Sherry H. Flax

Intellectual property is often a company’s strongest asset, one that can be protected and leveraged to gain a competitive advantage. In today’s global environment, it is critical for emerging and mature companies alike to effectively protect and enforce their intellectual property, especially in an age where technology is advancing at an increasingly rapid pace.

While the U.S. continues to be the largest IP economy in the world, other countries are seeing significant growth in creating and protecting IP. Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s expanding team of attorneys and patent agents with diverse backgrounds brings clients a 360-degree perspective on intellectual property matters, both in and outside of the U.S. In addition to patent, copyright and trademark procurement, we help clients develop legal strategies for their IP, counsel clients in protecting and managing their IP assets, conduct post-grant procedures, perform due diligence, infringement and invalidity studies and render related opinions, create and manage licensing programs, and enforce IP assets via negotiation, administrative proceedings and litigation. Our lawyers also analyze large patent portfolios to determine strategic value, evaluate competitive products, and help develop design-around alternatives when needed. Many of our attorneys hold Ph.D.’s in various specialties. We represent clients domestically and abroad across a range of industries.

Our services include:

• Protecting inventions, creative and literary works, designs, trademarks, service marks and other intellectual property rights in the United States and foreign countries.
• Due diligence for investors, lenders, mergers, buyers and sellers of businesses.
• Intellectual property litigation in federal courts throughout the United States involving claims of patent, trademark, and copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, and trade defamation.
• Patent post-grant review, covered business method review, inter partes review, and re-examination proceedings.
• Counseling and opinions on patents including patent clearance searches, freedom to operate opinions, and patentability opinions.
• Counseling regarding patent portfolios including designing around competitor’s patents and expanding patent portfolios to obtain competitive advantage and to enhance patent portfolios in connection with implementation of exit strategies.
• Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings including oppositions and petitions to cancel registrations.
• Digital Millennium Copyright Act circumvention, takedown, reverse takedown and anti-cybersquatting claims in federal court and domain name dispute proceedings under the UDRP.
• Consulting and opinions on copyrights concerning derivative and collective works, protection of unpublished works, and “works made for hire.”
• Counseling and litigation in computer law matters including software copyright, anti-circumvention, open source software, computer fraud and abuse, computer theft and hacking, and digital trespass.
• Drafting and negotiating software development and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) licensing and implementation contracts.
• Developing and implementing open source software strategies for ERP software vendors.
• ERP Software litigation.
• Trade secret counseling, confidentiality agreements, and litigation with former employees and competitors.
• Trade secret litigation involving confidential and proprietary information and anti-competitive practices, corporate theft and espionage, unfair and deceptive trade practices and similar cases in state and federal court.
• Protection of trade dress and product configurations and enforcement
• Antitrust counseling and litigation concerning unfair competition, monopolies, and other matters related to intellectual property law.
• Regulatory reviews of advertising and promotional materials for conformance with the FTC Act and state Little FTC Acts.
• Development and registration of sweepstakes, skill contests and promotional games.

Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP is a full-service law firm that offers clients the national reach and sophisticated experience of a large firm and the local connections and value of a boutique firm.

This combination of reach and local autonomy supports our clients with the clout of a mega-firm and the service hallmarks of a boutique. With one firm, our clients get a macro view of the law with a micro focus on their unique legal needs. With 16 offices in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr serves businesses throughout the United States and internationally. We represent recognizable names in corporate America, exciting start-ups and an array of closely held and privately held companies, as well as nonprofits, governmental and educational entities.

We understand the importance of personal relationships and recognize that face-to-face meetings can offer superior productivity and build trust. To maintain open communication with our clients about the legal services they truly want and need, we have developed a Client Service Satisfaction program that solicits client feedback and uses that feedback to improve our service. We are proactive, and have a designated research team to keep up-to-date on relevant news, legislation and reports that impact our clients. Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr attorneys are leaders of, and active participants in industry associations, which helps us understand both the big picture and specific challenges that affect our clients. We also offer complimentary CLE seminars and provide clients with educational news alerts on topics affecting their businesses.

We are lawyers who understand business. A large percentage of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s business and finance attorneys have direct industry experience. We are former accountants and analysts, scientists and bankers, engineers and entrepreneurs. As such, we understand the practical realities and industry pressures facing your business. For us, it’s not about winning every point; it’s about understanding what points are important to you, and then making sure that we focus on them.

Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr attorneys understand and anticipate the legal issues that affect clients in a wide variety of industries.  We strive to immerse ourselves in our clients’ businesses and offer counsel through a cross-practice, multi-service approach with the goal of helping our clients meet legal challenges, grow, and thrive.