Providing comprehensive solutions for the acquisition, enforcement and protection of IP.

A global team handling highly complex and sensitive matters in all aspects of litigation.

WilmerHale is uniquely positioned to provide counseling, strategic advice and litigation representation to clients confronting issues involving both antitrust and intellectual property law—and the intersection between the two.

Clients trust us to protect their most important intellectual property matters.

By patenting their innovations, our clients increase the value of their intellectual property and enhance their ability to compete in the marketplace. We work with laboratory and research teams and R&D and product development groups to determine whether, when and where it is in our clients’ business and technical interests to seek patent protection. And we don’t just file patent applications. Drawing on our experience with patent litigation, corporate financings and technology transactions, we implement IP strategies that conserve resources, add measurable value and give our clients a cost-effective and commercially practical competitive edge.

We help clients obtain more than 750 US and foreign patents each year, covering innovations that span the technological spectrum, including aerospace, biochemistry, biotechnology, business methods, chemistry, computer science, fuel cells, genetics, high-speed data communication, integrated circuits, materials science, medical devices, nanotechnology, pharmaceuticals, semiconductor devices and processes, and software.

We also prepare and prosecute patent applications internationally under the Patent Cooperative Treaty and by working with a network of seasoned patent lawyers around the world. Our experience extends to appeals, interferences and opposition proceedings within the US Patent and Trademark Office, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the European Patent Office.

We advise clients on the smartest, most cost-effective ways to challenge or defend issued patents.

Intellectual Property Litigation

Clients in need of copyright and trademark protection depend on our skilled litigators and IP lawyers with a proven record of success. Technology companies bring us cutting-edge and novel copyright protection matters centered on the dissemination and transmission of copyrighted works and content. Clients in the entertainment industry rely on our guidance on critical issues surrounding copyright protection for movies, television, music and other art forms, and we also work with fashion and consumer goods companies on protecting and enforcing their copyrights. 

Clients seek our help with the strategic selection, registration, management, enforcement and defense of trademark, trade dress and domain name rights—often their most valuable assets. Local and global brands rely on us to protect them from infringement and dilution by guarding their assets from competitors who aim to weaken their names. We also offer strategies to minimize risk of liability for trademark infringement and have successfully defended many companies in litigation against parties seeking to overreach with allegations of trademark or trade dress infringement, domain name misuse or cybersquatting. We consider not only potential infringement of third-party rights, but also whether a potential name or trademark can be registered and provide clients with the desired exclusivity and global market impact. Clients looking to prevent third-party misappropriation of trademarks and names depend on us to oppose registrations and seek cancellations of existing registrations, and to defend their trademarks in proceedings in the US Patent and Trademark Office, under the Madrid Protocol and before national and regional patent and trademark offices.

Clients in need of copyright and trademark protection depend on our skilled litigators and IP lawyers with a proven record of success. Technology companies bring us cutting-edge and novel copyright protection matters centered on the dissemination and transmission of copyrighted works and content. Clients in the entertainment industry rely on our guidance on critical issues surrounding copyright protection for movies, television, music and other art forms, and we also work with fashion and consumer goods companies on protecting and enforcing their copyrights. 

Clients seek our help with the strategic selection, registration, management, enforcement and defense of trademark, trade dress and domain name rights—often their most valuable assets. Local and global brands rely on us to protect them from infringement and dilution by guarding their assets from competitors who aim to weaken their names. We also offer strategies to minimize risk of liability for trademark infringement and have successfully defended many companies in litigation against parties seeking to overreach with allegations of trademark or trade dress infringement, domain name misuse or cybersquatting. We consider not only potential infringement of third-party rights, but also whether a potential name or trademark can be registered and provide clients with the desired exclusivity and global market impact. Clients looking to prevent third-party misappropriation of trademarks and names depend on us to oppose registrations and seek cancellations of existing registrations, and to defend their trademarks in proceedings in the US Patent and Trademark Office, under the Madrid Protocol and before national and regional patent and trademark offices.

Intellectual Property Litigation

“The firm is at its best during a fight—whether that’s against an enforcer, or in court against a private litigant.” — Global Competition Review

Combining our trial and appellate strengths allows us to shape litigation strategy from the outset to maximize the likelihood of ultimate success.

Sophisticated knowledge of the bankruptcy process, combined with top-notch appellate and trial experience and the perspective and insight required to address a wide range of bankruptcy litigation and regulation issues.

Battle-tested. Globally Respected.

WilmerHale offers one of the world’s premier international arbitration and dispute resolution practices.

Uncompromising defense of corporations and individuals in high-profile and complex litigation and investigations.

WilmerHale has defended clients in hundreds of class, derivative, shareholder and individual actions alleging securities fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and other corporate misconduct.

We offer clients exceptional insight in dealing with competition agencies in the United States, Europe and around the world.

Bringing significant depth and critical experience to government contracting matters.

Advising clients on changing priorities, new regulations, emerging threats and untapped opportunities.

Insightful guidance for clients navigating the ever-complex global economy.

When legal, public policy and media challenges converge and an institution's reputation and business are at stake, no firm rivals WilmerHale’s ability to navigate fast-moving events and craft lasting solutions.

With lawyers across the United States and in key international locations, our team handles high-stakes matters before the regulatory and enforcement agencies with energy and environmental oversight.

Our team provides incisive guidance on all facets of futures and derivatives transactions, regulatory compliance and enforcement.

WilmerHale has been at the forefront of complex financial restructuring and bankruptcy litigation and policy matters for decades.

Lawyers with deep and broad experience counseling clients in every industry on the design, implementation, and interpretation of executive compensation arrangements and on general compensation and benefits issues.

We provide legal insight and practical solutions for one of the most complex and highly regulated areas of business.

WilmerHale is renowned for its sophisticated representation of investors, developers, landlords, tenants, lenders and institutions on complex real estate projects and transactions.

A deep and diverse practice focused on maximizing tax efficiencies and minimizing tax risks for clients nationally and internationally.

We leverage technical knowledge, business acumen and legal experience to structure, prepare and negotiate innovative and effective technology-related agreements.

WilmerHale lawyers have decades of experience advising public and private companies in all aspects of mergers and acquisitions.

We counsel an array of public, private and nonprofit clients as they navigate the complex, ever-changing legal landscape that shapes employee benefits and retirement plans. Our attorneys help human resources professionals understand and manage the tax, securities and employment law implications of their benefits programs. We also regularly advise employers, boards of directors, and compensation and administrative committees as they design and draft qualified and non-qualified retirement programs, health and welfare plans, and fringe benefit plans, and we represent these employers and their plans before government agencies and in litigation. WilmerHale’s highly experienced transactional and tax lawyers collaborate to tackle employer concerns that range from negotiating the employee-related issues involved in buying or selling a business to advising on worker classification and employment tax matters.

We advise on all aspects of executive compensation plans and arrangements, offering experienced counsel on the complex web of applicable tax, corporate, securities and employment laws and regulations. Our executive compensation lawyers provide guidance to companies, boards of directors, compensation committees and select senior executives at all stages of executive compensation planning, from design to disclosure to implementation. Our capabilities also include advising on the interpretation of existing plans and arrangements in a wide variety of transactions. We stay at the cutting edge of changes to the legal framework and public and shareholder sentiment, balancing the technical and the practical to best achieve our clients’ business goals and navigate the impact of regulatory and market developments. Our lawyers have significant experience in equity and cash incentive compensation arrangements; nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements; employment, severance, retention and change-in-control agreements; and, for our non-corporate and ex-US clients in particular, profits interests and phantom equity arrangements.

Since the development of the Prudential Center from what had been a blighted railroad yard in Boston’s Back Bay in the early 1960s, WilmerHale has been at the forefront of many of the most significant and complex development projects in the United States. We advise owners, developers, lenders and investors on every step of the development process—from site identification and evaluation through design, permitting, financing, construction, leasing and sale. Our projects range from big-box retail stores and industrial warehouse and distribution centers to manufacturing plants, office towers, hotels, multi-family and condominium projects, seniors housing communities, university and private research facilities, and more.

Private equity and hedge fund sponsors turn to WilmerHale for advice on complex issues relating to the design and operation of tax-efficient structures for their funds and their funds’ investments. We advise investment fund sponsors concerning optimal offshore and onshore structures for their funds and investments, including the tax consequences for US and non-US investors of holding and disposing of their investment in such funds, tax treatment of the funds under US and non-US tax regimes, and tax considerations relevant to investments to be made by such funds. We also assist funds in connection with equity investments in technology and healthcare companies.

For companies in the life sciences sphere, licensing intellectual property and establishing strategic alliances are critical. WilmerHale’s experienced licensing lawyers shepherd biotech, pharmaceutical, healthcare and medical device clients of all sizes through the complex transactions that make their businesses possible, including a broad range of licensing, collaboration, strategic alliance and joint venture agreements. Our attorneys also excel at brokering manufacturing and supply agreements, contract research and development agreements, distribution and commercialization services agreements, and material transfer and confidentiality agreements. They also frequently represent life sciences clients as they license patents—often the foundations of their companies—from, and sponsor research at, leading academic institutions across the United States and Europe. Backed not only by their own experience but also the deep well of knowledge possessed by the firm’s patent, tax, antitrust and EU competition lawyers, our transactional attorneys are ready to handle even the most multifaceted matters. Our team helps clients protect their innovations, forge strategic alliances, and successfully navigate a complex, dynamic industry.

Backed by deep experience gained across the legal, government and corporate spheres, we guide clients through internal investigations, monitorships, and other crucial AML and economic sanctions matters.

Helping clients launch their businesses and transform their innovative ideas into successful companies.