Intellectual Property

California Intellectual Property Litigation Attorneys

The importance of intellectual property litigation for our practice and our clients has only increased in recent years. With impressive victories over high-tech giants such as Microsoft and Oracle, our reputation for excellence in court on complex IP issues continues to grow. To learn how our approach to intellectual property litigation can benefit your business while protecting your interests, contact a Silicon Edge trial lawyer in Pleasanton.

High-Tech Companies Depend on a Credible Litigation Capability

Many of our clients have found that the threat of a lawsuit is a fact of life in today’s economy. It is common for businesses in a rapidly changing field of technology to find themselves threatened with litigation arising from the patents that are generated by the innovative activities of competitors in the field, or to need a credible litigation threat in order to gain bargaining leverage in licensing negotiations with a potential infringer of patents that arise from the business’ own innovations.

We help our business clients distinguish between genuine and specious litigation threats in such industries as computers, software, semiconductors, integrated circuits, electronics, telecommunications, networking, storage systems, defense contracting, industrial applications and the Internet. We have often settled potential lawsuits by negotiating and closing license agreements on favorable terms for our clients.

In other situations, when a more proactive approach is called for, we have taken the initiative through such tactics as a declaratory judgment action to obtain leverage for our clients in an impending infringement dispute.

Although patent litigation is the most important part of our IP trial practice, we also advise and represent clients in disputes involving trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property rights. Our thorough understanding of intellectual property law and our ability to advise you on the full range of your litigation options can go far toward protecting your rights and advancing your business interests.

For additional information about our experience and record of success in IP litigation, contact an attorney at the Silicon Edge Law Group.

Our Lawyers Understand Both Patent Law and High Tech

With hundreds of issued patents, the patent attorneys at Silicon Edge Law Group have amply demonstrated the depth of their knowledge of patent law and understanding of the technologies of our clients. We use that understanding and knowledge, together with our extensive litigation and licensing experience, to provide our clients with a full range of patent services. To learn more about our ability to represent your interests effectively and efficiently across the full spectrum of patent issues, contact an attorney at the Silicon Edge Law Group in Pleasanton, California.

We write patents for clients who appreciate value

The patent attorneys of Silicon Edge Law Group have the combination of knowledge, skill and experience to write patent applications for clients such as Rambus and Qualcomm – companies whose very business model depends on the quality of their patents. These companies only hire the best, and they have used the attorneys of Silicon Edge Law Group to write their patents for years. Other high-tech companies and entrepreneurs rely on Silicon Edge Law Group for quality patent prosecution services as well. Our patents have withstood attack in vigorous licensing negotiations as well as in court. In fact, we wrote the patent on which we successfully sued Microsoft for patent infringement. Clients who use Silicon Edge Law Group appreciate, and receive, true value.

We provide a full range of patent services.

Our background and knowledge of patent law and technology allow us to provide a broad spectrum of sophisticated patent law services. We can help you acquire, manage and realize the full value of patents in technologies such as semiconductors, memory, telecommunications, computers, software, electronics, power supplies, networking, storage, and the Internet. We are highly skilled at evaluating patents whether for purposes of acquisition or to determine the strength of an infringement claim. When necessary, we can help you monetize your patents by enforcing them in court and we are especially effective at defending you from patent infringement claims by others. We can help you meet all of your patent law needs by providing services in the following areas:

• Patent infringement litigation either as a plaintiff or a defendant
• Representing international clients needing U.S. patent advice or facing patent litigation risks in the U.S.
• Performing prior art searches and determining the strengths and weaknesses of individual patents, a patent family, or an entire patent portfolio
• Providing advice as to ways to strengthen your patent assets through targeted prosecution or acquisition
• Assessing the patent position of your competitors and making recommendations as to ways to gain a competitive IP advantage
• Monetizing your patents by helping to identifying relevant markets and potential targets, and by devising a strategy through licensing, litigation and/or outright sale
• Performing IP due diligence and handling the documentation of business transactions involving intellectual property
• Patent portfolio management services

We offer a competitive edge by integrating patent law with business savvy

Although our patent lawyers are able to provide highly responsive and personalized service to each of our clients, the level of experience and skill at Silicon Edge Law Group is characteristic of what you’d expect to find at the leading national and international IP law firms.

Silicon Valley Patent Infringement Litigation Attorneys

The IP lawyers of the Silicon Edge Law Group offer advice and advocacy in high-stakes patent litigation of any complexity, while delivering our client service in efficient and cost-effective ways. To learn how our attorneys can help resolve your infringement litigation problems, contact us in Pleasanton, California.

Whether you need a credible litigation option as leverage in or an alternative to negotiating a license agreement with a potential patent infringer, or highly capable defense counsel to represent you if you’ve been sued, the trial attorneys of Silicon Edge can give you or your company the representation you need. Several of our attorneys have practiced with the same major national firms that might now represent your larger opponent.

We firmly believe that a client on either side of a patent infringement dispute can protect its interests without overspending on trial counsel. Our experience defeating some of the worlds’ biggest corporations and best-known law firms bears this out:

• We beat Oracle’s infringement claim against our client on a motion for summary judgment — in other words, we showed that Oracle’s claim was invalid without the need for a trial.
• We obtained an injunction against Microsoft, preventing Microsoft from releasing Vista and forcing Microsoft to negotiate a licensing agreement that significantly increased the value of our client’s network communications patents.
• When our client was threatened with patent infringement litigation by Diversified Technologies, we beat our opponent to the punch by filing a declaratory judgment action that eventually forced a binding agreement not to sue our client.
• When our client was about to become involved in Crossroads Systems’ aggressive patent infringement litigation against many defendants, we again took the initiative to force a favorable settlement.

Our success in intellectual property infringement litigation — not only patents, but copyrights and trademarks as well — demonstrates that you don’t need to hire the most expensive law firm to protect and advance your interests.

Patent Infringement Litigation Can Threaten Your Company’s Future

We realize that a patent infringement lawsuit can either securely establish your place in the market or destroy the viability of your business. Whenever possible, we use infringement litigation as a vehicle for improving the value of your IP holdings; whenever necessary, we’ll defend you in court from infringement allegations by raising such defenses as invalidity, noninfringement, or unenforceability due to inequitable conduct on the part of your opponent.

For additional information about our ability to represent your interests effectively in a patent infringement dispute, contact a litigation attorney at the Silicon Edge Law Group in Pleasanton.

Patent Defense and Patent Enforcement: Vital Trial Skills

As one of Silicon Valley’s leading IP litigation firms, the Silicon Edge Law Group has experience with complex patent infringement litigation of all kinds, from declaratory relief actions intended to preempt litigation in an unfavorable forum to full-blown patent enforcement litigation for damages and injunctive relief. The most common forms of patent litigation we handle, however, are patent infringement defense and patent enforcement.

If you need advice about ways to pursue patent infringement claims against others or need advice about defending against infringement claims alleged against you, contact a skilled IP trial lawyer at our office in Pleasanton, California.

Experienced Patent Infringement Defense Attorneys

Our experienced litigators have technical backgrounds and are registered as members of the U.S. patent bar. We have the trial experience and technological understanding to provide an effective defense if you or your company stands charged with infringement.

For most of our clients, the best resolution is a quick resolution. Our skill and experience with litigation procedure means that you’ll often be able to seize the initiative in defense of patent claims against you, and sometimes we can even get the jump by seeking a judicial declaration in your home district that your opponent’s patent is invalid or unenforceable or that you simply don’t infringe. In other situations, we may be able to improve your posture in the case by showing that your opponent infringes your patents.

Patent Enforcement When Necessary to Protect Your Competitive Interests

When your position in the competitive marketplace depends on your ability to enforce your patents, enforcement proceedings can serve two purposes: (1) recovering damages for past infringement through settlement or judgment at trial and (2) forcing your opponent to pay a royalty on future sales on favorable licensing terms or face a preliminary or permanent injunction.
That’s how our federal injunction preventing the release of Microsoft’s Vista platform led to a favorable license for one of our clients. Because we demonstrated a practical ability to enforce our client’s patent rights against a far bigger and more powerful opponent, we were able to help our client maximize the value of its patent through licensing — but only after we proved our ability to litigate effectively.

Patent defense and enforcement proceedings can be used to remove any doubt as to the validity and value of your patent holdings. More often, they represent an important element of a broader business strategy to get the most out of your IP rights through licensing, sale, merger or litigation. Our experience can help point the way toward the right approach in any given situation.

To learn more about our ability to protect your rights as either a plaintiff or defendant in patent infringement litigation, contact an IP lawyer at the Silicon Edge Law Group in Pleasanton.

Maximizing Value Through Intellectual Property Licenses

The attorneys of the Silicon Edge Law Group have the technological understanding, business experience and litigation skill essential to realizing the full value of patent rights and other IP holdings for our clients. In many cases, negotiating a license agreement will be the most effective way to monetize your patents.

To learn how we can help you get the most out of your intellectual property, contact an IP lawyer at Silicon Edge in Pleasanton, California. We help clients at every stage of the licensing process:

• Prior art search and other due diligence to test the validity of your patents and to identify infringers
• Valuation of your patents in light of such factors as the strength of the patents, the scope of the claims, and the size of the relevant market
• Consideration of alternatives to licensing such as sale of the patents, or pursuing patent infringement litigation
• Negotiation and documentation of intellectual property license agreements for clients in Silicon Valley, elsewhere in California, around the United States and overseas
• Enforcement of intellectual property license agreements through litigation

We can show you how a fully integrated approach to IP license agreements can add significant value to your holdings and expand the range of alternatives for monetizing IP assets.

Our attorneys can help you identify the value of your patents and put that value to work generating revenue streams or by raising capital, outright sale, merger or joint venture — whatever best fits your business model and strategic objectives.

To learn more about our experience with IP licensing and our ability to help you get the most out of your assets, contact an experienced patent attorney at the Silicon Edge Law Group in Pleasanton, California.

Getting the Most out of Your Intellectual Property Portfolio

At the Silicon Edge Law Group, some of our clients depend on us to manage, monitor and protect the value of an entire range of intellectual property holdings. These clients base their business model on patent and IP portfolio management. If buying, selling, licensing and enforcing patent rights together represent an essential aspect of your business strategy, you probably already know how experienced IP counsel can help you protect and maximize the value of your assets.

Contact an intellectual property lawyer at our law firm in Pleasanton, California to learn how our approach to portfolio management can add value to your business. Most of our attorneys are registered members of the U.S. patent bar, and we offer our clients a unique combination of technological understanding, business acumen, litigation skill and small-firm attention and responsiveness.

We Protect the Viability of Your IP Portfolio Management Business Model

If your business depends on effective portfolio management techniques to protect and increase the value of intellectual property holdings, you’ll find that we provide cost-effective and client-focused service across the full range of your needs:

• Advice about patent acquisition — due diligence, validity and enforceability analysis, and valuation
• Negotiation and documentation of patent purchases, sales and licenses
• Monitoring the profitability of particular intellectual property portfolio holdings
• Protecting the value of your patents through cease and desist letters, injunctions and infringement litigation
• Using licensing agreements as a way to resolve patent infringement disputes

Because we’re equally skilled with the technological, transactional, regulatory and litigation aspects of intellectual property portfolio management, our clients generally find that we’re the only attorneys they need to cover the spectrum of their intellectual property goals.

For additional information about our IP portfolio services, contact our office in Pleasanton.

Defending Foreign Companies from U.S. Patent, Copyright and Trademark Claims

Located on the edge of California’s Silicon Valley, the attorneys of the Silicon Edge Law Group offer dependable advice and skilled representation for overseas businesses faced with intellectual property challenges in the United States. We currently represent a number of Korean and Taiwanese technology companies including LG Electronics and Promise Technology. Contact the Silicon Edge Law Group in Pleasanton, California to learn how we can help you.

Many of the companies we represent have found that the threat of a lawsuit is a fact of life in today’s economy. It is common for a foreign company in a rapidly changing field of technology to find themselves threatened with litigation in the United States concerning patents that are generated by the innovative activities of competitors in the field. They may also need a credible litigation threat in order to gain bargaining leverage in licensing negotiations with a potential infringer of patents that arise from the business’ own innovations.

We Provide Comprehensive Client Service in International IP Transactions

Our lawyers help foreign companies with intellectual property problems in the United States, such as:

• Protecting the rights of foreign businesses as plaintiffs or defendants in U.S. patent infringement or license enforcement litigation
• Negotiation and documentation of patent licensing agreements with parties in the U.S.
• Due diligence prior to acquisition of U.S. patents or license rights
• International IP portfolio management services

We do file PCT patent applications for U.S. companies and manage foreign patent prosecution through foreign agents.

Most of our lawyers are members of the U.S. patent bar. Our background in technological innovation, patent prosecution, business planning, and IP litigation means that your interests can be fully protected with respect to any aspect of an intellectual property transaction or lawsuit.

To learn more about our ability to deliver effective client service on international intellectual property matters in the United States, contact the Silicon Edge Law Group in Pleasanton, California.

Corporate Transactions

A distinctive feature of the client service we provide at the Silicon Edge Law Group is to provide reliable counsel and advocacy on fundamental business matters: corporate governance, restructuring a client’s corporate organization, and even mergers and acquisitions. To see how our ability to provide legal services for a wide range of business transactions can help meet your basic corporate counsel needs, contact one of our attorneys in Pleasanton, California.

Our lawyers handle such corporate transactions as the following:

• Negotiation, documentation and due diligence in such major transactions as the sale or purchase of a business, merger or joint venture
• Advice and assistance with private equity and venture capital financing
• Revision of bylaws, corporate articles, shareholder or operating agreements, or covenants on noncompete or trade secrets issues to reflect changes in the scale of your business or the composition of your equity group
• Intellectual property licensing and strategic relationship agreements
• General corporate counsel, including advice regarding routine contractual matters and employment law counseling
• Formation of an IP portfolio management subsidiary to turn your patent holdings into a freestanding profit center
• Anticipating and resolving problems related to changes in ownership or management

Our advice on corporate matters and transactions helps assure that your business model and capital structure stays current with your growth and expansion into new markets.

If your best opportunity for profit appears to be a sale of the business, a merger or a financing, we’ll advise you about the pros and cons of each alternative and help you structure the transaction for the maximum benefit to you.

For additional advice about the scope of our business and corporate transactions practice, contact the Silicon Edge Law Group in Pleasanton.

Business Litigation in the IP Sector
Because most of the lawyers of the Silicon Edge Law Group are registered patent attorneys with high-tech backgrounds, it’s easy to think of us mainly as patent enforcement and infringement litigators. Our trial experience, however, extends to business and corporate disputes, and even antitrust litigation. Our versatile and experienced trial attorneys can help you resolve a wide range of litigation problems whether or not related to a patent dispute.

To learn how our approach to business litigation can save you money without sacrificing either the quality or sophistication of your claim or defense, contact our office in Pleasanton, California.

Experienced and Versatile Trial Lawyers Equal to Any Courtroom Challenge

Examples of the kinds of business and corporate litigation problems we can help resolve include the following:

• Antitrust or contract issues related to patent defense or enforcement proceedings
• Breach of contract claims and defenses that arise under licensing agreements or marketing and distribution arrangements
• Enforcement of rights under trademark or copyright law
• Insurance litigation involving tender of defense, indemnification or other coverage issues
• Corporate disputes concerning the validity, interpretation or enforcement of shareholder or management rights
• Commercial litigation related to the enforcement of vendor or customer agreements
• Disputes within closely held corporations or small partnership groups concerning buyout terms, patent ownership rights, noncompete agreements, trade secrets issues or management succession
• Enforcement of rights under broken business purchase or merger agreements
• Fraud, material misrepresentation or nondisclosure claims
• Business and corporate litigation on behalf of foreign clients in U.S. courts

Our trial experience and thorough understanding of business litigation strategy and tactics can help you take advantage of the full range of procedural options that can help you achieve your goals: injunctive relief, declaratory relief, choice of law and jurisdictional considerations, and appeals.

For additional information about the scope of our business litigation practice and our record of success on behalf of IP clients, contact a trial attorney at the Silicon Edge Law Group in Pleasanton.