Helping Businesses Protect Innovation

Innovation is an important competitive advantage. Companies invest substantial time, technical expertise, and financial resources developing new products, technologies, processes, and improvements. A well-developed patent strategy can help protect those investments, create valuable business assets, and establish barriers to competitors.

At Fogarty IP, our patent attorneys and patent agents help businesses identify, protect, and manage innovations through strategic patent counseling, patent preparation and prosecution, and portfolio management. We combine sophisticated patent law experience with real-world engineering and industry backgrounds, allowing us to understand both the technologies our clients develop and the business objectives behind them.

Real-World Technical Knowledge And Experience

Effective patent counsel requires more than an understanding of patent law. Attorneys and patent agents must also be able to understand complex technology, communicate effectively with inventors and engineers, and translate technical innovations into patent applications designed to provide meaningful protection.

Our team brings together experience gained at large national and international law firms with practical experience in engineering, technology, and industry. Members of our team have worked as engineers and technical professionals before entering patent practice, providing firsthand familiarity with the environments in which new technologies are developed.

This combination of patent law experience and real-world technical backgrounds enables us to provide sophisticated patent services with the responsiveness, efficiency, and personal attention of a focused intellectual property firm.

Patent Services For Businesses

Our patent attorneys and patent agents assist companies throughout the patent process, including:

• Identifying potentially patentable innovations by working with engineers, inventors, product teams, and management to evaluate new products, technologies, processes, software, and improvements.
• Evaluating patentability and conducting prior art searches to identify patents, published applications, technical publications, and other prior art that may affect patentability or potential claim scope.
• Developing patent filing strategies by determining which aspects of an innovation warrant protection and whether provisional, nonprovisional, design, international, or other filings are appropriate.
• Preparing patent applications that accurately describe complex technologies while developing claims directed toward commercially important aspects of the invention.
• Prosecuting patent applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office by analyzing office actions, communicating with patent examiners, preparing claim amendments, and presenting legal and technical arguments supporting patentability.
• Developing claim and prosecution strategies that consider desired claim scope, relevant prior art, competitive products, prosecution costs, and the client’s commercial objectives.
• Managing patent portfolios by tracking applications and issued patents, identifying additional filing opportunities, evaluating continuation strategies, and helping clients prioritize patent expenditures.
• Developing international patent strategies by evaluating where foreign patent protection may be commercially appropriate and coordinating Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), national stage, and direct foreign filings with foreign counsel.
• Aligning patent protection with business strategy by considering the company’s products, technology roadmap, competitors, licensing opportunities, investment objectives, and long-term commercial plans.
• Evaluating patent-related risks by assisting clients with patent landscape, infringement, validity, and freedom-to-operate issues associated with existing and proposed products and technologies.

Technical Experience Across A Broad Range Of Technologies

Our patent attorneys and patent agents have backgrounds in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer technology, and related technical disciplines. That experience allows us to work directly with inventors and technical teams, and understand sophisticated technologies without requiring clients to repeatedly explain fundamental engineering concepts.

Our experience includes technologies such as:

• Electrical and electronic circuits
• Analog, digital, and mixed-signal electronics
• Semiconductor devices and integrated circuits
• Microprocessors, microcontrollers, and embedded systems
• Computer hardware and system architectures
• Servers, data centers, and high-performance computing
• GPUs and AI/ML computing hardware
• Printed circuit boards and electronic assemblies
• Power electronics and power management systems
• Sensors, instrumentation, and measurement systems
• Control systems and industrial automation
• Telecommunications and computer networking
• Wireless communications, RF systems, antennas, and signal processing
• Optical and fiber optic communications
• Audio and video processing
• Imaging systems, cameras, and machine vision
• Internet of Things (IoT) and connected devices
• Automotive electronics and vehicle systems
• Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)
• Aerospace and aviation technologies
• Mechanical devices and machinery
• Electromechanical systems
• Manufacturing equipment and processes
• Machine tools and automated manufacturing
• Additive manufacturing and 3D printing
• Mechanical power transmission, gearing, and drivetrain systems
• Hydraulic and pneumatic systems
• Thermal management and cooling technologies
• Medical devices and diagnostic equipment
• Oil, gas, and energy production equipment
• Security, access control, and surveillance systems
• Data storage technologies
• Artificial intelligence hardware and AI-enabled systems
• Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and microsystems
• Displays, touchscreens, and human-machine interfaces
• Drones, robotics, and unmanned systems
• Navigation, positioning, and GPS technologies
• Test, measurement, and diagnostic equipment

Utility And Design Patent Protection

Different innovations may require different forms of patent protection. We work with clients to determine the appropriate filing strategy based on the technology, product, competitive environment, and business objectives.

Utility patents can protect new and useful processes, machines, manufactured articles, compositions of matter, and improvements to them. For technology companies, utility patents frequently protect the functional aspects of products and systems, including hardware, software-related inventions, manufacturing processes, communications technologies, and mechanical and electromechanical systems.

Design patents protect new, original, and ornamental designs for articles of manufacture. They can be particularly valuable when the appearance or visual characteristics of a product provide an important competitive distinction. In appropriate circumstances, utility and design patent protection can be used together as part of a broader strategy.

We can also coordinate with specialized counsel when a client’s innovations involve technical disciplines outside our principal areas of practice.

Patent Strategies Built Around The Business

Obtaining a patent is not necessarily the objective in itself. The more important question is whether a patent protects technology that matters to the business.

We work with clients to understand their products, competitors, development plans, and commercial priorities so that patent resources can be directed toward innovations with strategic value. This may include protecting core product functionality, developing patent coverage around emerging product lines, establishing defensive patent positions, supporting licensing opportunities, or creating an intellectual property portfolio that enhances the value of the business.

For clients with ongoing innovation programs, we can also establish procedures for identifying inventions, reviewing invention disclosures, prioritizing applications, managing patent portfolios, and controlling prosecution costs.

Why Companies Choose Fogarty IP

Our approach combines the capabilities expected from sophisticated patent counsel with the accessibility and efficiency of a focused intellectual property practice.

Our attorneys and patent agents bring extensive patent knowledge, real-world technical backgrounds, and years of experience working with businesses and inventors. Many of our client relationships extend over years, allowing us to develop an understanding of the client’s technologies, personnel, products, competitors, and business objectives.

Whether a company needs assistance protecting a single important innovation or managing an extensive patent portfolio, Fogarty IP provides experienced patent counsel focused on obtaining commercially meaningful intellectual property protection.

Contact Fogarty IP by email or by phone at 469-985-3505 to discuss your technology, patent portfolio, or patent filing strategy and learn how our patent attorneys and patent agents can help protect your company’s innovations.