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Intellectual Property

Intellectual property is a critical asset in any business. A business’s intellectual property may include its trade name, trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, confidential information, business strategies and methods, copyrights, inventions, patents and other intangibles. We help businesses increase the value of and protect their intellectual property through various strategies including trademark clearing, registration and litigation, confidentiality agreements, non-compete agreements, licensing agreements, copyright protection, and patent licensing and litigation.

Patent Licensing & Litigation
Martin Tate is one of the few firms in the Mid South with a strong intellectual property practice that includes extensive experience in patent litigation, both as local counsel and lead counsel. We have extensive experience in negotiating and drafting patent license agreements, and our negotiations are backed up by our extensive experience in patent litigation. We have been involved in numerous patent disputes and litigations on both the plaintiff’s and defendant’s side. We have lead counsel experience in several patent litigations and are often retained by out-of-state patent law firms seeking local counsel or trial counsel on matters pending in the Western District of Tennessee.

Trade Secrets Protection
A business gains a competitive edge through its confidential information, such as secret business methods and strategies, customer lists, formulas, pricing information, and other trade secrets. Protecting this confidential information is critical to a business’s success. We employ various legal strategies to help our business clients protect their trade secrets, including strict confidentiality agreements, non-compete agreements, and litigation when necessary.

Trademark Protection
One of a business’s most important assets is its name. Also of critical importance to a business are the names, logos and designs associated with the products and services it sells. There are legal steps that a business must take to protect these critically important assets, and we guide our business clients through these steps using both state and federal law. We help our business clients select and acquire full legal rights to their trade names, trademarks, and service marks. When necessary, we enforce our clients’ trademark rights through cease-and-desist letters and injunction actions. We also have experience in assisting our clients franchise their trade names.

Copyright Licensing & Litigation
You have certain legal rights under federal copyright law if you have ever taken a photograph, written a computer program, drafted architectural plans, sculpted a sculpture, written a song, painted a painting, or authored a book, play, article or any literary work. We can advise you of these rights and help you take the necessary steps to protect them and increase their value. We have experience registering copyrights and enforcing copyrights through litigation.