Meet Intellectual Property Challenges Without Reservation

Barney & Karamanis, LLP, is equipped with knowledgeable attorneys who will guide you through every process of intellectual property protection. We have a team in place to counsel you on whether copyright, trademark, patent, or trade secret protection is right for your specific needs. We have experience registering trademarks and copyrights and providing informative counsel on how to best protect your trade secrets.

Intellectual property can be just as important to a business’s profits as its CEO. Obtaining a patent, registering a copyright, or filing a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) can be essential for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. Intellectual property protections ensure that a business’s valuable assets remain under the control of their rightful owners.

Barney & Karamanis’s attorneys are happy to assist you with filing trademarks, obtaining copyright assignments, drafting noncompete and nondisclosure agreements, negotiating licensing agreements, and counseling you on strategies to protect your other individual intellectual property rights. We provide fair pricing to ensure that you and your business get the protection that you require without increasing your business’s overhead.

In the event where your intellectual property is being infringed upon or where you must defend yourself against accusations of alleged infringement, we have the resources to ensure that you receive a positive resolution. Barney & Karamanis has earned a strong reputation in litigation of all types. Our dynamic trial attorneys aggressively represent plaintiffs and defendants in intellectual property cases in federal and state court.

Our team has successfully litigated a number of complex intellectual property disputes involving:

• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Overseas Trademark and Copyright Infringement;
• White Label Agreements;
• Cutting edge battery technology; and
• Industry training and know-how.

Trade Secrets

Trade secrets can be among the most important intellectual property that can exist for a business, and a rival misappropriating a trade secret can be incredibly detrimental for the victim.

A trade secret is distinct from the other three forms of intellectual property. A trade secret is not registered or found in any public record as its intellectual property right is established by the nature of its secrecy. A trade secret can protect a litany of ideas, including those that are outside of the realm of patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Examples include customer lists, secret recipes, business contacts, know-how, employee instructions and handbooks, chemical and mechanical processes, valuable technologies, and software.

Trade secrets must remain secret and steps must be taken to ensure secrecy, otherwise a company loses the ability to stake a claim to their trade secret. Barney & Karamanis can help your business devise reasonable steps to protect your trade secrets. In the event where you must share confidential information with a third party, we can draft non-compete and non-disclosure agreements to ensure that the third party remains liable in the unfortunate event where they disclose the particular trade secret.

Barney & Karamanis, LLP, has a proven record at aggressively fighting for clients’ interests when a third party has misappropriated client’s valuable trade secrets. We have litigated trade secret and unfair competition cases in the Northern District of Illinois and in the State of Illinois. Please contact us for a free consultation if you believe that your trade secrets have been stolen and misappropriated.

Copyrights

Copyrights are commonly known to protect works of art including literary, artistic, musical, and dramatic works. However, many are unaware that copyrights are also applicable to computer software and architecture. Barney & Karamanis’ attorneys can help you attain copyright registrations for your works of art whether they are as simple as an artistic design or as complicated as computer software.

While copyrighted works do not have to be registered to receive protection, registration provides a number of advantages. First, registered works provides a public record and gives the owner of the mark a certificate or registration. Second, in cases of litigation, registered works can be eligible for statutory damages and attorney’s fees in the event of a successful litigation. Finally, registration provides prima facie (clear) evidence of validity of a copyright if the registration is made before or within five years of publication. If you are interested in these advantages, our attorneys at Barney & Karamanis will help you and your business register your copyrighted work.

Small businesses often find themselves at a loss when they discover that their original work is being used by another entity. It can be especially daunting when their work is being used by a large corporation. Barney & Karamanis will work aggressively to stop improper copyright infringement and provide our clients with injunctive and monetary relief for the damages caused by infringers.

Trademarks

At Barney & Karamanis, our attorneys will work with you to secure protection for your word marks, logos, and symbols that are used to identify with your business. Trademarks are often among the most valuable assets that a business can own. Trademarks provide both name and logo recognition to customers and help businesses brand themselves to the public. Protecting your businesses name and product names is important in today’s competitive economy.

Prosecution

Barney & Karamanis understands the importance of obtaining the right trademark protection for your business. We supply the following services for our clients regarding the area of trademark prosecution and applications:

• We work closely with clients through the process of trademark conception to ensure that the trademark provided clearly identifies and protects the clients’ mark.
• We perform trademark searches on existing registrations and applications to evaluate how or whether to file a particular trademark application.
• We provide all services in preparation, drafting, and registration of US trademark applications.
• We represent and advocate for applications in Opposition and Cancellation proceedings.

Flat Rates

Barney & Karamanis offers competitive and affordable IP protection for all of your business’ trademark needs. For intellectual property prosecution, we offer all of our trademark application services in a flat fee agreed upon before work begins.

All services do not include third-party filing fees which will be due at the time of filing. These prices are estimations based on typical, standard trademarks and prices may be vary based on the complexity of your potential mark.

Please see below for our flat rate filing fee services:

• $1,195 flat fee for filing an Actual Use application.
• $995 flat fee for filing an Intent to Use application.
• $495 fee to file Actual Use Statement (filed when mark is used after originally being filed as an Intent to Use application);
• $495 state and federal database word search;
• $350 per hour to respond to any office action from the USPTO; typically responses take less than three hours to respond.

Litigation

Successful businesses are especially prone to trademark infringement as individuals will attempt to use their trademarks and the goodwill associated with those marks. Confusingly similar names and logos can lead the customer to unwittingly believe that a competitor’s product is actually your own.

Barney & Karamanis understands the importance of fighting back against infringing marks that confuse the consumer. Barney & Karamanis will work quickly to stop the infringing parties from using your mark in the form of injunctive relief. Furthermore, our attorneys have a commitment and reputation to ensuring that our clients get the damages that they are entitled to from infringing parties. Barney & Karamanis has secured over a million dollars from foreign infringers in federal court. Our singular goal is to help our clients resolve their disputes as efficiently and favorably as possible.

Patents

Patents are some of the most valuable pieces of intellectual property that a company can have. Once a patent is issued, the work is no longer done, as patent holders are often found in the unfortunate position of having infringers unlawfully used their patented technology. Barney & Karamanis can help you with enforcing your patent to ensure that infringers are forced to stop and pay damages for their violations.

On the other hand, there are many circumstances where small companies can be wrongly accused of patent infringement by larger corporations. In these cases, Barney & Karamanis can assist you in defending your rights to your product and safeguard your company’s business.

Protect Your Intellectual Property or Defend Against Allegations of Infringement

Discuss your next steps with us if you have been accused of intellectual property theft, if your intellectual property has been stolen, or if you have questions about how to protect your intellectual property.

Consult with one of our Chicago-based litigators about any legal controversy or challenge involving intellectual property. To schedule a consultation, call 312-702-0872 or complete our online inquiry form.