Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual property includes copyright, trademark, and patent. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are at the center of international trade law. Treaties, statutes, courts, associations, and government agencies throughout the world help holders protect their IPR through filing, recordation, and enforcement actions, such as seizing and destroying infringing merchandise and penalizing violators through civil and criminal penalties.
Stopping infringing merchandise at the border
Protecting IPR can be difficult and expensive, with parties fighting over who owns what rights, what is the proper venue, and who is the proper arbiter for deciding the dispute; however, US law has made it much simpler for IPR holders to defend their rights against piracy. Assuming you have recorded your rights with the proper agencies, the burden of proof shifts from holders to infringers at the border. If you record your trademarks and copyrights with CBP or get an exclusion order from the International Trade Commission for your patents. At that point, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will confiscate first and ask questions later.
Our attorneys help IPR holders record with the proper authorities and through proper channels.
Keeping enforcement officials in check
Federal enforcement officials possess sweeping powers to seize and destroy counterfeit and pirated goods, but they can make mistakes and they often overreach. We represent companies, importers, and individuals whose merchandise has been improperly seized and who have been unfairly penalized.
Gray market goods or parallel imports
Gray market goods are goods that are bought outside the manufacturer’s approved distribution channels. These are not counterfeits, but the genuine items. Manufacturers often sell their products overseas for less than they do here in the US. Those overseas items are imported to the US and sold below the manufacturer’s US price. This is becoming more common because internet purchases allow for easy price comparison shopping and reduce the costs of shipping from a foreign distribution point.
Our lawyers assist both companies seeking to enforce gray market protections and companies defending against gray market enforcement.
Intellectual property includes copyright, trademark, and patent. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are at the center of international trade law. Treaties, statutes, courts, associations, and government agencies throughout the world help holders protect their IPR through filing, recordation, and enforcement actions, such as seizing and destroying infringing merchandise and penalizing violators through civil and criminal penalties.
Stopping infringing merchandise at the border
Protecting IPR can be difficult and expensive, with parties fighting over who owns what rights, what is the proper venue, and who is the proper arbiter for deciding the dispute; however, US law has made it much simpler for IPR holders to defend their rights against piracy. Assuming you have recorded your rights with the proper agencies, the burden of proof shifts from holders to infringers at the border. If you record your trademarks and copyrights with CBP or get an exclusion order from the International Trade Commission for your patents. At that point, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will confiscate first and ask questions later.
Our attorneys help IPR holders record with the proper authorities and through proper channels.
Keeping enforcement officials in check
Federal enforcement officials possess sweeping powers to seize and destroy counterfeit and pirated goods, but they can make mistakes and they often overreach. We represent companies, importers, and individuals whose merchandise has been improperly seized and who have been unfairly penalized.
Gray market goods or parallel imports
Gray market goods are goods that are bought outside the manufacturer’s approved distribution channels. These are not counterfeits, but the genuine items. Manufacturers often sell their products overseas for less than they do here in the US. Those overseas items are imported to the US and sold below the manufacturer’s US price. This is becoming more common because internet purchases allow for easy price comparison shopping and reduce the costs of shipping from a foreign distribution point.
Our lawyers assist both companies seeking to enforce gray market protections and companies defending against gray market enforcement.
