United States: Intellectual Property

Web3 does not make intellectual property law obsolete, but it changes how stakeholders create, license, distribute, and enforce IP rights across digital ecosystems. Organizations operating in this space must understand that owning a token does not include ownership of the underlying copyright or trademark rights.

As the creator economy continues to expand, individuals who derive income from digital platforms face a critical estate planning question. For those who already have an estate plan, that plan may not adequately address the unique challenges of managing, valuing and transferring digital businesses, leaving these increasingly valuable assets vulnerable to confusion, lost revenue and family conflict.

Fender's aggressive trademark enforcement campaign against guitar builders and retailers has ignited a fierce debate over intellectual property rights, fair use, and brand protection. Armed with a European court victory, the guitar giant is demanding cease-and-desist compliance worldwide, but faces significant legal hurdles in the U.S. where its iconic body shapes were deemed generic.

Navigating the federal trademark registration process requires understanding key steps from initial filing through long-term maintenance. This comprehensive guide walks through USPTO requirements, potential obstacles like office actions and opposition proceedings, and the ongoing obligations trademark owners must fulfill to maintain their registrations.

Navigating the complex legal landscape of licensed video games requires careful attention to intellectual property rights, approval processes, and revenue structures. From understanding what's actually included in a license to planning for the end of a licensing term, game developers face unique challenges when adapting existing franchises that don't exist with original IP.

The patent system promises inventors exclusive rights in exchange for public disclosure, but enforcement has become prohibitively expensive, creating a minimum damages threshold that effectively rations access to justice. Litigation finance and contingency arrangements have emerged not as exploitation but as necessary responses to a system where defending patent rights can cost $12-20 million, making infringement economically rational even when patents are strong.

Patent protection presents significant challenges for inventors, as legal rights don't always translate to market exclusivity when competitors find ways to design around existing patents. Andrea Arndt examines the critical distinction between what inventors believe their patents protect versus what is actually covered in the patent's specific claims.

Section 337 investigations at the U.S. International Trade Commission can shut down your import business by blocking products at the border, often faster and more effectively than traditional patent litigation.

Autonomy started with cars. The same perception, decision, simulation, and control challenges now apply across robots, drones, and AI-enabled machines operating in the physical world. Understanding the taxonomy of these inventions is the first step toward protecting them.

Courts closely scrutinize covenants not to compete, examining factors like time restrictions, geographic scope, and whether employers have a legitimate protectable interest. Understanding what constitutes unfair competition versus ordinary competition is crucial for enforceability, as employers cannot simply prevent former employees from using general industry knowledge and skills.

Explore the evolving landscape of trade secret litigation a decade after the Defend Trade Secrets Act transformed federal protection for confidential business information. This analysis examines how courts have interpreted the DTSA's provisions and what companies should know about safeguarding their proprietary assets in today's competitive environment.

Recent trade secret litigation reveals critical developments in RICO claims based on employee recruitment patterns, criminal prosecution standards for identifying stolen algorithms, and the heightened particularity requirements courts now demand when pleading trade secret misappropriation. How are courts balancing the need for specificity in identifying trade secrets against the practical challenges of describing proprietary information in public filings?