Your company may have developed the newest technology, the most innovative products -- but if they're not properly protected, you may as well invite your competitors to help themselves to the profits. In today's market, intellectual property is one of your most precious assets.

Varnum's intellectual property lawyers do what it takes to protect clients' ideas and products. This may mean counseling clients about domestic and foreign patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial design, trade secrets, unfair competition and computer law. Or it may mean rolling up our sleeves and getting involved in product development. Other times it means pursuing litigation.

Our litigation group is strong and deep. We have patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret litigation experience in diverse and complex technologies, including remarkable success in Hatch-Waxman pharmaceutical litigation.

Our knowledge of diverse engineering disciplines helps us as we engage in the full scope of intellectual property services, including:

• Patentability, state-of-the-art, infringement and validity opinions
• U.S. and foreign patent protection
• Trademark registration, clearance and licensing
• Intellectual property contract drafting and negotiation
• State and federal court litigation
• Technology transfers
• Proprietary rights and employment agreements
• Joint venture agreements
• Computer hardware and software agreements
• Protection of trade secrets, know-how, software and
• confidential business information
• High-tech patent protection
• Intellectual property auditing and portfolio management
• Copyright protection