Patents

“Dickinson Wright is a great firm that is effective, efficient, and top-notch. I think they differentiate themselves very well from other patent prosecution firms.”
— A Client

As an industry player in today’s high-tech, high-speed world, you work hard each day to design, create, and improve. The last thing you need to worry about is the security of your innovations. At Dickinson Wright, we believe that effective legal advocacy requires not only comprehensive knowledge of the law, but also a thorough understanding of our clients’ businesses, industries, and technologies. Our patent lawyers are sophisticated, versatile, and accessible, providing practical advice while vigorously advocating to achieve our clients’ objectives.

With a wide geographic reach spanning offices across North America, including Washington, D.C., Michigan, Silicon Valley, Texas, Florida, and Toronto, Canada, our cross-border patent team protects and manages clients’ intellectual property rights while providing strategic portfolio management advice and litigating disputes for some of the largest companies in the world.

Our Services

From preparing, filing, and prosecuting patent applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), in the European Patent Office (EPO), the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), and elsewhere around the world, to negotiating and drafting patent and technology licensing agreements and establishing pre-litigation strategies and risk-avoidance techniques, we represent clients through the final resolution of each matter.

We serve a variety of industries, including:

Automotive

Leveraging our strong presence in the automotive industry from Detroit to Ontario and the South, as well as our experience in the software and information technology industries, our patent attorneys represent clients across the automotive sector. We counsel clients on changing risk allocations between traditional automotive companies and emerging technology businesses, and we help protect connected-vehicle technologies involving electronics, communications, and computer engineering.

Entertainment, Sports, and Media

Our patent team regularly files patents for a broad range of entertainment organizations, including music labels and publishers, television networks, film and video companies, special effects companies, entertainment facilities, theatre production companies, merchandising and licensing companies, and internet-based broadcasters, as well as singers, songwriters, and recording artists. In the sports industry, our team has represented sports management firms, player agents, on-air media personalities, teams and leagues, sporting facilities, training academies, sports insurers, equipment manufacturers, and sports publications.

Gaming

Our IP lawyers have the legal and technical backgrounds needed to understand gaming technologies and develop strategies that protect clients’ interests and investments. We help gaming companies protect the innovations shaping today’s products, platforms, and services.

Medical Devices

We advise medical device developers, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and technology companies entering the medical device market. Our patent attorneys prepare and prosecute patent applications and handle reexamination, reissue, and interference matters for medical device clients. From development through commercialization, we help clients manage their rights, avoid infringement of third-party rights, and enforce their patents.

Representative Matters

• Prepared and prosecuted patent applications, conducted due diligence, and managed patent portfolios involving computer software, computer networks, wireless communications, consumer products, electronics, lighting, medical devices, surgical instruments and methods, business methods, biotechnology, and gaming devices for clients ranging from startups and universities to Fortune 500 companies.
• Handled patent application preparation and prosecution, including original filings, office action responses, appeals, oppositions, reexaminations, and reissue applications, for clients ranging from individuals to Fortune 500 companies.
• Served as patent counsel to small and midsize companies, individuals, and foreign patent firms, handling U.S. patent filings and coordinating with an international network of firms to secure patent protection abroad.
• Served for more than 20 years as lead outside patent counsel to a global supplier serving the automotive, light commercial vehicle, heavy-duty truck, agricultural, marine, rail, and industrial markets.
• Served as technical lead for a major Japanese consumer electronics company in patent licensing negotiations involving semiconductor fabrication and integrated circuit technology.
• Helped clients align their patent portfolios with key business interests and markets to strengthen patent protection, support growth, and protect market share.
• Provided strategic counseling and support in patent litigation involving the enforcement and defense of patent and trademark infringement claims.
• Represented clients in offensive and defensive patent reexamination proceedings.