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Intellectual Property
What is a patent?
A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States. U.S. patent grants are effective only within the United States, U.S. Territories and U.S. possessions. What is granted is the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention.
What is a trademark?
A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. *Source: United States Patent and Trade Office
Southwest Minnesota
Lee Michael Pederson | 952.836.7949 | Sleepy Eye
Metro-Area Intellectual Property Attorneys (ranked by IP Attorneys)
| Rank | Firm | Sample of Services |
| 1 | Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi | Litigation related to patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets |
2 | Faegre & Benson | Litigation, patent preparation and prosecution, technology and licensing transactions, trademark and brand management, data privacy, copyrights, advertising, media |
| 3 | Merchant & Gould | Patent, trademark, copyright, unfair competition, trade secret, advertising and computer law and related litigation including trials and appeals |
| 4 | Fish & Richardson | Patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, IP litigation, IP transactions |
| 5 | Dorsey & Whitney | Trademark, patent, copyright, portfolio management, IP audits, IP litigation including patent prosecution, patent licensing |
| 6 | Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner | Patent prosecution, FTO, (non)infringement and (in)validity opinions, acquisition due diligence, portfolio analysis, planning, management, licensing, pre-litigation advice |
| 7 | Fredrikson & Byron | Domestic and International full-service patent, trademark, copyright, IP litigation, licensing, due diligence, trade secrets |
| 8 | Patterson, Thuente, Skaar & Christensen | Patent, trademark, copyright, IP litigation, international IP protection, licensing, interference, re-examination, trade secrets, entertainment and the arts |
| 9 | Carlson, Caspers, Vandenburgh & Lindquist | IP property litigation specializing in the trial and appeal of patent, trade secret and other high-technology cases |
| 10 | Shumaker & Sieffert | Patent preparation and prosecution, patent infringement options and patent counseling |
| 11 | Briggs and Morgan | Patents, trademarks, copyrights, prosecution, litigation, transactions |
| 12 | Kinney & Lange | Preparation and prosecution of patent, trademark and copyright applications; intellectual property product clearance; opinions; licensing and litigation |
| 13 | Leonard, Street and Deinard | U.S. and international trademark filing and portfolio management; copyright, trademark, trade secret and patent litigation; intellectual property licensing |
| 14 | Brooks, Cameron & Huebsch | Procuring patents, counseling on patent disputes, providing opinions on patent infringement, conducting due diligence studies, negotiating licensing deals |
| 15 | Winthrop & Weinstine | Intellectual property litigation, technology law, copyrights, trademarks, brand management, domains, licensing |
| 16 | Vidas, Arrett & Steinkraus | Patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secret and associated licensing and litigation |
| 17 | Kagan Binder | Patent and trademark prosecution and oppositions, technology transfer agreements, validity studies, due diligence, portfolio management, client counseling, IP enforcement and defense |
| 18 | Hamre, Schumann, Mueller & Larson | Patent, trademark, copyright, unfair competition, trade secret, advertising, technology, re-examinations, reissues, appeals, oppositions, licensing, opinions |
| 19 | Gray Plant Mooty | U.S. and global trademark registration and enforcement, copyright protection and enforcement, software and technology licensing |
| 20 | Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly | Acquisition, prosecution, maintenance, portfolio management, infringement disputes, licensing and due diligence |
| 21 | Mueting, Raasch & Gebhardt | Domestic and international patent preparation and prosecution, due diligence investigations, validity/infringement opinions and portfolio management |
| 22 | Lindquist & Vennum | Litigation and transactional advice involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, domain names, trademark prosecution, insurance, asset sales and licensing |
| 23 | Crawford Maunu | Patent and trademark preparation and prosecution |
| 24 | Moore & Hansen | Client counseling, patent, trademark, copyright preparation, enforcement, litigation, IP portfolio management, domain name management, licensing and other transactional matters |
| 25 | Lommen, Abdo, Cole, King & Stageberg | Trademark application, registration and protection; domain name protection; copyright registration, enforcement and licensing; IP evaluations and due diligence |
*Source: Business Journal Top 25 List, October 30, 2009
