Intellectual Property

A competitive edge is tied to marketing strategies and technology development. Organizations both public and private, from Fortune 500 to entrepreneurial start-ups, turn to Bodman for strategic counsel on the commercialization and protection of their ideas and other creative workproduct.

Our clients are innovative companies and individuals in the fields of computer science, social and business networking, biomedical engineering, advertising, entertainment, energy. education and research, and museum studies.  As part of the client team, our attorneys share that spirit of imagination and inventiveness.  We deliver legal services that help clients achieve their goals.

Our Services:

Bodman’s intellectual property specialists assist clients in national and international registration, licensing, counseling, and litigation of trademark, copyright, trade secret, right of publicity, and patent matters.  Representative services for IP clients include:

Data Rights

• Protection of data as trade secrets and licensing of proprietary data
• Data protection and records retention policies and agreements
• Compliance with U.S. and international data privacy laws
• Collection, storage, use, and distribution of employee and customer data
• Data protection for financial institutions, hospitals and other clients with data subject to special legislation
• Complex debit and credit card processing arrangements, including development of programs used for distribution of governmental benefits

Business Process Insourcing and Outsourcing

• Complex business process outsourcing arrangements, including negotiations, drafting, implementation, and termination
• Insourcing of previously outsourced programs, including knowhow transfer and management of supply chain data and relationships

Franchising

• Brand selection, protection, licensing, and merchandising
• Franchisee requirements and management
• Franchise contracts and operations manuals
• Compliance with legal reporting and filing requirements

Web-Based Business and Networking

• Online publishing and development of new media
• Risk management of user-generated content; response to Digital Millennium Copyright Act take-down notices
• Terms of use for Web-based commerce and social networking
• Acquisition, maintenance and support of information systems

Arts and Culture

• Deeds of gift, purchasing, accessioning, de-accessioning, and licensing of collections
• Policies for public and commercial use of photographs of artifacts
• Artistic collaboration
• Advising architectural companies and construction companies on the application of the Visual Artists Rights Act to projects for urban renewal

Entertainment and Media Law

• Protection and licensing of the right of publicity; corporate naming rights
• Film and music production
• Disputes in the creative process, including infringement, libel and slander, defamation, plagiarism, fair use, and the protections of the First Amendment
• Purchase or sale of television and radio stations, newspapers, and Web-based media companies

Technology Transfer

• Patent, knowhow, and transfer of technology from leading research institutions, including Duke University, The University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University
• Sponsored research agreements, co-development, and collaboration agreements with research institutions
• Conflict of interest policies and procedures

Representative Matters:

We enjoined a client’s former employees who had taken customer lists and other confidential information to start a competing enterprise.

Our attorneys represented a leading provider of information technology management services in negotiations with one of the largest telecommunications companies regarding an applications service provider arrangement. The negotiations uncovered a flaw in the vendor’s management of highly sensitive information.

We prevented the importation into the U.S. of goods that infringed our client’s trademark.

We represented numerous technology and biotech companies in the licensing of inventions from universities.

Our firm counseled online providers of goods and information in start-up activities, standard online agreements, web site terms and policies, and other intellectual property matters.

We represented a provider of vendor-managed inventory software and services in the negotiation of services and software development agreements, and in dispute resolution, with a major motion picture studio and two music companies.

Our firm represented a major software developer in copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation litigation against the largest competitor in their industry.

We represented a large financial institution in the negotiation of various outsourcing arrangements, including arrangements in the areas of procurement and sourcing, security, document management, human resources, loan origination and servicing, information technology support and services, managed print services, and facilities management.

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