PHASE 6, 7 & 8: COPYRIGHT, DISPUTE RESOLUTION, AND FINAL
Your patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets are important intellectual property, our Dallas intellectual property lawyers can help management those IP assets.
COPYRIGHT & IP AUDIT CONCLUSION
Phase 6: Copyright Audit Lawyers
This phase comprises the review of all aspects of copyright law and practice, excluding dispute resolution. This area of the law can be straightforward, or it may be quite technical, depending upon the industry involved. Issues such as copyrightability and "works for hire" which are quite technical must be carefully assessed if they are relevant. However, much has been written on such matters.
- Assessment of copyright registration status, and identify renewals and unregistered copyrights;
- Assessment of how significant copyrights and other proprietary information can be to the business;
- Assessment of current copyright guidelines and licensee compliance;
- Assessment of protection strategies, awareness training programs, and general copyright compliance measures;
- Assessment of consultant or other third party compliance with copyright requirements;
- Additional steps as needed and appropriate.
Phase 7: Dispute Resolution Lawyer
This phase comprises the review of the philosophies and management approaches used in handling disputes whether as plaintiff or defendant. Aspects of this review arise as part of the review of each of the above substantive areas of law to the extent that the substantive law is critical to resolution of the disputes themselves. The review in this phase tends to be independent of the substance and focuses on the approaches to dispute resolution as a process. This is a particularly important area for audit as it may identify areas for significant adjustment or at least suggestion as to ways to resolve disputes consistent with a more efficient process than traditionally used. A great deal of money is at stake in transaction costs for dispute resolution and the effort to assess the approaches employed may be well rewarded.
Phase 8: The Intellectual Property Audit Completion
The final phase of the audit should be used to pick up what may be referred to as minor IP or IP-like rights and other issues which may have an effect on IP rights and which have not been covered in the previous phases. Illustrative examples of such issues include:
- Review of the applicability of publicity, privacy, and other statues of a quasi IP nature, to operations of the gaming company.
- Review of business practices for potential misuse issues vis-a-vis IP rights.
- Review of licensing practices for legal compliance.
- Review of the handling of confidential technical information in view of export controls.
In several instances above, reference has been made to various international considerations. In a comprehensive audit, the international aspects of all of the issues in the audit must be considered. In one sense much of what underlies IP rights, e.g inventions and literary works such as software, is inherently international but the specific rights in IP are often quite dependent on national law. The differences in the various national laws must be considered as well as the impact of international treaties.
Finally, at the conclusion of an IP audit, a final report may be desired, though it is not an automatic requirement and, in some circumstances, may be undesirable due to potential impact on subsequent litigation. As suggested above, a report may not be essential if there has been an adequate internally documented exchange of information during the audit. Moreover, the drafting of a final, comprehensive report may add to the expense of the audit. Thus, many factors play into the need, style and extent of a final report and it should not always be assumed that a final, all encompassing report will be provided. Of course, if the audit is being performed for acquisition reasons, a final report will likely be vital. Even here, there will be flexibility which may be required to fashion the report to the need and minimize expense.
Intellectual Property Audit Attorneys
IP audits are very useful and should be employed more frequently to ensure that the actual IP health of a casino acquisition or one's own company is accurately known. That knowledge can save a great deal of money and future difficulty in all situations. Furthermore, an IP audit can be as broad or as narrow as business acumen desires. The end result of such an audit is to empower a gaming company to make informed decisions that in turn maximize the revenue sustaining potential of its intangible property. Our Dallas intellectual property audit attorneys specialize in the area of law protecting the property rights of inventors and we can assist you in analyzing your patent portfolio. We work with you to developed and maximize your IP portfolio and, once developed, assist you in monitoring your portfolio such that your goals remain met now and into the future.
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Additional IP Portfolio Services Focus
What Are Intellectual Property Audits Useful?
A crucial, and often overlooked, aspect of intellectual property is the managing and maintaining of one's intellectual property portfolio. For both inventors and businesses, it is of utmost importance when considering licenses and assignments to make timely and forward-looking decisions. Too often individuals and companies may overlook the importance of an organized intellectual property portfolio with a structured plan of development and so make uninformed decisions and lose valuable assets. For career inventors, it is important to have a clear plan as to what kind of inventions one plans to work toward for the foreseeable future. Without such forethought, one might assign an older patent away a few months before coming up with a perfectly complimentary invention. Businesses, because of the large number of licenses and assignments they may have at any given time, are even more susceptible to oversights and poor planning if no organization is put into their portfolio.
Adding a further level of complexity, a intellectual property portfolio can never be properly considered on its own but must be considered in light of and together with a variety of factors, including economic climate, business plans, corporate principles, patent protfolios, trademark portfolios, trade secrets, and copyrights as well as a consideration of any similar or related patents to those in your portfolio. With so many broad and various factors to be considered, you need professionals with a wide breadth of experience and knowledge to assist in properly managing your intellectual property portfolio. Our Dallas attorneys have a diversity of backgrounds in the sciences and arts, are experienced entrepreneurs, and have a wealth of experience in all aspects of intellectual property. They can provide you with the knowledge and perspective necessary to develop a comprehensive view and plan for your intellectual properties.
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