Panitch Schwarze intellectual property litigation combines the skills and capabilities clients expect from the largest IP firms with the attentiveness to client business needs that only a true IP boutique delivers. Our adversarial professionals litigate in federal and state courts, the International Trade Commission, the Patent and Trademark Office’s PTAB and TTAB, and in arbitral forums. We handle all types of adversarial IP disputes, including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and IP licensing litigations, as well as PGRs and IPRs at the PTAB and and trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings at the TTAB. We also use our experience to fashion online enforcement protocols to protect client products from imitators. Because of the broad array of technical skills available at Panitch Schwarze, we are able to provide dispute counseling in almost all subject matters.

First and foremost, our litigators are trial lawyers, widely respected for their legal skills, technical expertise, and capabilities in the courtroom. For that reason, Panitch Schwarze is ranked by The Best Lawyers in America® as a Tier 1 Patent Law, Patent Litigation, and Intellectual Property Litigation law firm in Philadelphia and is a nationally ranked law firm in the same categories. Panitch Schwarze litigators are also included in IP Stars and Super Lawyer rankings. But not every IP dispute should go to trial. Knowing that Panitch Schwarze lawyers can and will take the right cases to trial provides a strong incentive for adversaries to seek to settle before trial.

Knowledge, experience, and extensive preparation distinguish our firm’s attorneys within the field of IP litigation. Our professionals fully understand and effectively communicate and translate highly technical information to clients, judges, and juries. Many of our attorneys have real-world, hands-on technical and scientific experience, bringing added value by rapidly getting up to speed and understanding the technology and/or science involved in your case. Whether handling patent infringement litigation, patent license disputes, inventorship contests, trademark disputes, or issues of copyright infringement, the experiences of our professionals place them at the vanguard of their respective technical fields and make them well-equipped to engage in successful advocacy for our clients.

We have litigated in the patent “hotspots,” including the District of Delaware (where Panitch Schwarze has its Wilmington office), the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas, the Central District of California, and the District of New Jersey. We have entered our appearance in over 50 federal and state jurisdictions around the country.

We have also litigated patent cases in nearly every possible technology area, including cases at the forefront of biotech innovation (such as CRISPR Cas9), state-of-the-art electrical engineering, optics, and computer science. And we have litigated cases that relate to the companies most valued trademark assets. Rest assured, the team at Panitch Schwarze has the knowledge and experience to develop a strategy that is suited for the issues of your IP dispute.

But it is not enough to simply understand the relevant legal issues and technology. Thorough trial preparation often determines success. Such preparation includes assembling the team best suited to handle the case, collecting, producing, and reviewing all necessary documents, and drafting well-written briefs. These steps lay the foundation for successful litigation and place our professionals in the best position to defend or obtain the intellectual property rights our clients deserve.

Our widely respected litigation practice has attracted a worldwide clientele. In addition to representing many North American companies, our attorneys also represent companies from around the globe. We have collaborated with our foreign counterpart law firms in multi-jurisdictional international enforcement campaigns. Our network of international law firm partners makes such campaigns possible in short order. Our attorneys are accustomed to coordinating a multinational approach and are adept at working with counsel in other countries to ensure that litigation efforts both in the U.S. and abroad are successful.

No IP litigation strategy is complete without considering the possibility of  pursuing or defending proceedings at the PTAB or TTAB. Our professionals have proven track records before these administrative boards. To learn more about Patent Office Litigation, click here.

The exponential growth of digital commerce across a variety of platforms has opened the door for counterfeit and infringing products. Asserting your intellectual property rights on online marketplaces is more important now than ever. Brands, companies, inventors etc. are constantly losing revenue opportunities to illegal marketeers.

Enforcing IP rights, including patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret, on e‑commerce platforms is the focus of Panitch Schwarze’s dedicated online enforcement team. Our expertise in the navigation and strategic use of IP reporting tools and programs implemented by major e-commerce retailers, such as Amazon, e-Bay, and Alibaba, offers clients an efficient and cost-effective way to enforce their IP rights. Protecting your IP often requires a multi-faceted approach; communicating with e-commerce retailers and using the reporting tools and mechanisms they offer should not be left by the wayside.

Removing counterfeit or infringing goods from online marketplaces is not a one size fits all solution. Panitch Schwarze offers each client a creative approach tailored to their unique situation. Whether you are dealing with difficult to identify infringers, infringing knockoffs, or large numbers of infringers/counterfeiters we will devise a comprehensive plan to protect your IP. We will combine our online enforcement practices and protocols with traditional enforcement methods to best combat violations of your IP rights.

Panitch Schwarze is also knowledgeable on enforcing and protecting IP rights on social media, payment services, and web development platforms. Our professionals are ready to enforce your IP rights on online platforms, as well as advise your brand or company on proactive measures to minimize damage to your bottom line.

Trade secrets are among the most valuable assets of many companies. Panitch Schwarze’s intellectual property attorneys have extensive experience in counseling clients on the actions needed to protect and defend trade secrets. With the advent in 2016 of the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, new protections have been implemented that, along with the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA), the Stored Communications Act (SCA), the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), non-disclosure agreements (NDA’s), and confidentiality agreements, provide clients with an arsenal of protective legislation and common law. We also counsel clients on defending against claims of trade secret misappropriation and the steps to avoid such claims.

Trade secret disputes arise in many different forms, including companies investigating potential business collaborations, joint development, and/or evaluations with other companies or individuals under NDA’s or confidentiality agreements. Some may also be intertwined with employment agreements and allegations of theft of trade secrets.

Companies have ramped-up aggressive enforcement of NDA’s and confidentiality agreements. Our firm has enforced and defended such agreements in both federal and state courts, and typically these cases involve both federal and state trade secrets acts. We have represented clients in numerous theft of trade secrets and breach of confidentiality agreement/NDA cases representing corporate and individual plaintiffs and defendants.

Quick and decisive action in trade secret matters often means the difference between protecting trade secrets and losing them through public disclosure. Temporary restraining orders (TRO’s) and preliminary injunctions (PI) are critical. If you are a plaintiff, you need to act quickly so you do not sacrifice your rights to such extraordinary relief. You must demonstrate that you will suffer immediate and irreparable harm such that a TRO or PI is warranted. As a defendant, you must react quickly and thoroughly to defeat such relief.  A defendant may have only hours’ notice to appear in court to defend against such a TRO/PI.  The key is responsiveness and thoroughness – our forte.

Protecting trade secrets and defending against misappropriation claims often starts at the client’s hiring desk. We counsel clients on how to avoid issues when hiring candidates from competitors, as well as those facing an employee seeking to transition to a competitor. From the perspective of an employer looking to hire individuals from competitors, our firm has and can provide an internal investigation and audit of an organization’s policies, procedures, and practices. These efforts have and can result in recommendations and procedures for avoiding allegations of theft of trade secrets by the potential candidates’ former employers. We have assisted clients in avoiding issues by ensuring proper documentation, human resource department procedures, review of various applicable agreements as well as advice on how and where to place new candidates. From the perspective of the employee seeking to change jobs, our firm is well versed in reviewing all applicable documentation including employment agreements, non-disclosure agreements and employee handbooks.

We have counseled clients in numerous theft of trade secret and restrictive covenant litigations, and we know the factual and legal issues relating to various statutory, contractual and common law obligations applicable to departing employees. This expertise allows us to counsel the client on how to leave their employer without violating the law.