Intellectual Property & Technology

As a full-service group whose practice spans the globe, Stites & Harbison’s Intellectual Property and Technology (IPT) Group counsels and represents both domestic and international clients across the full range of intellectual property including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and licensing.

All businesses have intrinsic value in the creativity, invention, and innovation that makes them unique. In order to reach full commercial potential, however, an idea, product, or service must be properly protected. What distinguishes Stites & Harbison is our commitment to fully understanding not only our clients’ intellectual property but also their business and the markets in which they compete. This allows us to provide the greatest return on our clients’ intellectual property assets.

Our intellectual property lawyers provide effective and efficient counsel from the creation and registration of intellectual property assets through the management and enforcement of intellectual property rights both in the United States as well as internationally.

Members of the IPT group possess technical experience and hold advanced degrees across a wide variety of fields including engineering, biology and life sciences, chemistry, and computer science. Through our office in Alexandria, VA, our intellectual property attorneys can easily visit the United States Patent & Trademark Office to advocate for our clients in person.

Transactional Services

In addition to securing patents, trademarks, and copyrights at the state, national, or international level, Stites & Harbison’s IPT Group also assists in developing and implementing intellectual property protection plans which are tailored for each client, whether an independent inventor, start-up, well-established business, or university. We work to maximize the value of our clients’ intellectual property through licensing agreements, sponsorship agreements, and other relationships with third parties. We draft and negotiate the appropriate terms related to the intellectual property, whether they are central to or incidental to a larger transaction. When needed, we also issue validity, infringement, and right-to-use opinions regarding our clients’ or a third-party’s intellectual property.

Litigation Services

Stites & Harbison’s IPT Group has extensive experience litigating intellectual property matters before federal and state courts throughout the nation. This experience also extends to all levels of appeals, including the United States Supreme Court. Our firm's litigators aggressively protect the intellectual property assets of our clients, and defend those who have been wrongfully accused of infringing others’ intellectual property rights. The firm has handled a number of significant and well-known intellectual property disputes and has served as lead counsel in intellectual property litigation in more than 30 states. Examples of our IPT group’s work can be found here.