General Litigation

Evaluation considers the strength of legal claims and defenses, potential damages exposure, litigation costs and timeline, business relationships at stake, precedent implications, management distraction, and the availability of insurance coverage. Early case assessment helps inform this analysis.

ADR includes mediation, where a neutral facilitates settlement; arbitration, where a neutral renders a binding decision; and hybrid processes like med-arb. ADR can reduce costs, preserve relationships, and provide faster resolution than traditional litigation.

Demand letters are appropriate when you want to establish a record, trigger insurance obligations, satisfy contractual notice requirements, or attempt resolution before incurring litigation costs. They should be carefully crafted to preserve legal positions without making inadvisable admissions.

Consider subject matter expertise, trial experience, familiarity with the relevant jurisdiction and judges, staffing and resources, fee structure, communication style, and track record with similar cases. The right fit depends on the case's complexity, value, and strategic needs.

Fair use is a defense that permits limited use of copyrighted material without permission. Courts consider four factors: the purpose and character of use (commercial vs. educational, transformative vs. copying), the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount used, and the effect on the market. Fair use is highly fact-specific.

For works created today by individual authors, copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. Works made for hire and anonymous/pseudonymous works are protected for 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. Older works may have different terms.

Yes, software code is protected by copyright as a literary work. Both source code and object code can be registered. However, copyright protects the expression of ideas, not the underlying functionality—patent protection may be more appropriate for novel methods and processes implemented in software.

Our virtual legal services offer streamlined, cost-effective solutions for common copyright needs. Services like copyright registration, assignment agreements, and DMCA takedowns are available online with fixed, transparent pricing. You get the quality of a top IP firm with the convenience of digital delivery.