» Trademark FAQ

Trademark Law – Full Service:   the firm handles all areas of trademark law, drawing on a vast array of experience and contacts within the field:

Filing and other USPTO proceedings:   the firm has extensive expertise and experience with diverse clients (including those in the entertainment, beverage, clothing, and cosmetics businesses), in filing trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and in all other types of proceedings before the USPTO, including filing and defending against oppositions to applications, as well as filing documents required to maintain a trademark’s good standing.

Trademark Litigation:   the firm has extensive expertise and experience in prosecuting and defending against trademark infringement claims in court, including a victory before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case of   KP Permanent Make-Up Inc. v. Lasting Impression I, Inc., 543 U.S. 111 (2004).

International Trademark Law:   the firm has experience and expertise in filings and other proceedings before the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), and the firm has associations with attorneys in other countries, with fluency in many languages.

Entertainment Matters:   the firm’s commercial practice has a specialty in representing clients in the arts, entertainment, video game, and food & beverage industries, in a wide variety of matters. Having grown up surrounded by all aspects of the music industry, and having represented artists, managers, records companies, publishing companies, promoters and agents, the firm understands the needs of all parties in the industry.

Contract Negotiations:   the firm represents artists and small businesses in contract negotiations of all types, drawing on Mr. Machat’s past experience as a music manager and attorney.   The firm’s integrated approach allows it to foresee potential litigation issues during contract negotiations, and to enforce clients’ business agreements through litigation.

Contract Litigation:   the firm has successfully litigated major contractual disputes, with vast sums of money at stake, on behalf of artists and entertainers.

Copyright Matters:    the firm files copyright registrations, and has successfully litigated copyright infringement matters, on behalf of artists of various types, including painters and musicians.

Corporate Law for Small Businesses:   the firm has incorporated numerous small businesses, and helped them become operational.   The firm’s expertise in intellectual property, and connections to experienced tax lawyers, provides clients with effective counsel on a multitude of matters.

Other Areas:   at times, the firm works with specialists, who serve as outside counsel.   For instance, the firm was asked to represent a contingent beneficiary of an estate in which the client had hoped would one day be worth a substantial sum.   Although the firm does not generally work in estates and trusts, it was able to initiate a lawsuit and recruit a team of lawyers to take down the estate’s then-current trustees, recovering a few million dollars for the estate in the process.