New York City Intellectual Property Litigation Rockland County

Our litigation attorneys have extensive experience in federal courts throughout the United States and before administrative agencies. We litigate matters involving trademarks, patents, copyrights, unfair competition, false advertising, intellectual property contract disputes and arbitrations and the Internet and e-commerce. We represent clients in proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, before arbitration organizations, and in domain name dispute resolution proceedings.

Our attorneys are skilled negotiators and have secured successful settlements for many of our clients. Our services include:

Pre-suit due diligence investigations.
Evaluation and opinions concerning products accused of infringement.
Filing and defending patent, trademark, trade dress, copyright, trade secret and unfair competition claims, and contract lawsuits, trademark oppositions, cancellations, reexaminations and expungement proceedings, patent ex parte reexaminations, inter partes reviews and derivation proceedings, and representing clients in arbitration proceedings.
Preparing applications for temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions, defending against such applications.
Issuing and advising clients with respect to litigation holds.
Preparing and defending motions to dismiss for summary judgment, for default judgments, and to transfer venue.
Issuing subpoenas.
Counseling clients and conducting litigation processes and procedures including pre-trial discovery (depositions, interrogatories, document demands and production, requests for admission), identifying and preparing witnesses, identifying pertinent evidence (including prior art in patent cases), engaging experts, commissioning surveys and assessing damages.
Trial preparation including preparing final pre-trial orders, witness lists, motions to exclude evidence and witnesses, jury instructions, proposed jury voir dire, proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Litigation FAQs

What is the litigation process?

Litigation is the process by which disputes are resolved through use of the court system. Litigation begins when a plaintiff sues another party. In such cases, the defendant either brings in another party or countersuits and/or answers. Both parties then engage in discovery during which there is an exchange of information regarding relevant issues. The ends with a trial and, at times, an appeal. Most litigation ends before trial when the parties agree to a settlement that resolves the dispute. A litigation may also be terminated as a result of a summary judgment motion. When an intellectual property owner has evidence of infringement and can show an imminent threat of irreparable harm to its business, a court may issue a temporary restraining order and/or a preliminary injunction that orders an immediate halt to the offending conduct.

There are many complexities to the litigation process. Clients should confer with counsel before the commencement of a litigation and regularly confer during the litigation to obtain and assure that they have a proper understanding of the process.

What is a litigation hold notice?

A litigation hold notice is a communication from counsel dealing with a litigant or potential litigant’s responsibility to conserve, and stop the destruction of relevant records. Failing to implement and maintain a litigation hold in a timely manner can have serious legal consequences. U.S. courts sanction parties regularly for failing to properly institute litigation holds. Sanctions can include monetary penalties, such as paying an adversary’s legal fees and costs, adverse inference instructions to the jury, in relation to any information that was lost or destroyed, and preclusion of evidence to support a claim or defense. In some serious cases, it may even extend to default judgment or dismissal of the litigation.

What must be held to comply with a litigation hold notice?

All records related to a matter must be preserved if it is “reasonably anticipated” that the matter may lead to litigation in the future. All records must be preserved, maintained or stored, in all formats, related directly or indirectly to the matter identified in the notice in their original electronic or hard copy form. Routine destruction of any records must be discontinued and software programs reviewed to make sure such programs do not automatically destroy records.

What alternatives are there to litigation?

Negotiation, mediation and arbitration are the most common forms of alternative dispute resolution.

What is discovery?

Discovery may be sought by either party in connection with any matter relevant to the issues of the lawsuit. Therefore, the parties will usually stipulate (agree) to some form of “protective order.” A protective order is a court order which specifies how confidential information is to be handled and to whom it will be disclosed. If the parties cannot agree, either party can make a motion for the issuance of a protective order.

Discovery can vary widely depending upon the aggressiveness of either or both parties. Discovery typically involves depositions of witnesses, written interrogatories, production of relevant documents and written requests for admissions. Discovery is often punctuated by discovery disputes which must be addressed by motions and/or court hearings.

At the close of discovery, a final pretrial order will be prepared including the preparation of jury instructions (if applicable), proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, witness lists, deposition summaries, a trial exhibit list will be prepared and exchange exhibits, and objections to the adversarial party’s submission will be made, among other things.