Chernoff Vilhauer McClung & Stenzel

The marketplace is always hungry for hot new ideas that, unless legally protected, can be fair game for others to imitate. Chernoff Vilhauer works with inventors to safeguard their intellectual property by securing and enforcing patent, trademarks and copyrights. The company also provide advice on related issues, including trade secrets, licensing,... franchising, unfair competition and false advertising. But there's more to the company's law firm than that. We're told that while the company's attorneys are impressive professionally"they're also truly down-to-earth and blessed with common sense. The company take that as a huge compliment. Since the company's founding in 1970 when Jake Vilhauer joined Dan Chernoff, the company's firm's culture has been more collegial than competitive. As a group, the company's lawyers are just plain curious about inventions, how they work, and how they might be received in the marketplace. Clients count on the company for objective, upfront opinions on patentability as well as honest advice on the costs and potential benefits of obtaining a patent and how much protection is needed based on any invention's potential value. Every Chernoff Vilhauer lawyer has a degree in either engineering or sciences as well as a law degree. All keep current with emerging technologies and frequent changes in the law. With a variety of overlapping technical backgrounds, the company can assure the company's clients that the company has the right people to be up-to-speed quickly without any lengthy (and costly) learning curves. All this helps explain why more peer-selectedBest Lawyers in America® and Super Lawyers practice IP law at Chernoff Vilhauer than any other Portland firm. And not surprising, the majority of the company's lawyers are partners in the firm. If you don't protect it, anything you create is up for grabs.Read More