Intellectual Property Litigation
Overview
Long known as one of Washington's top trial firms in a variety of practice areas, Crowell & Moring is quickly developing a national reputation as a leader in intellectual property litigation. With a particular emphasis on patent litigation, we have become a go-to firm for many of the world's leading technology companies in diverse industries including telecommunications, computer hardware and software, consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace, and pharmaceuticals. Our lawyers have substantial jury and bench trial experience in federal courts across the country, with a growing track record of successful results for our clients in IP cases.
Patents
Excellence in trial and litigation skills and broad technical expertise are the hallmarks of our patent litigation practice. Our patent litigation specialists consider themselves trial lawyers first and foremost, and they pride themselves on the ability to convey even the most technical subject matter in ways that strike a chord with lay jurors and judges. To this end, our litigators are skilled in using multimedia presentation techniques and tools, and they routinely monitor the latest developments in this field to ensure they present their cases in the most compelling manner possible. We never shy away from taking a case all the way to trial, yet we recognize that often it is in a client's best interest to dispose of disputes more expeditiously. Indeed, since cases are often effectively won or lost at the claim construction stage, our experienced litigators bring the full force of their trial expertise to bear on Markman hearings. In addition to trial work, our attorneys frequently argue appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Many of our patent litigators also have substantial technical expertise garnered both from academic and real-world experiences, enabling them to understand not only the technology at issue in any given case, but just as importantly, how that technology fits into a client's business objectives. Where additional technical expertise is desirable, our litigators can draw on the diverse talents and experiences of our many patent procurement specialists. Crowell & Moring is ranked among the leading patent procurement firms in the country. This combination of litigation and patent procurement expertise also makes us particularly effective in handling interference proceedings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Trademarks and Unfair Competition
We regularly enforce and defend against trademark infringement actions in federal and state courts across the country. We have litigated cases involving sound marks, comic book characters, and company service marks, obtaining temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions to immediately stop infringing activity. We also have filed and defended against administrative oppositions and cancellations in the Patent and Trademark Office in connection with federal trademark applications and registrations. In addition, where trademark rights are implicated, we have prosecuted arbitrations over domain names before World Intellectual Property Organization forums.
Copyrights
We have wide experience litigating copyright cases across a broad spectrum of content, including computer software, comic books and music. On the civil side, our litigators have been successful in obtaining temporary restraining orders, preliminary and permanent injunctions, and summary judgments. On the criminal side, we have assisted clients in making complaints against content pirates to the Department of Justice, resulting in indictments. We have represented several Fortune 500 companies in copyright cases involving software. To better serve our clients in technology-related cases, several of our copyright litigators have technical and advanced degrees in subjects such as electrical engineering, mathematics and computer science.
Our attorneys are on the forefront of developing law where copyright issues interface with trade secrets, right of publicity, privacy, First Amendment, and fair use issues. Our senior litigators have published on topics ranging from the Supreme Court's seminal Grokster decision, to the difficulty of protecting content in a digital environment, to the scope of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. We also regularly sponsor symposia on cutting edge copyright issues, give speeches, and participate in copyright committees sponsored by national bar associations.
Section 337
We have substantial experience trying cases before the U.S. International Trade Commission under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. In a number of instances, these cases have run in parallel with related patent infringement actions in federal district court, and our lawyers are skilled at handling the strategic and logistical challenges that such concurrent litigation presents.
Trade Secrets
We have litigated cases involving a wide variety of trade secrets involving computer software, customer lists, and employee compensation, succeeding in obtaining injunctions against misappropriators. We understand the importance of using key technical experts to demonstrate misappropriations. Where necessary, we work closely with the FBI to prevent further disclosures of client secrets, or to arrest hackers. Since many of the cases we handle involve computer-related trade secrets, we are experienced in working with digital forensic experts to find and close technical weaknesses. We have developed a systematic protocol for how an organization should respond to misappropriations of their key trade secrets.