Trademarks

Our global trademarks team, with lawyers in the US, Europe, and Asia, have assisted in the protection of many thousands of trademarks that help to avoid consumer confusion or infringement. We work on behalf of a wide range of organizations, from commercial brands to public institutions. Withers’ global reach enables us to help wherever you are – or would like to be.

We provide a full range of services from the creation of a mark through to brand growth. Our experience enables us to advise not just on the registration process and available options, such as trademarks, service marks and trade dress, but also on protecting and strengthening the mark.

We regularly assist clients with:

• Strategic advice regarding name selection, clearance and registrability in both domestic and international markets

• Prioritizing registration strategies and budgeting for trademark portfolio development and growth

• Prosecuting trademark applications and maintaining registrations

• Managing contested proceedings before trademark offices, such as office actions, trademark oppositions, and invalidation proceedings

• Representing clients in trademark infringement litigation matters

• Structuring and negotiating commercial agreements involving trademarks, such as license agreements, distribution agreements and collaboration agreements

• Developing and delivering training programs for clients’ employees regarding trademarks and other intellectual property matters

• Assisting client’s in brand enforcement efforts, such as creating programs to address issues with counterfeit goods and rogue websites

We will keep you updated at every stage, from conducting clearance searches to prosecuting your application and liaising with trademark agencies on your behalf until the application is approved. After your trademark is registered, we will calendar any renewal deadlines to ensure that your registration is timely maintained.

“Clearing your marks early is essential,” advises Deborah Greaves in our Los Angeles office. Business owners invest substantially in their branding, including marking the packaging and products, along with advertising. It is difficult, both financially and emotionally, to later learn that the brand name is not available, or even worse, that another party already owns a registration for the mark in which the new business has heavily invested.

Thinking globally

We advise our clients to think globally by conducting searches in different markets before applying to register a trademark for the first time. If you wish to file applications in several countries simultaneously, your Withers lawyer is well-positioned to ensure your international applications are timely filed by leveraging the advantages of international trademark treaties, through our international firm offices, or through our network of highly skilled international f trademark attorneys.

Enforcement of our clients’ trademark rights is taken seriously. We help our clients with civil enforcement by obtaining injunctive relief and/or litigating against infringers to recover civil damages. We also help our clients with criminal enforcement against counterfeiters by developing brand enforcement training materials for law enforcement use, partnering with private investigators and law enforcement agencies to execute criminal seizures and prosecuting counterfeiters, assisting with on-line take downs, and structuring internal brand enforcement programs for our clients with prolific infringement and counterfeiting issues.