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Internet and E-Commerce

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP is immersed in many of the rapidly evolving issues related to e-commerce and Internet applications involving protection under intellectual property laws. Our lawyers pursue patent protection at the leading edge of both fixed-station and mobile Internet platforms and have been involved in securing copyright protection for smartphone apps used in short-range BluetoothTM, medium-range wireless, and long-range cellular technologies. We also have established an innovative leadership position in protecting the adaptation of these technologies to wireless e-commerce, including product inventory management.

As wireless Internet hardware and apps evolve together, Fitch Even often creates an integrated IP prosecution and enforcement strategy. For example, we have advised on protection of anesthesiology-focused apps for electronic tablets, and working with legal and business teams of a Fortune 500 financial services organization, we have counseled on patenting software to help website visitors select age and circumstance-appropriate annuity and life insurance products.

Our e-commerce and Internet clients include entrepreneurial startups and midsized companies, large retailers, one of the largest global food and beverage companies, and numerous advertising and promotions agencies and consultants ranging from small independent operations to one of the top-10 advertising agencies in the world. We advise clients in these and other business sectors pursuing social media and other e-commerce styles of marketing on the key portfolio-wide tools needed to leverage and protect their Internet presence:

  • Copyright protection of website design and content
  • Online log-in representations and obligations
  • Patent protection of software-based inventions, infrastructure technologies, and user platforms and experiences
  • Patent design-around counsel to avoid, when possible, the Internet/e-commerce patents of others
  • Proper agreement drafting to secure needed rights when subcontracting software design/coding
  • Proactive counsel regarding the use of open-source software
  • Trademark registration of domain names and meta-tags, and policing of third parties in their Internet use of trademarks

At every stage of e-commerce evolution, from online promotions to vending machines integrated with smartphone connectivity and social media sites, Fitch Even keeps abreast of changing issues in technology and law. For example, we continually monitor and issue alerts about the latest court decisions on what is patent- and copyright-eligible, and regularly participate in the Business Method Partnership Group of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

We further extend our thought leadership through complimentary monthly webinars that offer approved CLE credit for an ever-growing number of attendees. Although the Internet and e-commerce world is rapidly changing, Fitch Even lawyers help clients find safe harbors and exploit new opportunities in the online marketplace.
 

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