Intellectual Property

Siskinds Intellectual Property Group provides its large and diverse client base with comprehensive legal services essential to obtaining, maintaining, protecting and transferring intellectual property rights for products, processes and services. Our group's experience and capability span the full scope of intellectual property issues, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade dress, trade secrets, licensing, technology transfer, and non-disclosure and non-compete agreements. Our mission is to help ensure that the value of client intellectual property rights is established, maintained and enforced at the highest level possible.

Siskinds experience in the preparation and prosecution of patent, trademark and copyright applications is shown by the volume of our activity in these areas. In the trademark field alone, dozens of applications are filed annually with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, and a substantial number of foreign trademark applications are prepared and submitted each year as well. The products, materials, designs, processes and technologies covered by these applications are widely varied.

Siskinds involvement in trademark issues, of course, extends well beyond application and prosecution. Infringement and ownership of trademarks frequently are contested by various parties. The conflict may pit a franchisor against a competing system. Representing both plaintiffs and defendants, in both domestic and international venues, we are experienced in the litigation of trademark-related issues. We take a practical approach and prepare thoroughly, recognizing that our clients' very ability to compete may be determined by the outcome of the litigation process.

Protecting the product or service brand is a critical part of success. We guide franchisors and manufacturers in managing valuable assets such as brand, image, trademarks and identity. Franchisors and manufacturers operating or seeking to operate internationally retain Siskinds to:

• Register foreign trademarks through a network of associates who offer prompt and effective service.
• With the assistance of local counsel, handle trademark, service mark and related disputes in provincial, state and federal courts, whether the infringer is a former franchisee or an unrelated third party.
• Establish and enforce trademark and service mark standards and procedures in the franchise system.
• Represent franchisors in copyright infringement matters and advise clients on how to protect copyrighted materials.
• Draft and negotiate software license agreements.
• Develop Internet-based distribution and marketing systems.
• Draft Intranet-use guidelines.
• Draft contractual provisions to limit a Franchisee's use of the Franchisor's trademarks on the Internet.
• Handle domain name disputes using the arbitration procedures of ICANN.
• Draft privacy policies and provisions for Web sites.
• Manage a franchisor's intellectual property assets, including registering and maintaining trademarks and service marks.

Moving Forward. We look forward to working together with you to start, expand or re-structure your system, or to solve whatever problem or seize whatever opportunity you're dealing with, anywhere. Contact Peter Dillon or Stacey Bothwell at 800-816-9596 (or 519-672-2121 outside of North America) or electronically at peter.dillon@siskinds.com or stacey.bothwell@siskinds.com.