Antitrust Litigation and Counseling

Our attorneys have government and private practice experience in a wide variety of antitrust matters, allowing us to provide our clients with a clear understanding of how the antitrust laws and business realities intersect. Haug Partners has the expertise, experience, and resources to handle any civil antitrust and competition issues that arise in the context of settlements, private class action lawsuits, mergers and acquisitions, and civil enforcement actions.

What We Do

• Hatch-Waxman litigation counseling and settlements
• Negotiation and responses to FTC Civil Investigative Demands and voluntary information requests
• FTC and private class action litigation involving horizontal and vertical price fixing, reverse payment patent settlements, market allocation, boycotts, resale price maintenance, price discrimination, tying, and monopolization
• Review and clearance of proposed mergers under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, including divestiture recommendations
• Appeals

Intellectual Property Enforcement

Haug Partners has attorneys and advisors who hold advanced degrees in specialized technical fields, and extensive experience in diverse industries. Our litigators draw on this expertise to explain complex technical and legal concepts to lay judges and juries. Haug Partners routinely appears before federal district courts, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in cases that covers all areas of intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, business torts, and contractual disputes.

What We Do

• Patent infringement litigation
• Hatch-Waxman actions
• Biosimilar actions
• Trade secret misappropriation
• Inter partes reviews (IPRs), covered business method (CBM) reviews, and other post-grant proceedings
• International Trade Commission (ITC) actions
• Trademark infringement
• Lanham Act false advertising and unfair competition claims
• Appeals
• Disputes against Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs)

Intellectual Property Procurement and Strategy

We collaborate with our clients to provide comprehensive legal strategies from the inception of an idea through commercialization and next-generation planning. Industry leaders trust and rely on Haug Partners to help them procure, manage, protect, and maximize the lifecycles of their most valuable intellectual property assets.

What We Do

• Preparation and prosecution of domestic and foreign patent applications
• Strategy development
• Technology review and patentability assessments
• Due diligence assessments of patent portfolios
• Life-cycle management
• Freedom to operate opinions
• Infringement opinions
• Invalidity opinions
• Reissue applications
• Reexaminations
• Patent portfolio management
• Administrative and judicial appeals of final rejections
• Patent interferences and derivation proceedings
• IP portfolio evaluation and valuation

Commercial Litigation and Strategic Counseling

With our team’s wide-ranging scientific and commercial knowledge, and litigation and arbitration experience, Haug Partners helps clients navigate through the array of relationships that are vital to their business. Haug Partners attorneys anticipate issues and counsel clients to tailor contracts and manage key relationships to avoid disputes. Not every matter requires resolution in the courtroom, and when disputes arise we help clients attempt to resolve them through negotiations or mediations. But when appropriate, we are ready to litigate complex, high-stakes cases of strategic importance to our clients.

What We Do

• Litigate and arbitrate disputes arising out of commercial and business relationships, including:
  • Merger and acquisition
  • Development and collaboration
  • Licensing
  • Manufacturing, supply, and sourcing
• International arbitration
• Business torts, RICO, fraud, and warranty litigation
• Merger and acquisition due diligence
• Risk assessment and mitigation for key contracts and business relationships
• Shareholder and derivative class actions
• Consumer fraud class actions

International Trade Commission

Companies may need to seek or protect against exclusion orders that bar imports of products. ITC proceedings are fast-moving, complex, and require the advice and guidance of experienced counsel. Haug Partners has the experience and resources to achieve optimal outcomes under the ITC’s unique procedures and tight deadlines.

What We Do

• Section 337 actions, including:
  • Patent infringement
  • Trademark and trade dress infringement
  • Copyright infringement
  • Trade secret misappropriation
• Appeals to the Court of International Trade and to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Ruling Requests from U.S. Customs

Investigations, Compliance, and Risk Mitigation Services

Internal investigations and compliance reviews are among the most critical steps companies can take to identify and mitigate risk. Haug Partners attorneys help clients pinpoint their weaknesses and build and implement ethical practices to address potential vulnerabilities. If civil claims arise, our attorneys will find ways to minimize exposure.

What We Do

• Design and conduct internal investigations related to business conduct, and compliance with:
  • GCP
  • FCPA
  • Corporate integrity agreements
  • Marketing and promotion guidelines
  • Contractual undertakings or covenants
  • Regulatory policy
  • Other company policies
• Business conduct audits and in-house training
• Board-mandated reviews
• Analysis of conflicts of interest

Trademarks & Unfair Competition

Haug Partners’ Trademark & Unfair Competition practice is dedicated to developing and enforcing our clients' trademarks, and protecting our clients' reputations in the marketplace. Group members understand the brand development process and work with our clients to develop a thorough understanding of the products and services important to them, and the market opportunities envisioned for those products now and in the future. This collaboration results in the selection of strong legally enforceable property rights that are central to a valuable brand protection strategy.

What We Do

• Trademark Clearance Searches
• Trademark Opinions
• Trademark Application preparation
• Foreign Trademark Application filing
• Responding to Office Actions
• TTAB Appeals
• Opposition or Cancellation Proceedings
• Due Diligence studies
• Trademark portfolio management
• Federal and State Court Trademark, Copyright or Unfair Competition litigation

Licensing and Transactions

Haug Partners understands the technical subject matter and the intellectual property and antitrust law ramifications at the heart of our clients’ deals. We blend these skills with our understanding of our clients’ business objectives to draft and negotiate the terms necessary to get deals done while ensuring that they realize their expected value. Our advice does not stop with the consummation of a deal; we continue to advise our clients throughout the course of their business dealings, helping them understand their obligations and rights throughout a transaction’s lifecycle.

What We Do

• Due diligence
• Deal architecture
• Drafting
• Negotiating
• Counseling

FDA Compliance and Counseling

Our attorneys’ government experience, and Agency/industry contacts, coupled with Haug Partners’ technical and legal expertise allows us to provide unparalleled regulatory representation and counseling. For decades, our attorneys have helped shepherd our life science and medical device clients through complex regulations and administrative procedures in all manner of Agency proceedings.

What We Do

• Analysis of Hatch-Waxman Act and relevant regulations
• Requirements for products with complex bioequivalence profiles (e.g., partial AUC, gastrointestinally targeted, narrow therapeutic index)
• Requirements for generic sameness
• Complex exclusivity issues
• Draft Citizen Petitions and comments
• Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS)
• Analysis of Biosimilar Price Competition and Innovation Act requirements
• Orphan Drug Act
• Regulatory support for patent and antitrust litigation

Due Diligence

Our attorneys have conducted due diligence relating to the sale, acquisition, and licensing of assets in a wide variety of fields. Consistent with the Haug Partners philosophy, we follow a holistic approach to due diligence, which integrates multiple legal and technical disciplines. We take pride in immersing ourselves in the relevant technology to identify critical issues. We have the resources and experience to timely deliver on the most urgent and time-sensitive projects.

What We Do

• Merger and acquisition due diligence
• Due diligence assessments of patent and trademark portfolios
• Regulatory due diligence