Representative Intellectual Property Services

Summa, Additon & Ashe provides a full range of intellectual property services:

• Patents—patent counseling, including invention identification programs, state-of-the-technology searches and patentability opinions; preparing and prosecuting patent applications; investigating infringement and validity with respect to competing patents; preparing and negotiating licensing agreements; patent enforcement and litigation

• Trademarks—trademark counseling, including trademark searches, clearance opinions, and marking guidance; preparing and prosecuting state and federal trademark applications; trademark licensing and litigation

• Trade Secrets—counseling with respect to trade secrecy; developing strategies for prudent public disclosures that preserve patent rights; preparing and negotiating nondisclosure agreements and consulting agreements; trade secret enforcement

• Copyrights—copyright counseling, preparation, licensing, and litigation

Intellectual Property Litigation

Summa, Additon & Ashe, P.A. handles a full range of intellectual property litigation for its clients.  It has a several experienced litigators — two of whom have more than twenty years of litigation practice, and one of whom has been litigating and trying cases for more than thirty-six years.  Two of the firm’s litigators are former federal court clerks, one from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and one from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.  The firm also employs a former state court prosecutor with extensive courtroom experience.  

Although the firm handles matters that are litigated in state courts, intellectual property involves rights that are predominantly based upon federal law and litigated, sometimes exclusively, in federal courts.  Examples are patent, copyright and most trademark infringement litigation.  Thus, the firm concentrates its litigation practice on federal courts and, on behalf of its clients, participates in litigation in federal courts located in various different states.  Additionally, the firm is experienced in handling appeals involving patent and trademark rights in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, located in Washington, D.C., as well as appeals in copyright cases in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which sits in Richmond, Virginia. 

The lawyers who handle the firm’s litigation have participated in intellectual property and antitrust cases in numerous states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, and California.  The firm’s lawyers have also handled patent cases before the International Trade Commission in Washington, D.C.  Two of the firm’s litigators are admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court and have handled cases in that forum.   

The firm’s practice is to help its clients avoid litigation when that is possible.  When it isn’t, the firm’s litigators stand ready to provide careful, experienced, and effective litigation services to all of its clients, regardless of the court in which their matter may be brought or be pending.

Representation of Technology Entrepreneurs

Summa, Additon & Ashe is a great fit for new technology enterprises. We have experience helping those using technology assets to raise capital. We help technology entrepreneurs increase market value by developing and implementing intellectual property strategies—and by avoiding intellectual property pitfalls. Our size and flexibility permit us to give entrepreneurs the individualized attention that they need and deserve.