Things every client should understand about intellectual property disputes

Patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret infringement

The nature of these disputes is apparent from their names. The substantive Plaintiff in the dispute alleges that the substantive Defendant has infringed upon the Plaintiff’s patent, trademark, copyright, and / or trade secret rights.

The Defendant’s overall response to the charge of infringement will nearly always feature two main themes: (a) an allegation of noninfringement (“We’re doing something different; we’re not practicing your technology.”); and (b) an allegation of invalidity or unenforceability (“Even if we are viewed as infringing, it doesn’t matter, as your patent / trademark / copyright should never have been granted in the first place.”).