Intellectual Property Overview

California Intellectual Property Litigation Lawyer

The general rule is that “ideas are as free as the air,” and well they should be. Intellectual property, however, is the exception. Qualifying inventions, creative works, know-how, and commercial names or symbols that represent the goodwill of a business all have this in common: They are products of the mind capable of “ownership,” namely, the right to exclude others from exploiting them.

Some of the types of IP services and representation I offer to my clients are listed below.

• Trademark law
• Copyright law
• Trade secrets
• Unfair Competition
• Visual arts law (photography, graphic design, fine art)
• Expert Witness in court proceedings on subjects of IP law and practice
• Right of Publicity
• Publishing law and agreements (publishers, authors, agents)
• Representing both plaintiffs and defendants in trademark, trade secret, and copyright infringement suits in both state and federal courts throughout California; arbitrations and trials
• Representation in opposition, cancellation, concurrent use, and similar proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
• Representation in online arbitrations of domain name disputes before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and elsewhere
• Trademark clearance and registration (U.S. and International)
• Software and new media technology
• Domain names
• Advertising law
• Insurance coverage for policyholders in IP disputes

Here is a brief introduction to my three primary practice areas. To discuss all other issues, please contact me, intellectual property litigation lawyer Larry Townsend today.

Trademark Law

One of the most common requests clients ask of me is to help them protect a new name or mark for their businesses. Usually the first step is to conduct an appropriate search to determine whether the name is available, i.e., whether the name, or a confusingly similar name, has been adopted or registered by another party. If the name is available, trademarks are best protected nationally under the federal Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051 - 1127.

Copyright Law

As a novelist (click here to see my novel), I appreciate firsthand the importance of copyright protection from the standpoint of the creator. Unlike trademark law, which is governed by both state and federal law, copyright law is entirely federal. Under the U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 - 810 and pursuant to international treaties, protection is afforded to original works of authorship, including written materials, software, multimedia, sound recordings, and works of visual and performing arts.

Trade Secret Law

Having written the story about the ultimate secret sauce, I thoroughly understand the importance of keeping under wraps my clients' trade secrets, whether recipes, formulas, know-how, technical specifications, customer lists, customer requirements, pricing strategies and information, product specifications, or other proprietary information. Trade secrets are protected under both common law and California's version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act: Civil Code Section 3426.

Attorney Lawrence G. Townsend represents clients located throughout California, including the communities of Oakland, San Jose, Mountain View, Burlingame, Fremont, Hayward, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Modesto, Stockton, Cupertino, San Mateo, Sunnyvale, San Francisco County, Alameda County, San Mateo County, Contra Costa County, Santa Clara County, Marin County, Napa County, Sonoma County, San Joaquin County, and all of the surrounding areas.