Overview
Protecting and enforcing copyrights is a cornerstone of our IP services. We have vast experience in this field, regularly assisting clients in securing global copyright privileges and ownership of copyright assets, including assignments from third parties and independent contractors, dealing with employee issues, authorship and joint authorship matters, idea submission and work for hire issues. We provide strategic advice regarding licensing copyrighted works, entertainment properties and software, including counseling clients on open source issues. We also counsel clients on enforcing copyrights and defending copyright claims in federal court litigation and appeals throughout the country and coordinate with foreign attorneys to enforce rights and defend claims internationally.
Our broad expertise reflects the diverse nature of copyrightable works. From architectural works and software to toys, works of art, music, screenplays and entertainment properties to websites and marketing materials, we protect and enforce our clients’ copyrights internationally by registering their rights with the U.S. Copyright Office and working with attorneys in foreign countries to register copyrights in those countries, recording rights with U.S. and foreign customs, helping to identify possible infringement actions, issuing cease and desist letters and vigorously litigating on our clients’ behalf. We also have experience conducting due diligence reviews and counseling for acquisitions of copyrighted works or entertainment properties.
We are recognized leaders in the rapidly evolving and changing fields of online copyrights and social networking, counseling our clients regarding copyright enforcement and piracy issues and social media issues, as well as matters under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), including filing and responding to take-down notices, establishing online enforcement strategies and policies, and compliance with the DMCA’s safe harbor provisions.
Representative Experience
Pro Bono Copyright and Trademark Protection for the Tronie Foundation
Knobbe Martens has been handling the Tronie Foundation’s intellectual property protection on a pro bono basis since 2013. The Tronie Foundation, based in the Seattle area, was founded in 2006 by former child trafficking victims Rani and Trong Hong to serve as a voice for the millions of people worldwide who have been sold into slavery and to advocate for a world free of slavery. Lori Yamato and Samantha Markley have worked closely with the Tronie Foundation to file and register trademark and copyright applications, including those for the Freedom Seal trademark, the Tronie Foundation name and the Foundation’s logos. They have also helped educate the Tronie Foundation with respect to its intellectual property matters.