Practice/Organization Description
Foley Hoag’s Trademark, Copyright & Unfair Competition practice group handles the full spectrum of trademark matters. We advise our clients on the availability of marks and names, prepare and prosecute domestic and foreign applications for marks, and monitor and maintain thousands of registrations worldwide. We help clients exploit their brands through trademark licensing, and provide clients with the legal and contractual protection they need to maximize the commercial potential of their brands without jeopardizing their rights. We have extensive experience in the policing, enforcement and defense of our clients’ trademark rights, representing our clients in civil litigation, administrative proceedings and arbitration in the U.S. and abroad. We also specialize in advising clients on trademark matters in connection with emerging media and the Internet, including domain name and Internet keyword disputes.
The Trademark, Copyright & Unfair Competition practice group also handles a variety of copyright matters. We offer advice regarding copyright registration, and assist clients in policing and enforcing copyrights against infringers, including actions involving the Internet and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). We are counsel to some of the largest corporations in the U.S. in defending against claims of copyright infringement.
We also focus on related complex unfair competition matters, as well as disputes involving trade secrets, false advertising, comparative advertising, defamation, and commercial disparagement. We work with clients to determine acceptable limits in client advertising, and assist clients in evaluating advertising and related statements by competitors that cross the line into deception, disparagement, and defamation. We also help clients evaluate and address the theft of trade secrets, including by ex-employees, data thieves, and hackers.
The lawyers in the Trademark, Copyright & Unfair Competition practice group are leaders in their field. In addition to being well known in the business community and the courts, they are active members and leaders of the International Trademark Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Intellectual Property Law Section of the American Bar Association, and other professional organizations. They frequently lecture, teach, and publish in the fields of trademark and unfair competition. As members of these organizations, they participate actively in shaping law and policy.
