programs to protect the confidentiality of critical trade secrets embodied in their IT products, services and processes. It also entails high-stakes litigation over software patents, copyrights and trade secrets, in which we have successfully protected clients’ interests, as both plaintiffs and defendants, in trial courts across the country and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Additionally, our IP attorneys are active in drafting and negotiating agreements for the full array of transactions through which IP assets in IT are developed, licensed, transferred and otherwise commercially exploited, including working closely with our colleagues in other practice areas, such as mergers and acquisitions.
If you care about the IP in IT, you should be talking with Calfee.
"Calfee's IP group is esteemed for its handling of IP litigation and portfolio management on behalf of large clients in Ohio and the Midwest and across the USA. [They are] highly experienced in the engineering, chemical and biological sectors, with notable abilities in handling matters for consumer products and manufacturing clients. It's an excellent firm; they're strategic and bring a lot of value to the table."
Chambers USA
