District of Columbia

Firm overview

Firm overview

Weil offers a comprehensive, national IP practice, comprising Patent Litigation, Technology and IP Transactions, IP/Media (which encompasses trademark, copyright, music licensing, privacy, and false advertising matters), and our cross-disciplinary IP Counseling Practice.

Weil’s national Patent Litigation practice offers strong platforms in Silicon Valley, New York, and Washington, DC, with more than 30 practitioners nationally. We have earned a reputation as a go-to firm for high stakes patent litigation in all of the major venues, including in federal district courts, at the United States International Trade Commission, on appeal at the Federal Circuit, or before the Patent Office. Our patent litigators regularly handle matters where the rulings are game-changing and where the law, facts, and technology are complex. In many instances, these cases often have far-reaching impacts across entire industries. Importantly, many of our attorneys have degrees in chemistry, biology, computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and physics. These technical and scientific backgrounds allow us to identify critical issues and quickly understand the technology at the forefront of a case. With the majority of our team licensed to practice before the U.S. Patent Office, our team has unique strategic advantages in being able to navigate the interplay of district court cases and IPR/post-grant proceedings. Indeed, our lawyers are leaders in inter partes review and covered business method review proceedings, having handled more than 300 of them since 2012.

Our Technology and IP Transactions group comprises 33 lawyers in New York, Silicon Valley and London who spend 100% of their time on technology and intellectual property transactions—a distinguishing feature of Weil—bringing deep expertise to client matters. We represent our clients in all stages of development, from start-ups to Fortune 50, across a broad range of industries. We are well known for our cutting-edge work across all forms of stand-alone technology and intellectual property transactions such as patent acquisitions, licensing agreements, joint ventures, strategic alliances, research and development collaborations, internet/e-commerce arrangements and other types of cross-border technology transactions.

Our IP/Media practice, which boasts nearly two dozen lawyers with IP expertise and courtroom experience, has a leading reputation for success dealing with and litigating cutting-edge IP issues. Leading social media platforms, digital music streaming companies, major media and entertainment companies, global e-commerce platforms and international financial services companies regularly turn to Weil’s IP/Media practice to manage: cutting-edge secondary liability issues; DMCA safe harbors and compliance requirements; music licensing; trademark and copyright licensing requirements; trademark strategy, enforcement and litigation; IP matters arising in the transactional context; false advertising claims; development of terms of service, fair use and assessment of infringement risks (both direct and secondary); and strategies associated with the clients’ service offerings and product development initiatives. Weil also has the nation’s pre-eminent service-side music copyright practice, and has litigated more than a dozen royalty rate-setting proceedings—far more than any other law firm. We work closely with our broad base of clients to coordinate these issues on a global basis, and over the last several decades, our lawyers have participated in many of the most significant trademark and copyright cases.

Weil’s clients benefit from our deep bench of leading practitioners with the full spectrum of IP capabilities. Clients of the group include: AbbVie; AIG; Alibaba; BASF; BBC Studios; Bio-Rad; Brookfield; CareDx; CBS; Comcast; eBay; Eli Lilly; Getty Images; General Electric; GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; HP, Inc.; Illumina; Intel; Johnson & Johnson; Kroger; Lenovo Group; Meta Platforms; Nuance Communications; Oracle; Pacific Biosciences; Palo Alto Networks; Pandora Media; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals; S&P Global; Samsung; Sanofi; SiriusXM; and Tesla; among others.

Firm overview

Kelly IP is an innovative boutique focused on all aspects of trademark, trade dress, copyright, design, domain name, and unfair competition law. The founding partners – Dave Kelly, Rob Litowitz, Linda McLeod, Lynn Jordan, and Stephanie Bald – all are recognised leaders in the trademark field and are known for their creative, practical, responsive, and cost-effective advice. They believe that brand owners deserve lawyers who are as passionate as they are about nurturing and protecting their brands and creative works, and they brought this vision to fruition by opening Kelly IP in May 2013. In doing so, the partners leveraged their 110 combined years of 'big law' IP experience – including leading hundreds of civil litigations and thousands of oppositions and cancellations, sending thousands of demand letters, filing hundreds of UDRP complaints, clearing thousands of marks, and filing, prosecuting and maintaining tens of thousands of trademark applications and registrations – and created a firm with a collaborative, team-oriented approach.
The firm immediately established an international reputation by scoring significant litigation victories in trademark cases before the courts and the TTAB, counselling on cutting-edge issues for many of the world's leading brands, and being recognized as a leading firm for online enforcement. Kelly IP has been consistently ranked as a top firm nationally for both contentious and non-contentious trademark work by IP Stars and others (e.g., Legal 500, World Trademark Review 1000, Managing Intellectual Property) and has received national awards for both trademark litigation and prosecution. We believe that the following client feedback from a prominent publication best sums up Kelly IP: "What makes its group of all-stars super-competitive is that you receive a world-class service at a significantly reduced rate – you get so much for your money."

Firm overview

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is a leading IP law firm based in Washington DC and distinguished by the strong technical experience and knowledge of its team. Sterne Kessler has over 40 years’ experience helping companies to strategize, build and enforce worldwide IP portfolios, including inter partes matters (lawsuits, appeals, oppositions and post-grant proceedings such as inter partes review and covered business method patent review); preparation and prosecution of patent and trademark applications before the US and foreign patent offices; and advice on portfolio strategies (valuation, acquisition and due diligence).

Sterne Kessler launched its USPTO litigation service as a response to the implementation of the America Invents Act, beginning in 2012. The law ushered in a variety of ways to either challenge or strengthen patents at the PTAB of the USPTO, including inter partes review, post-grant review, covered business method patent review, derivations, interferences and re-examination.

Sterne Kessler attorneys and agents, including over 50 PhDs, are carefully recruited for their technical expertise and industry experience. Most have earned an advanced technical degree and have significant industry or academic experience across a wide spectrum of technical areas, including electronics, software, biotechnology, clean technology, pharmaceuticals, chemical products and processes, and consumer products. Many of the firm’s patent prosecution attorneys have previously worked as patent examiners and have unique insights into the inner workings of the USPTO.

Sterne Kessler lawyers are trained to evaluate intellectual property in the context of client business issues to ensure alignment with company goals. Strong patent claims constructed around strategic goals are invaluable as companies commercialize ideas or defend leadership positions against interferences, re-examinations and oppositions.

Sterne Kessler’s client base includes emerging and multi-national companies, venture capital firms, individual entrepreneurs, universities, and research institutions.

The firm’s primary service areas include utility and design patent prosecution; patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation (including District Court, Hatch-Waxman, ITC, PTAB, and appellate); IP due diligence; IP valuation; inventorship dispute resolutions; licensing; product lifecycle management; opinions; oppositions; and strategic counseling. Among the key industries serviced by the firm are: biosimilars, biotechnology, chemistry, clean technology, consumer products, electronics, food science and packaging, industrial products, medical devices, nanotechnology, software, pharmaceuticals and automotive.