
Patents
Tuggle Duggins works closely with inventors and business owners to efficiently draft and prosecute high-quality domestic and international patent applications that mature into valuable utility and design patents. Experienced in a wide range of technologies in industries such as medical device, textiles, consumer products, furniture, weapon systems, nanotechnology, vehicle accessories, security systems, and antimicrobial formulations, we seek to gain an in-depth understanding of each client’s goals and leverage that understanding for the best possible outcome.
We routinely perform prior art and preliminary patentability searches, author freedom-to-operate and clearance opinions, and provide comprehensive analysis as to patent infringement/non-infringement. Following professional consultations, USPTO barred attorneys draft each patent application with an eye toward a compact and efficient prosecution resulting in an issued, and enforceable, patent asset. Our attorneys are well-versed in the value of continuing patent prosecution as well, relying on Continuation, Divisional, and Continuation-In-Part (CIP) applications to provide additional competitive advantages to clients while seeking the broadest protection available for the client’s valuable innovation.
Tuggle Duggins works with a vast network of foreign intellectual property professionals that stand ready to assist our clients should the need for international patent protection arise, particularly by filing Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) utility patent applications and Hague System design patent applications. The firm handles all communication, calendaring, and renewal activities, ensuring clients that their technology remains protected around the world.
Trademarks
In today’s fast-moving commercial environment, it is critically important to distinguish the source of new and innovative goods and services with distinctive trademarks and service marks. These words, logos, and other symbols speak to consumers, and the attorneys at Tuggle Duggins understand that intimately. Trademark professionals search the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the International Brand Registry Database hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to determine whether any existing registrations or applications may serve as a hurdle to securing the client a registration before expending valuable time and resources on developing a brand identity and launching a new product, service, or business. By drafting trademark and service mark registrability and infringement opinions, our trademark attorneys strive to arm our clients with the best information available in developing new brand identities. Tuggle Duggins professionals draft, file, and prosecute trademark and service mark applications, relying on a deep understanding of the client’s business model and goals. After the registration is acquired, we routinely draft cease and desist letters for clients, and, if necessary, advocate for our clients at the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (TTAB) through opposition and cancellation proceedings. Further, our attorneys are adept at procuring and maintaining international brand rights by utilizing the Madrid Protocol international trademark application system. Here, too, firm professionals handle communication, calendaring, and renewal activities, helping brands stay protected globally.
Copyrights
The arts remain important to the very heart of our nation’s cultural identity, which is why Tuggle Duggins offers its clients the services necessary to protect their works, regardless of medium. From photographers and painters to musicians and authors to software programmers and architects, a wide range of creative expression is registrable at the U.S. Copyright Office housed at the Library of Congress. Instead of relying on unenforceable common law rights, firm clients are provided the opportunity to apply for registration of their works, providing a valuable tool in the prosecution of counterfeiters and the negotiation of lucrative royalty agreements.