Intellectual Property & Technology

Constantine Cannon is a nationally recognized law firm with expertise in intellectual property and technology litigation, licensing, and legislative and regulatory advocacy. We represent high technology companies in the consumer electronics, software, internet, webcasting, retail, and reprographics industries in a variety of matters involving copyright, trademark, trade secret, and patent law. We regularly practice before federal district courts and courts of appeals, as well as arbitrations, administrative agencies and tribunals.

Our Industry Expertise

Our attorneys have represented clients for more than 25 years on a wide array of intellectual property issues arising from the introduction of new products and media services.

Our attorneys were among the first to represent innovative Internet companies delivering audio and audiovisual content to consumers and businesses. We have actively represented software developers, hardware manufacturers, remanufacturers, and retailers on issues involving audio and audiovisual content protection, direct and secondary infringement liability, consumer and commercial fair use, interoperability, the DMCA, and the DTV Transition.

Through decades of experience, we understand that new and disruptive technologies require creative solutions. We have crafted effective litigation, legislation, regulation, counseling, and licensing strategies, individually and in combination, to create positive outcomes for our clients.

Our Experience

  • Our attorneys have experience representing intellectual property owners and users before Congress on major copyright and telecommunications legislation, including the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and major copyright legislation from the mid 1980s to the present.
  • We regularly practice before federal district courts and courts of appeals, as well as arbitration panels, administrative agencies such as the International Trade Commission, and tribunals. We have participated in proceedings before Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panels and the Copyright Royalty Board on behalf of digital cable and satellite music services, Internet webcasters and radio simulcasters, and satellite radio services.
  • We practice before the Federal Communications Commission on issues affecting the digital television transition and delivery of cable television service to consumers.
  • For more than a decade, our attorneys have actively participated in developing the legal framework and licensing for audio and video protection technologies from DVD to broadcast, cable, and satellite video.
  • We have testified on behalf of clients before Congress and represent clients at agencies such as the FCC, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Copyright Office, the Patent and Trademark Office, and the World Intellectual Property Organization.
  • We counsel companies on the potential impact of an evolving copyright and DMCA law and jurisprudence on their product planning and business interests.

Recent Litigation Success

Lexmark International Inc. v. Static Control Components
Constantine Cannon represented Static Control Components, a supplier of aftermarket replacement parts, in a complex case involving copyright, patent, and antitrust law. On appeal, our attorneys successfully reversed a preliminary injunction against our client, in what has become a leading case under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. At trial, we obtained summary judgment on all copyright issues, and litigated successfully against Lexmark’s claims based on inducement of patent infringement.