The Internet sparked an explosion of invention as businesses pioneered its use for e-commerce. Since before the startup boom, Kolisch Hartwell has guided its clients in software and Internet-related patent, trademark, and copyright matters, while actively tracking the rapid evolution of the law itself. Our roster of IP attorneys includes individuals with strong educational, practical, and legal experience with software and the Internet. Our clients have entrusted us to seek or enforce IP rights in many areas including:
- Patents for web-based conferencing, network communications and security, Internet-based elections systems, image processing, and so on. Our portfolio includes some representative patents we have prosecuted in this area.
- Domain name disputes. It sometimes seems as if every good domain name is already taken, so disputes over names are now common. Kolisch Hartwell has helped clients resolve these disputes through various approaches including arbitration under the ICANN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Policy. Your ideal domain name is often the same as your trademark, so Kolisch Hartwell can help you consider your web site and your trademark together.
- Cybersquatting, which refers to the practice of registering a trademark, company name, or the like as domain name with a bad-faith intent to profit from it. Under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999, our firm has represented clients seeking to recover hijacked names or defend rightful names.
- Hidden text and meta-tagging refer to various strategies for embedding keywords in web sites to attract traffic through search engines. The use of trademarks in hidden text and meta tags can be actionable if it promotes confusion in the mind of the potential customer. We can help you if your marks are being infringed by website operators—or if your site has been accused of this kind of improper use.
- Copyright issues, for example disputes that arise when a web site improperly reuses text, images, or scripts from another web site or other source.
Kolisch Hartwell is well-prepared to offer full-spectrum intellectual property services to established and startup clients in the software and Internet areas.