Intellectual Property

• Patent Litigation: Our patent litigation practice consists of more than 100 patent litigators strongly concentrated on both the East and West Coasts engaged in about 75 pending cases for clients such as Samsung, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, Apple, Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, sanofi-aventis, and Palm.  Our practice has married effective advocacy with substantive expertise, with more than 50 of our litigators having clerked for federal trial and appellate judges, and more than 60 having technical degrees in fields relevant to high-tech and life sciences companies.  We have litigated cases in nearly every significant patent jurisdiction in the country, including Texas, Delaware, California, New York, New Jersey, the Federal Circuit and the ITC.  In the past seven years our attorneys have tried fifteen patent cases to verdict, and of those we have prevailed in twelve and had a hung jury in one.  Our attorneys have also had considerable success in disposing of cases through dispositive motions and are adept at rigorously evaluating cases and, where sensible, resolving them before trial.
• Patent Reexamination: One focus of the patent practice is reexamination proceedings in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).  Covington patent attorneys have handled both ex parte and inter partes reexamination proceedings, both as requester and as patentee.  We work closely with our litigation colleagues to develop offensive and defensive strategies that involve reexamination proceedings, and then execute the strategy in the PTO, and in the courts.
• Patent Advisory: Our patent lawyers provide comprehensive advice over the full range of patent issues that include formulating strategies for the effective procurement and enforcement of patent rights, developing and managing patent portfolios, licensing and exploiting patent rights, and asserting and defending against patent challenges.  Our patent attorneys are experienced in a wide range of technologies and industries, providing patent advice fully sensitive and responsive to particular business and regulatory contexts.
• Anti-Piracy/Counterfeiting/Diversion: For nearly two decades, the firm has played a leading role in protecting our clients' intellectual property from piracy, counterfeiting and diversion.  On behalf of clients such as Microsoft and the Business Software Alliance, we have coordinated and executed civil and criminal anti-piracy campaigns in over 60 countries worldwide; we have a heavy focus on emerging markets, including those in Central and Eastern Europe and in China.  Enforcement campaigns have produced millions of dollars in settlements.
• Internet Enforcement: Covington's global Internet enforcement teams includes attorneys experienced with the laws and practice enforcement considerations applicable to dealing with Internet-based infringement and crime.  Unlike other firms, however, we also have an in-house team of (non-lawyer) Internet investigators with years of experience in conducting online monitoring, evidence gathering and notice and take-down services directly for our clients using advanced, proprietary technologies.  With a success rate of well over 90%, Covington represents many of the world's leading copyright and trademark holders, handling both global notice and takedown programs and helping to address specific problems such as streaming of copyrighted works, phishing and other Internet-related challenges.
• Trademark Portfolio Management and Advice: We manage the US and global trademark portfolios for such companies as Spirits International (owner of the STOLICHNAYA brand), the National Geographic Society, PBS, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., M Financial Group, Borgata, Promontory Financial Group, and the United States Soccer Federation.  We have also provided strategic trademark advice to these and many other companies, including Bank of America, Cartier, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Newsweek, the National Football League, and Verizon.
• Copyright Advice: We provide general copyright and fair use advice and counseling to publishers such as the Washington Post Company, and Zomba Music Publishing, to various television broadcast stations, and to a number of leading online business and media ventures including The Microsoft Network, USA Interactive, and the National Football League.
• Trademark and Copyright Litigation: We have litigated trademark and copyright disputes for numerous clients, including Armani, Cartier, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Givenchy, PBS, Spirits International, Sun Life of Canada, Chloé, AAA, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and many others.  In addition, we have litigated numerous Lanham Act, unfair competition, and false/misleading advertising cases in courts across the country.  Our lawyers have also recovered hundreds of domain names registered by cybersquatters, utilizing enforcement programs featuring court actions, including in rem actions, under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act and UDRP proceedings under the arbitration rules adopted by ICANN.
• False Advertising: We have represented numerous clients in false advertising litigation in courts throughout the country, including AT&T, the American Petroleum Institute, Bacardi, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), PBS, Schering-Plough, Spirits International, and Wells Fargo Bank.  We have also represented many clients in FTC false advertising investigations and proceedings and in proceedings under the rules of the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau (NAD). 
• Trade Secrets: We have litigated dozens of trade secret cases, from the seminal New York State Appellate Division ruling in Chernoff Diamond v. Fitzmaurice, to the trade secret action brought by Computer Sciences Corporation in an attempt to ward off a hostile acquisition by Computer Associates, to numerous technology-focused disputes.  Our mastery of best practices for trade secrets in the life sciences, software, and other industries is invaluable, and enables us to ferret out the most advantageous balance of the available types of intellectual property protection.
• IP Legislation: Covington has engaged in intellectual property law reform efforts at the local, regional, and international level throughout the world.  Our extensive IP enforcement experience, IP industry expertise, and history as a leading public affairs firm in both the US and in Europe make us a persuasive voice on these issues.  Our advocacy efforts extend to the WTO TRIPS Agreement, WIPO Copyright Treaties and, now, ACTA; to regional reform efforts in the EU; and to national initiatives, including law reform efforts in the US and in emerging markets such as Russia, China and markets in Latin America.
• Customs: Covington provides support to intellectual property rights holders seeking to utilize customs-based tools to protect their rights.  In Europe, we advise on a range of customs-related issues, including those relating to the EU Customs Regulation and border detention orders.
• Consumer Surveys: Our lawyers have retained and worked closely with survey experts in numerous trademark and false advertising cases and have assisted them with the creation of effective survey designs, analysis of survey results, and preparation for their depositions and trial testimony.
• On a pro bono basis, we serve as special intellectual property counsel to the Smithsonian Institution, advise the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on copyright, publicity, and related issues, and serve on the Committee on Intellectual Property of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• We also conduct Federal Judicial Center patent training courses for federal court judges throughout the country.

Accolades

• Chambers Global - Recognized as a leading US Intellectual Property and International Trade - Section 337 Practice (2010).
• Chambers Global - One attorney recognized for Intellectual Property (2006-2010) and two attorneys recognized for International Trade (Intellectual Property - Section 337) (2010).
• Ranked by Chambers USA as a leading National Intellectual Property Practice (2009).
• Chambers Europe - One attorney recognized for Intellectual Property: Belgium (2009).
• Chambers USA's - America's Leading Business Lawyers - Four attorneys recognized for Intellectual Property (2009).
• The Best Lawyers in America - Six attorneys recognized for Intellectual Property Law (2007-2009).
• The Practical Law Company (PLC) - Which Law Firm?, Intellectual Property, Commercial Intellectual Property (2009)
• PLC - Life Sciences, Which Lawyer? - One attorney recognized for Intellectual Property (2005-2009).
• WORLDLeaders IP Awards, shortlisted in the worldwide categories "Excellence in Domain Name Policy Implementation" (2008) and "Domain Name Strategy and Management" (2009)
• International Who's Who of Business Lawyers - Two attorneys recognized for Patent (2008).
• WORLDleaders European Awards for trademark excellence (North America/Canada) (2007).
• Legal 500 EMEA, 2006-2007, Intellectual Property (Belgium) - "Covington & Burling LLP 'provides a high-quality, cost-effective work product' according to one client. Regulatory concerns are ably dealt with through the firm's legislative experience, and the firm is a good choice for litigation, particularly in relation to electronic media" (2007).
• European Legal Experts - One attorney recognized for Intellectual Property (Brussels) (2006).
• PLC Global Counsel 2006 - Global Counsel Magazine, “The Life Sciences Industry Super League” - ranked number one in the world, 23 Covington lawyers were recommended as leaders in their fields, including seven lawyers in Europe.
• European Legal 500, Intellectual Property (Belgium) - “…Covington & Burling has a successful IP regulatory practice, the firm also undertakes high-end litigation in the Belgian courts” (2005).
• Legal 500, Commercial Litigation (EU) - “Covington & Burling is ‘business-orientated and user-friendly.' The lawyers are ‘efficient and responsive.’ Areas of expertise include complex commercial contracts, IP, life sciences, product liability, wrongful denials of insurance coverage and environmental torts” (2005).
• In 2005, Covington was awarded “Best Achievement in Protecting IP on the Internet” at the WORLDleaders European Awards.
• Two of our Covington partners are Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers and one is vice chair of the Complex Litigation Committee. 
• Another partner served as a United States District Court Judge for the District of Delaware for ten years presiding over 200 patent cases.