WilmerHale’s Intellectual Property (IP) Practice provides comprehensive solutions to the intellectual property business challenges that face companies at all stages of growth—from individual inventors to large companies—in every aspect of their business that involves the acquisition, exploitation or protection of intellectual property.
We offer full-service IP coverage in virtually every technology and product category, ranging from green technology, consumer goods, electronics, medical devices and manufacturing, to media and publishing, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, genetics, chemical engineering, semiconductor processing and nanotechnology.
Clients turn to us because we combine the specialized legal and technical skills normally associated with boutique intellectual property firms with the broad business and litigation capabilities of a major general practice firm. Like boutique firms, we counsel inventors, R&D teams and management on patent drafting and prosecution, reexaminations and interferences, trademark, copyright and trade secret protection, and IP portfolio development. Unlike most patent practices, however, we also offer interdisciplinary experience in technology transfer and licensing, litigation, sponsored and collaborative research agreements, and IP-related due diligence. We understand how IP relates to your company's business, and recognize that IP is a valuable asset yet IP services must be provided with a recognition of the value being provided.
Based on our experience with transactional work, patents and IP litigation, our team is also uniquely positioned to counsel clients on their business and legal IP strategies, analyzing the value of existing IP portfolios and tailoring these portfolios to match the client's business needs. This often includes targeting future technological areas of interest, protecting existing areas from competitors and preparing for market changes.
With more than 200 attorneys in the United States, Europe and Asia, our IP team works seamlessly with one another, taking advantage of the strengths of our different offices. Our rare combination of technological and business experience helps clients reap the benefit of their investment in ideas. More than 160 of our lawyers and technology specialists hold degrees in technological and scientific disciplines, and we have more than 70 lawyers and agents registered to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
With the EU’s chemicals regulation, REACH, soon to become operational, we have assembled an interdisciplinary team of lawyers who not only have significant experience with all key aspects of REACH, but can also advise companies on how best to position themselves in light of globally intensifying environmental issues in Europe, the Americas (US) and Asia (China). For more on our REACH capabilities, click here.