Where IP Strategy and Protection Work. Together. 

In best-case scenarios, a company’s intellectual property policies are strategic and protective. Actively maximizing trademarks, patents, copyrights and licensing ventures. In not-so-best circumstances, IP assets are quietly ignored.

Winstead’s Intellectual Property Practice Group manages both situations, along with all IP issues triggered between worst and best case scenario.

Attorneys with extensive backgrounds in complex technologies, engineering and chemical arts counsel across a wide range of industries. Our clients include manufacturers, educational institutions and research centers, inventors, developers, start-ups, and private and public companies.

During transactions, valuations and litigation, Winstead attorneys activate strategic IP policies as we: 

• Create business opportunities for leading universities and research institutes in nanotechnology 
• Address local complex licensing issues for multinational petrochemical corporations 
• Establish internal, incentive-driven IP maximization programs 
• Prevail in the defense of a microdevice company’s bet-the company IP infringement/trade secret litigation involving CMOS RF technology 
• Manage and monetize a drilling technology company’s IP portfolios 
• Prosecute patents and write opinions for biotech pioneers 
• Streamline litigation and obtain favorable results in a contentious truck axel design case

Contracts. Due diligence. Enforcement. Stopping IP trolls. Unfair competition disputes. We provide purpose-driven solutions to all related legal issues.

Transactions/Cases

Intellectual Property Counsel at Work

From helping to found the Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council to representing global tech leaders, Winstead attorneys offer comprehensive IP counsel that includes: 

Worldwide Prosecution of Patents and Trademarks IP Portfolio Management IP Litigation Joint Development Agreements Technology Licensing and Transfer Copyrights  Freedom to Operate Opinions

Licensing Programs Employment-Related Issues Patent-Related Opinions Secrecy Agreements Trade Dress Trademarks

Industries and areas of experience include: 

Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals Chemical Processes e-Commerce ElectronicsDisplay Technology Fossil Fuel and Renewable Energy Hospitals and Healthcare Information Systems Manufacturing

Chemistry Computers and Software Mechanical Devices/Issues Medical Technology Nanotechnology Oilfield/Energy Semiconductors/Electrical Telecommunications

IP Litigation

Winstead attorneys resolve complex IP litigation issues in the district and federal courts, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and U.S. International Trade Commission. Our attorneys are equally skilled at achieving favorable outcomes in alternative dispute resolutions forums.

Our litigators apply a broad range of effective techniques. These range from extraordinary ex parte seizures and preliminary injunctive relief to full-blown jury trials on the merits, with attendant appeals to the appropriate appellate courts.

IP Transactions/Cases 

Transactional IP Counsel

Winstead attorneys advise in all areas of IP transactions, including contracts, joint ventures, licensing agreements and public offerings for high technology companies.

During corporate transactions, IP assets play an increasingly prominent role in deal valuations. In mergers and acquisitions, IP transfers and other deals, Winstead IP attorneys often team with firm colleagues in corporate law on behalf of both purchasers and sellers. We deliver a thorough evaluation and analysis of issues triggered by impending purchases, policies, procedures and audits.

From issue spotting and regulatory guidance to exclusivity and related employment agreements, Winstead assists clients to address the future implications of their IP holdings.

Transactional and IP Procurement Transactions/Cases