Intellectual Property and Technology

Pullman & Comley’s Intellectual Property and Technology attorneys handle the needs of both businesses and individuals seeking to protect, grow, finance, sell and procure intellectual property, innovative products, trademarks, and technology-based products.  Our attorneys license patents and trademarks, negotiate complex technology purchase and sale agreements, software licenses, hardware purchases and computer networking contracts and engage in litigation to enforce the intellectual property rights of our clients.

Our attorneys assist clients with monetizing and protecting valuable marketing and strategic assets of their businesses.  These assets include copyrights, trademarks and trade dress, internet and domain names, and franchises, and our services include portfolio strategy, licensing, sales and purchasing.

Our intellectual property litigation attorneys both prosecute and defend trade secret, trademark, copyright and patent cases in state and federal court.  Intellectual property litigation is document intensive, and we have significant experience in the E-discovery process and collecting, processing and reviewing voluminous digital records and documents in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Beyond traditional intellectual property protection, our Intellectual Property and Technology Practice includes corporate attorneys who regularly draft, negotiate and develop licensing, joint venture and other technology transfer transactions.  We have a leading role in the negotiation and procurement of the core technology functions of businesses including software procurement, hardware purchasing, technology integration and data networking.  We also have experience assisting clients in drafting and negotiating contracts for technology and business process outsourcing, including application service provider, hosting and service level agreements.

Representative Experience

Intellectual Property Transactions, Counseling and Protection

• Crafted and negotiated various IP-centric agreements for the transfer of patent and technology rights, including license, joint development, joint venture, distribution, service and promotional agreements
• Conducted due diligence prior to acquisition, sale or merger and offered advice to clients regarding the impact of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets on business plans
• Represented software developers in licensing their products, including a hedge fund that developed and licensed proprietary software for the financial services industry; a software development company specializing in business applications for retail fuel dealers; and the developer and licensor of industry-specific ERP software for distributors of hard goods
• Represented value added resellers of hardware, providers of SaaS and hosting and data centers, as well as companies that install software and hardware
• Represented financial institutions in the procurement of core information technology, mobile and on-line data and customer applications, networking and data infrastructure, disaster recovery systems and other technology
• Represented a data warehouse software and business intelligence systems developer in its spin-off of a division of application experts and custom software developers to a company specializing in ERP software integration
• Represented a developer of transportation management software for shippers, third-party logistics providers and carriers in its expansion transactions
• Represented the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles in conducting its proposal process with multinational vendors and negotiation of contracts for the issuance of national identity cards with numerous security features and secure processes
• Represented an IT consulting and cloud provider in its negotiation of numerous IT outsourcing contracts to provide managed services for customers in regulated fields such as health care and banking
• Represented software developers in their negotiation of the settlement of licensing fee disputes.             

 Intellectual Property Litigation

• Obtained summary judgment in federal court, on behalf of a defendant software developer for banking applications, on claims of infringement of the plaintiff’s software code and breach of the parties’ licensing agreement
• Prosecuted claims of copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation on behalf of a plaintiff parking company against the client’s former information technology vendor who developed an allegedly competing software product, and negotiated and drafted resulting copyright assignment and patent license agreements forming part of the settlement transaction
• Successfully defended a jewelry manufacturer from a competitor’s claims of false advertising under the Lanham Act and trade secret misappropriation, obtaining withdrawal of the claims with no payment of money
• Represented clients in patent cases involving DNA technology, medical devices and batteries
• Represented clients in copyright disputes involving matters ranging from architectural plans to software codes
• Represented clients in trademark infringement actions involving everything from clothing and character personas to trade names, trade dress and logos
• Represented numerous domestic and international companies in ICANN domain name dispute resolution proceedings

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