Overview
Knobbe Martens delivers comprehensive intellectual property (IP) law counsel to the aerospace industry, from developing strategies for protecting IP assets to full-service litigation and enforcement of rights. We also serve aerospace clients of all sizes and at all stages, ranging from solo inventors and small startups to the largest aerospace companies in the world.
Our legal experience in aeronautics and space tech spans across a wide technological spectrum. We have counseled clients in the general areas of aircraft, launch vehicles, spacecraft, and high-altitude systems. Example technologies relate to aircraft structures, propulsion, dynamics and controls, avionics, flight and radar technology, commercial aviation, aerospace materials, acoustics, nacelle and thrust reversers, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft, remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) or “drones,” lighter-than-air systems, instrumentation and sensors, aerodynamics, and more.
Many of our aerospace attorneys also have engineering and scientific experience in the field, and with well-known aerospace companies, such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, NASA, Hughes Aircraft, Smiths Industries, Pratt and Whitney, Rocketdyne, and others. Their educational training includes degrees in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, chemical, computer, and other engineering and scientific fields. This industry experience and technical background allows our team to hit the ground running on new projects and to efficiently render sophisticated and strategic legal advice.
Whether you are looking for patent protection of novel launch vehicle systems, defense of trade secret rights in spacecraft dynamics and controls techniques, challenging a competitor’s trademark rights for lighter-than-air services, negotiation of supply agreements or licensing deals for aircraft components, due diligence in service of financing and M&A activity, or more, we can help.
Representative Experience
Contec Space Optics
This startup in space technology imaging relied on us to file their first patent applications. We now manage their worldwide portfolio, protecting innovations for miniature optical systems for satellites.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
We have provided patent counsel for a long time for this prolific innovation company. They rely on us to help protect complex and high priority technologies in the aerospace and other fields, including remotely piloted aircraft (RPA).
Think Orbital
We have counseled this innovator in the “new space” field and helped with patent protection as they develop in-space welding systems to build the next generation of space structures.
TransAstra
We have helped this groundbreaking company secure protection of innovations in asteroid mining and related areas. Successes include patents on key technologies.
World View Enterprises
For many years, we have secured protection in patents and trademarks for this innovative developer of high altitude platforms. In the competitive field of stratospheric flight, they rely on us for protecting and defending their trailblazing technologies. We have successfully provided defensive IP diligence for financing activities, the most recent of which includes a $25M investment by Breakthrough Victoria as part of a Series D Funding round.