Business & Tax Planning

Henderson Franklin’s Business & Tax Planning practice area serves a diverse clientele, from sole proprietors to publicly held companies. We provide services to entities in health care, professional services, agri-business, real estate investment and development, construction, public utilities, finance and banking, manufacturing, wholesale, retail and brokerage firms.

Intellectual Property Group

In today’s highly innovative and creative environment, intellectual property (IP) can be one of the most valuable assets a company holds. Our attorneys advise clients on matters relating to the identification, protection, enforcement and exploitation of IP assets including trademarks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets. We help clients identify the IP and sources of IP in their operations and help establish programs to protect that IP. We also work with our clients in the transfer of IP rights by conducting due diligence and analyzing agreements relating to mergers, acquisitions, sales transactions, joint ventures and licensing.

We regularly counsel clients with regard to selection, protection and enforcement of trademarks in the U.S. and abroad and have significant experience prosecuting trademark applications at the state, Federal and International levels. Our attorneys have worked with clients in dozens of different industries, including consumer products, food and beverage, finance, and pharmaceuticals ranging in size from individual sole proprietors to Fortune 500 companies. We strive to understand our clients’ business and goals and help devise trademark filing and monitoring strategies that are both effective and financially efficient.

Our IP practice also counsels clients on issues relating to copyright protection and registration, including acquisition of ownership rights and licensing. We also advise clients regarding the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA), fair use, secondary liability, open source, and other emerging issues related to copyrights and the Internet.

We can also advise clients regarding protection of their IP in the context of employment agreements, non-compete agreements and non-disclosure agreements to ensure their valuable IP assets are secure and have worked with clients to identify and develop internal programs and controls to protect trade secrets.

Patent is another significant source of IP rights. We work with a network of patent counsel to help our clients obtain protection for their innovations and assist clients with licensing and transfers of patent rights.

The Internet is important not only for purposes of active e-commerce but also as a marketing tool. Our attorneys have experience advising clients on numerous Internet-related matters including providing direction concerning website privacy policies, terms of use and other website agreements, and data security issues. We also advise clients regarding the impact of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the Children’s Online Protection Act (COPA), and other legislation that could impact their web presence.

In addition to procuring and protecting IP rights, we also work closely with our clients to monitor and enforce their rights against third-parties. We help clients to develop cease and desist programs and strategies against domain name squatters and other unauthorized uses of their IP assets. Our attorneys have also been involved in numerous trademark Opposition and Cancellation proceedings in the USPTO and litigation in the Federal Courts.