Legal Services Available

The web site blue over gray provides legal information related to intellectual property (IP) law but is not intended to provide legal advice or establish an attorney-client relationship. However, Austen Zuege is a U.S. patent attorney licensed in the State of Minnesota and with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). Mr. Zuege is able to provide the following IP legal services in the United States and in the State of Minnesota, subsequent to and subject to the establishment of an attorney-client relationship (pursuant to terms of engagement and conditioned upon clearing a conflict check):

Patents

• Patent application preparation and prosecution, including:
  • Invention analysis
  • Patentability searches and legal analyses
  • Drafting and filing new U.S. utility and design patent applications
  • Filing direct (Paris Convention) applications and PCT national phase entries in the USA based on a foreign priority claim (see Guide)
  • Start-up and early-stage company patent strategy advice
• Management of global patent portfolios, including supervision of foreign patent filings
• Maintenance of granted patents, including managing maintenance fee and annuity payments
• Opinions of counsel and client counseling, including:
  • Freedom-to-operate (FTO)/clearance studies
  • Non-infringement, invalidity, and infringement opinions
• Challenges to granted patents, including reexamination and other forms of challenges at the USPTO to others’ granted patents
• Pre-issuance submissions (observations) against pending third-party patent applications
• Licensing, development agreements, and related negotiations
• Patent litigation and representation in contentious disputes

Trademarks

• Trademark application filing and prosecution, including:
  • Preparing and filing U.S. federal trademark and service mark applications
  • Filing foreign priority claims (Paris Convention) and Madrid extensions to the USA
  • Trademark registrability searches and analyses
• Management of global trademark portfolios, including Madrid extensions and supervision of foreign trademark registration filings
• Maintenance of trademark registrations, including handling renewals
• Opinions of counsel and client counseling, including:
  • Trademark clearance (freedom-to-use) studies
  • Infringement analyses and opinions
• Trademark litigation, including opposition and cancellation proceedings before the USPTO’s Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (TTAB)

Domain Names and Cybersquatting

• UDRP domain name disputes

Copyrights

• Filing copyright registration applications
• Client counseling
• Representation in copyright disputes

IP Agreements

• Patent, trademark, and copyright licensing, including negotiations
• Preparation, review, and negotiations of IP agreements, including preparing, reviewing, and negotiating IP-related terms in general contracts
• IP due diligence for mergers & acquisitions (M&A)