Patents

You invent it. We’ll help you protect it and enforce it.

To be patentable, the law says an invention must be novel, non-obvious, and useful. The patent attorneys at Howard & Howard take that definition one step further—we think every patent should be strategic.

Patent Filing Services

Patents are the backbone of any business - they’re how you can protect your best inventions and technological advancements to the benefit of the people who helped create them in the first place. Protecting these patents requires both a knowledge of the law, and a knowledge of the industries involved, and that’s where the patent attorneys of Howard & Howard come in. 

Patent attorneys, by definition, need the skills, technical expertise, and industry understanding necessary to help file, claim, and protect a range of technological designs and patents across a number of industries. The patent filing & patent protection attorneys of Howard & Howard bring together decades of combined experience in any number of technological and industrial disciplines, perfect for helping you win patents and protect your intellectual property from the competition.

Patent Attorneys - Industries Served

From offices across the U.S., and with assistance from a network of agents outside the U.S. when needed, our patent lawyers secure utility and design patents in a broad array of technologies, such as:

• Automotive and industrial vehicle components
• Industrial equipment
• Medical devices and methods
• Chemistry and materials
• Robotics
• Safety and testing equipment
• Waste processing equipment
• Consumer products
• Electrical systems
• Fiber optics
• Computer algorithms and "methods of doing business"

Clients—including startups, academia, industrial manufacturers, and multinational corporations—benefit not only from our lawyers’ technical experience, but also our legal knowledge and real-world perspective.

Patent Filing Process

Not every invention is patentable, nor should every patentable invention be patented. We counsel clients on financial, competitive, practical, and other strategic considerations, and if the decision is made to proceed, we guide them through every stage of the patent preparation and application process:

• Interviewing inventors and contributors
• Reviewing notes and drawings
• Researching prior art and public disclosures
• Drafting applications and requisite claims and illustrations
• Adhering to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and foreign jurisdictions’ submission requirements and filing deadlines
• Responding to patent examiners’ objections

When conflicts and obstacles arise, we advocate for our clients in Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceedings, involving:

• Inter partes reviews
• Post-grant reviews
• Appeals of adverse examiner decisions, reissue applications, and reexaminations of issued patents
• Covered Business Method Reviews

And when patent rights are violated or infringed upon, a patent’s validity is challenged, or first-to-file disputes arise, our IP litigators seek to enforce our clients’ interests in court, leveraging cost-effective alternative dispute resolution options whenever possible.

In addition to patent filing and protection services, Howard & Howard offers similarly skilled and experienced copyright attorneys and trademark attorneys to help further protect your intellectual property for the benefit of your business or organization.

Patent Attorneys - Michigan, Illinois, Nevada, & California

Patents can be a company’s most valuable assets, and analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of individual patents or an entire portfolio is essential for identifying and protecting revenue streams. In patentability assessments, patent valuation in merger and acquisition due diligence, or maintenance and management of issued patents, the IP attorneys at Howard & Howard leave no stone unturned. Wherever you’re located in the US - or located anywhere in the world - trust the patent lawyers & IP protection attorneys of Howard & Howard to defend your business’ most valuable assets.