Intellectual property is a broad description of intangible assets owned and legally protected by a company or individual.

Patent Law is the branch of intellectual property law governing a party's rights to ownership and/or use of a tangible invention. A patent must be applied for through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in an interactive application process, where a patent examiner scrutinizes the invention and its depiction to determine eligibility. If issued by the USPTO, a patent prohibits other third parties from developing, producing, marketing, or profiting in any way from the invention for a designated period—typically 20 years. An inventor successfully applying for a patent is generally granted exclusive rights over the invention. Without a patent, the inventor risks being forced to share or even relinquish her rights to ownership of the invention, including [most importantly] the profits realized after building a business around the patentable idea. Protect your idea! Our attorneys are available to guide you every step of the way. Whether you need a utility, plant, or design patent, we walk you through submitting patent applications and securing and protecting your intellectual property from infringement and licensing issues when it comes to building your startup.

Types of Matters we Handle:

Establishing businesses and non-profit organizations including choosing and forming LLC, L3C, B-corp, S-corp, C-corp, partnerships, and D/B/As
Bylaws and operating agreements—adding or removing members, partners, and shareholders
Term sheets negotiations and closing on private equity and non-dilutive funding including venture capital, angel investors, “friends and family” rounds, convertible debt, secured debt, grants and loans, and applications for women-owned businesses, veteran-owned businesses, other preferred contracting statuses
Employee incentive compensation, advisor compensations; review contracts with independent contractors, subcontractors, board members, and employees
Review service contracts including government contracts, scopes of work, 1099 independent contractors
Federal tax-exempt applications for non-profit organizations including 501(c)(3); creating and reviewing governance documents such as Board of Directors or Trustee obligations, bylaws, operating agreements, procedural review
Patent drafting, applications, and prosecution of pending applications before the USPTO
Patent interference

Trademark Law is the branch of intellectual property that governs the use of a symbol, word, logo, slogan, design, or domain name, and uniquely distinguishes it from the services of another. Trademarks last ten years, with the option to continuously renew for additional ten-year terms. A critical component of establishing a business, a trademark, when utilized strategically, has the potential to become nearly synonymous with the product or services it represents. For example, in much of society, Kleenex and tissue are used nearly interchangeably. Our attorneys can assist in all stages of the trademark, from clearing the proposed mark, preparing the application, prosecuting the mark, to monitoring it once approved. We help small businesses prosper by providing the framework for success.

Types of Matters we Handle:

Trademark applications, oppositions, and litigation including cease & desist and licensing negotiations
Trademark applications as US counsel for foreign-domiciled entities
Copyright registrations
Acquisitions, novations, assignments, mergers
Licensing and royalties for sales and production

Entertainment Law is a branch of law that encompasses various legal fields including all forms of intellectual property, such as copyrights, trademarks and even patents. Also, under the umbrella of Entertainment Law, legal expertise in other areas help to provide a more-complete strategy to the many business-based needs of your entertainment business, such as corporate law, finance law, and others. In assessing your entertainment law needs, it is important to work with a legal team that understands how the areas of laws interrelate and how to navigate quickly changing, and often complex laws that govern the needs of an entertainment-based business, whether that be a musician, record label, film company, actor, or publishing company, among others.

More nuanced entertainment law needs include important areas to consider, like, publicity and privacy, as they relate to the arts. Parlatore Law Group’s entertainment law attorneys are here to help you navigate any legal need that may arise in these areas. Our attorneys can also assist in general business-related questions that can help guide your decisions on how to continue to earn revenue in the entertainment industry, but also how to protect the art you passionately created. Given the nature of rapidly evolving technology, our entertainment law attorneys are constantly keeping up with changes and legal developments in the industry, including the recently enacted Music Modernization Act. We are proud to represent the rights of artists in our communities.