Many communities don’t realize that they have valuable intellectual property that is not being adequately policed and protected. Items like logos, slogans, badges, shields and other law enforcement insignia, along with community-owned or community-authored publications such as directories and even maps, are all subject to the same intellectual property laws as for-profit and private entities. It is a growing area of concern for many communities, who wish to protect their trademarks and copyrights and prevent them from being used without permission or being used on undesirable goods and services.

Within this area of expertise, Wood & Lamping serves as special counsel to local governments and communities and helps each create and protect their inventory of intellectual property. We can also help develop branding and certification marks, trademark of logos and slogans, copyrights of publications and contracts relating to those who create items for public use that need intellectual property protection (such as a city park sculpture or artwork).

Wood & Lamping also assists communities with their online presence by helping them establish and maintain compliance with respect to their website and other forms of electronic communication. We further assist by making communities and individuals aware of the legal issues that can arise from these communications (for example, is information conveyed in an email considered public record?) and put policies in place to protect the community and individuals involved.

Please visit our intellectual property page for more details and information about this area.