Intellectual Property
Your intellectual property may be your company's most valuable asset class. Our IP practice helps businesses across Chicago identify, protect, and monetize their trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights, and proprietary technologies through strategic registration, enforcement, and licensing programs.
Intellectual Property in Chicago
In today's knowledge-based economy, intellectual property often represents the most significant component of a company's enterprise value. Our IP practice takes a business-focused approach to intellectual property protection, helping Chicago-area companies build, manage, and defend portfolios of trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights, and proprietary know-how. We work with businesses at every stage — from emerging companies filing their first trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to established enterprises managing global IP portfolios and defending their brands against infringement.
Our team regularly advises on the Illinois Trade Secrets Act (765 ILCS 1065), the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, the Lanham Act, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. We integrate IP strategy into broader business planning, coordinating closely with our corporate, M&A, and commercial contracts practices to ensure that intellectual property is properly identified, protected, and valued in every transaction and business relationship. For Chicago companies operating in technology, manufacturing, professional services, food and beverage, and other innovation-driven sectors, we provide the strategic counsel needed to maximize the commercial value of your ideas while minimizing the risk of infringement claims from competitors.
What We Handle
Trademark Search, Registration & Prosecution
Comprehensive trademark clearance searches, USPTO applications, prosecution through examination, and registration for marks protecting your brand identity.
Trade Secret Protection Programs
Designing trade secret protection frameworks including identification procedures, access controls, confidentiality agreements, and employee training under the Illinois Trade Secrets Act.
IP Licensing & Commercialization
Structuring and negotiating license agreements, technology transfer arrangements, and royalty frameworks that monetize your IP while preserving your rights.
Copyright Registration & Enforcement
Federal copyright registration for software, creative works, and content, along with DMCA takedown notices and infringement enforcement actions.
IP Portfolio Management & Audits
Ongoing management of trademark and copyright portfolios including renewal filings, maintenance deadlines, and periodic audits to identify unprotected assets.
Brand Protection & Monitoring
Trademark watch services, marketplace monitoring, and enforcement strategies to detect and address unauthorized use of your marks, trade dress, and brand elements.
IP Due Diligence for Transactions
Comprehensive IP due diligence for M&A transactions, investments, and joint ventures, evaluating the strength, scope, and risks of target company IP assets.
Our Approach
IP Audit & Assessment
We inventory your existing intellectual property assets, identify unprotected IP, assess potential infringement risks, and evaluate the competitive landscape.
Protection Strategy Development
We develop a comprehensive IP protection strategy covering trademark registrations, trade secret programs, copyright filings, and contractual protections tailored to your business model and industry.
Registration & Filing
We handle trademark applications with the USPTO, copyright registrations with the U.S. Copyright Office, and state-level filings, managing the prosecution process through to registration.
Monitoring & Enforcement
We implement ongoing monitoring for potential infringement, manage renewal and maintenance deadlines, and take prompt enforcement action when necessary to protect your rights.
Frequently Asked Questions
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