Schubert Osterrieder & Nickelson ('SON') PLLC is a law firm that focuses on providing clients with consistent, quality services at reasonable rates. The attorneys at SON are experienced in representing local and international clients in various aspects of intellectual property law, including application preparation and prosecution, licensing, contract negotiation, as well as client counseling and civil litigation in matters involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, contracts, landlord/tenant, real property, insurance, and personal injury. We use this experience to ensure each client receives professional and tailored services. SON currently maintains offices in Austin and Houston, and we travel to our clients' places of business, when appropriate, to provide the best possible services to our clients.

SON prepares and prosecutes both domestic and foreign patent applications for inventions that range from pioneering 'high-tech' products to improvements on consumables to ornamental designs. Similarly, SON prepares and prosecutes both domestic and foreign trademarks as well as copyright registrations. With our experience, skills, education, and legal knowledge, SON's attorneys prepare and prosecute applications, provoke interferences, lodge appeals to patent and trademark tribunals, and litigate on behalf of our clients. In addition, SON offers opinions on patentability, registrability, infringement, copyright defense, freedom to practice, and invalidity. SON also offers other intellectual property-related services such as client counseling, due diligence investigations, licensing services, contract preparation and negotiation, and employment inventions agreements.

SON associates with foreign firms around the world. These firms provide expertise and experience with regards to the patent and trademark rules and laws in their countries. Similarly, foreign law firms rely on us for our domestic expertise.

SON facilitates procurement of intellectual property rights by providing its clients with assets and tools for protecting their businesses and complementing their business plans. To this end, SON also provides counseling to help our clients formulate the right defensive and proactive strategies to ensure that their businesses continue to progress according to their business plans.

In essence, we provide the sword and shield as appropriate for our clients; that is, proactively enforcing our clients' rights and defending our clients against alleged violations of others' rights. Proactive enforcement includes identifying and defining a client's assets, as well as establishing, maintaining, or enhancing revenue streams associated with a client's intellectual property. Defending against attacks by competitors may extinguish or limit our clients' liability, including personal liability, and sustain our clients' market positions. Oftentimes, litigation calls for an aggressive and skillful coupling of proactive enforcement and defensive strategies.

Whether enforcing or defending, however, SON strives to prevent others from unfairly reaping where its clients have sown. SON also strives to mitigate its clients' exposure and costs and to maximize their recovery. Regarding SON's current or past litigation experience, just a few examples include: patent, copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition, trademark oppositions and cancellations, breach of license agreements, breach of contract, breach of warranty, deceptive trade practices, libel/slander, domain name disputes, real property disputes, contract disputes, defective products, insurance claims, and other general litigation. For further information and questions related to enforcement and defense of intellectual property rights, please contact SON.

As a result of our attorneys' legal and technical qualifications, as well as experience, SON represents clients engaged in a broad range of technologies and business activities. Exemplary fields of expertise include:

Aerospace
Algorithms
Biology and Biotechnology
Business Methods
Chemistry
Electronics & Electrical Systems
Gaming
Industrial Control Systems
Instrumentation
Mechanical Systems
Medical Systems
Navigation Systems
Optics
Power Generation & Distribution
Power Equipment & Protection
Seismic Systems
Software
Wireless Systems