Who We Help
- How do I keep others from stealing my invention?
- How do I patent my invention?
- How do I manufacture my invention?
- How do I license my invention?
- How do I profit from my invention?
- Do I need an investor?
The unknowns of the patent process and the thought of taking an invention to market can be overwhelming for many new inventors, which is why we guide inventors through the patent process one step at a time by:
First, a U.S. Registered Patent Attorney conducts an “in-house” international patent search to determine if your invention is patentable and what your options are for protecting your invention including alternative options when available. Then, we assist with:
- Preparing and filing patent applications on patentable inventions.
- Prosecution and examination of filed patent applications with the USPTO.
- Foreign patent filings and prosecution.
- Calendaring patent maintenance fees to ensure any issued patents do not expire early.
- Licensing Agreements, Manufacturing Agreements, Software Agreements, Distributor Agreements.
In addition to handling all of your transactional matters relating to patents and intellectual property, Loeffler IP Group will enforce your patent rights through the use of cease and desist letters and federal patent infringement litigation when necessary.
We assist clients with the issues listed above as well as assisting individual inventors with:
- Nondisclosure Agreements.
- Approaching potential licensees and/or investors.
- License Agreements.
- Prototyping and Manufacturing Agreements.
If you have an idea or invention, contact us to schedule an appointment so we can discuss your individual situation and answer all of your questions.
- Counseling business clients on the steps they should take to ensure current and future employees do not quit and leave with any inventions or other intellectual property that should belong to the business.
- Reviewing employment agreements for proper clauses relating to ownership of patents.
- Drafting employment agreements to ensure the employer owns all inventions relating to an individual’s employment.
Not only do we assist business clients with the issues listed above, but we also assist you through the entire Patent Process and with a variety of other legal issues business owners face with patents, trademarks, and intellectual property.
If you own a business or are planning to open a business with employees, contact us to schedule an appointment so we can discuss the ownership of your business’ intellectual property and answer your questions.
- Reviewing employment agreements for the proper clauses relating to ownership of patents.
- Determining an employer’s rights under the “Shop Right Rule” in relation to the conception and development of your invention.
- Advising clients on steps they should take to ensure their inventions will not fall under the terms of an employment contract or the Shop Right Rule.
Not only do we assist individual inventors with the employer ownership issues listed above, but we also assist inventors through the entire Patent Process and all related legal issues.
If you are an inventor and are worried about your employer claiming rights in your invention, contact us to schedule an appointment so we can discuss the ownership of your invention and answer your questions.
- Conducting an in-house common law, fifty state, and federal patent search to determine if the name you have chosen for your business is available for protection.
- Determining possible trademark infringement issues that would prevent you from expanding into a geographic area and selling franchises in that area.
- Preparation of your Franchise Documents.
- Submitting franchise documents to the appropriate state and federal authorities and guiding you through the approval process
In addition, we work closely with the client to clear and protect the franchise’s name/brand nationwide.
If you have a successful business that you feel is a candidate for franchising, contact us to schedule an appointment so we can discuss your business, the franchising process, and answer your questions.
- Reviewing franchise agreements and disclosure documents to identify limitations on your rights as a franchise owner.
- Perform due diligence audits on trademark and other intellectual property rights the franchisor claims to own.
- Deciding if a franchise is the right fit for the client’s future business and life plans.
- Identifying potential issues before the franchise agreement is signed.
- Negotiating changes to terms of the franchise agreement.
Not only do we assist clients who are interested in purchasing a franchise, but we also assist clients in purchasing existing businesses or clients starting their own business. Contact us to schedule an appointment so we can discuss your plans to purchase a franchise and answer your questions.
- Performing a due diligence audit to identify the business’ intellectual property assets.
- Determining if a business’ intellectual property has been protected.
- Determining if a business is exposed to claims of patent, trademark or other intellectual property infringement.
- Determining employment agreements are in place to protect trade secrets, such as customer and vendor lists.
- Determining if a business is expandable to other geographic areas through company-owned stores and/or through franchising.
Not only do we assist clients who are interested in purchasing an existing business, but we also assist clients in purchasing franchises or clients starting their own business. Contact us to schedule an appointment so we can discuss your plans to purchase an existing business and answer your questions.
- Business entity selection.
- Corporate and Limited Liability Company (LLC) formation.
- Issues regarding multiple owners and/or investors.
- Counseling clients on the forms of intellectual property available for their specific business and planned service or product offerings.
- Identifying your intellectual property assets and prioritizing a plan and budget to protect your intellectual property assets.
Not only do we assist clients who are interested in starting a new business, but we also assist clients in purchasing franchises or clients purchasing an existing business. Contact us to schedule an appointment so we can discuss the plans for your new business and answer your questions.
- Performing in-house international patent searches to determine the likelihood of the invention receiving an enforceable patent.
- Counseling clients on patent ownership between co-inventors and investors.
- Preparation and recordation of Patent Assignments in the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
- Formation of “holding companies” for holding title to patents and intellectual property.
- Negotiation and preparation of patent license agreements.
- Corporate and Limited Liability Company (LLC) formation.
- Preparation of formational business documents, such as Bylaws, Operating Agreements, Membership Agreements, and so forth.
- Counseling clients on the other forms of intellectual property available in connection to the inventions and/or issued patents being invested in.
We want to make sure you are receiving something of value when you invest in an idea or invention. Contact us to schedule an appointment so we can discuss your plans and answer your questions.
Many of these problems can be easily avoided by meeting with a patent and trademark attorney. We provide the following services for restaurants:
- Performing in-house trademark searches to determine if your restaurant’s planned name is protectable and to ensure the name does not infringe a prior restaurant’s trademark rights.
- Preparing and filing federal trademark applications on your restaurant’s name and assisting you in stopping infringers.
- Preparing and filing copyright applications on your logos, menu designs, website, and marketing materials.
- Ensuring you have non-disclosure agreements with employees who have access to trade secrets, such as recipes, customer lists, vendor lists, and other valuable confidential information.
- Patenting any novel and nonobvious inventions relating to the restaurant, which may include formulations, methods, useful items, the aesthetic appearance of a product or packaging.
- Franchising your restaurant.
Our goals for the restaurants we represent are to:
- Reduce your exposure to trademark and other infringement claims as much as possible.
- Protect your name, concept, and recipes to prevent others from stealing or copying the ideas that make your restaurant unique.
- Make sure your restaurant will be ready to expand through investments in company-owned stores and/or through franchising when the time is right.
If you are planning to open a restaurant, already own a restaurant, or are looking to invest in/or purchase a restaurant, contact us to schedule an appointment so we can discuss your plans and answer your questions.
- Performing trademark searches to determine if your community’s name is protectable
- Preparing and filing Federal trademark applications on your community’s name and logo to ensure you can stop infringers
- Preparing and filing State of Florida trademark applications on your community’s name and logo
- Counseling homeowner and community associations on trademark infringement
- Counseling homeowner and community associations on defamation cases
- Sending cease and desist letters
- Representing homeowner and community associations in federal trademark infringement lawsuits
Whether your association only operates in one community or manages a large number of properties, obtaining a trademark on the association’s name and logo is worthwhile.
We will work with your current association attorney to ensure he or she is aware of any intellectual property work we perform.
If you are a homeowner or community association, contact us to schedule an appointment so we can discuss your community’s needs and answer your questions.
Contact us to schedule an appointment so we can discuss your community’s needs and answer your questions.
- Protecting your practice’s name through trademark law.
- Protecting inventions or new product ideas with patents.
- Assisting with copyright issues that arise from website issues, publications, marketing materials, and forth.
- Assisting with protecting valuable trade secrets, such as systems, methods, client lists, and so forth.
- Assisting with franchising your medical or dental practice.
- Assisting with purchasing a medical or dental practice franchise.
- Assisting with the sale or purchase of your medical or dental practice.
As a medical professional, protecting your brand and its reputation is key to building and maintaining a successful practice. If you have a medical practice or plan on opening a medical practice, contact us to schedule an appointment so we can discuss your plans and answer your questions.
- Preparing and filing copyright applications to ensure the client does not lose any copyrights prior to an infringement occurring.
- Reviewing and negotiating publishing agreements.
- Counseling clients about ownership of photos, illustrations and “Work for Hire” clauses.
- Preparing and sending Cease and Desist letters to copyright infringers.
- Filing federal lawsuits against copyright infringers.
Most copyright applications protecting written materials, such as books, are generally inexpensive. Despite that, many authors fail to apply for copyright registrations on their books. Authors need to remember that if a copyright registration is not applied for prior to an infringement occurring, then in most cases the author will lose the right to recover attorney’s fees and statutory damages. This will have a negative affect your ability to enforce your copyrights.
If you are an author who is interested in publishing a book, contact us to schedule an appointment so we can discuss your specific needs and questions.
- Counseling clients on copyright law.
- Counseling clients about ownership of music and Work for Hire Clauses.
- Reviewing musing licensing agreements.
- Preparing and filing copyright applications on music to ensure the client does not lose any copyrights prior to a copyright infringement occurring.
- Preparing and sending Cease and Desist letters to copyright infringers.
- Filing federal lawsuits against copyright infringers.
If you are a musician or songwriter who would like to protect your music and/or think someone has infringed your music, contact us to schedule an appointment so we may review your copyright issues and answer your questions.
With the advent of “cut and paste,” it has become too easy for copycats to steal photos for their own websites or advertisements. These include product photos, real estate photos, stock photos, and so forth. To ensure a photographer is protected and being compensated for his or her work, we assist with:
- Counseling clients on copyright law.
- Reviewing and/or preparing agreements for the photographer to use with clients.
- Counseling clients about ownership of photos and Work for Hire Clauses.
- Preparing and filing copyright applications on photos to ensure the client does not lose any copyrights prior to a copyright infringement occurring.
- Preparing and sending Cease and Desist letters to copyright infringers.
- Filing federal lawsuits against copyright infringers.
The filing of most copyright applications to protect one or more photos is generally simple and inexpensive. Despite that, many photographers fail to apply for copyright registrations on their photos.
Many photographers are under the false belief that merely by taking a photo, he or she has enforceable copyrights in the resulting photo. On the contrary, a photographer cannot even sue someone for copyright infringement unless a copyright registration has issued. Further, a photographer is penalized for waiting to file for a copyright registration until after the infringement has occurred.
If the copyright registration is not applied for prior to the infringement, then in most cases the photographer will lose the right to recover attorney’s fees and statutory damages. This greatly reduces the likelihood of an attorney taking your case on contingency.
Therefore, we also assist our photographer clients with setting up their own online accounts with the Library of Congress and preparing re-usable application templates so the client can file their own copyright applications. We make ourselves available if the photographer client has questions on any particular copyright applications or requires our assistance with a particular filing.
If you are a photographer, contact us to schedule an appointment so we may review your copyright issues and answer your questions.
In order to ensure architects, home designers, and builders are protected and properly compensated for their work, we assist with:
- Counseling clients on copyright law as it pertains to the client’s situation
- Reviewing and/or preparing agreements for architects, home designers, and builders to ensure their intellectual property rights are preserved
- Counseling clients about “Work for Hire” clauses and agreements
- Preparing and filing copyright applications on building plans to ensure the client does not lose any rights prior to a copyright infringement occurring
- Preparing and sending Cease and Desist letters to copyright infringers who have copied building plans
- Bringing and defending federal lawsuits involving copying and infringement of building plans
The filing of most copyright applications is relatively simple and inexpensive. Despite this, many architects, home designers, and builders fail to apply for copyright registrations on their building plans, which can adversely affect the copyright owner if there is an infringement.
If a copyright registration for building plans is not applied for prior to an infringement occurring, then in most cases the copyright owner will lose the right to recover attorney’s fees and statutory damages. This greatly reduces the likelihood of an attorney taking your case on contingency unless you can prove a significant amount of lost damages.
Therefore, it is imperative that architects, home designers, and builders protect their building plans as soon as possible after creation. If you are an architect or builder, contact us to schedule an appointment so we may review your copyright issues and answer your questions.
- Counseling clients on patent law as it pertains to the client’s software.
- Counseling clients on trade secret law as it pertains to the client’s software.
- Counseling clients on trademark law as it pertains to the client’s software.
- Counseling clients about “Work for Hire” clauses and agreements.
- Preparing and filing copyright applications on source code and graphical interfaces.
- Determining the patentability of software.
- Responding to U.S.C. 101 rejections on software patents.
- Preparing and sending Cease and Desist letters to copyright infringers.
- Bringing and defending federal lawsuits involving copying and infringement of copyrights on computer software and graphical interfaces.
- Reviewing and/or preparing software licensing agreements and end-user agreements.
The creation and protection of software can be complex due to the multiple forms of protection available. We will help you with the specific steps you need to take to protect your software from infringers and create intellectual property that is attractive to potential licensees and investors.
If you are a software developer or have an idea for a software application, contact us to schedule an appointment so we may review your copyright issues and answer your questions.
- Protecting the names of your business and products through trademark law.
- Protecting any patentable products you plan to sell online.
- Protecting your website, product photos, writings, and other works with copyright registrations to prevent infringement and copying.
- Sending Take Down Notices to infringing service/product providers.
- Representing clients in domain name disputes with ICANN.
- Enforcement against counterfeiters and counterfeited products.
Piracy is everywhere on the Internet so we want to ensure our clients have taken the appropriate steps to protect their products and their brand on the Internet and are in a position to act swiftly and decisively if an infringement occurs. Contact us to schedule an appointment so we may discuss your online store and answer your questions.