Gerald E. Helget

Jerry Helget is a senior attorney in Taft’s Intellectual Property practice. He is a licensed patent attorney of 39 years through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and practices principally in the areas of:

• Patents
• Trademarks
• Trade dress
• Licensing
• Intellectual property litigation
• Copyrights
• Trade secrets and related matters

He serves as a member of the Distressed Company Task Force that was created to assist borrower clients in every way, including in discussions with their lenders and in addressing concerns over suppliers and stakeholders. Please reach out to him with any questions on how he can provide counsel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jerry has been practicing in intellectual property since 1983. He has a strong technical background in mechanical, electro-mechanical, digital electronics, communications, biotechnology, medical, automotive, dental, food, heavy equipment, sports, outdoor, toy, building, fluid and air handling, petroleum, jewelry and chemical technologies. He has a special interest in products and services related to the outdoors, hunting and fishing.

Experienced in researching, preparing and prosecuting patent, trademark and copyright applications, Jerry has prosecuted to issuance more than 1,056 patents in the U.S. alone and has prosecuted over 620 trademark registrations. Jerry has successfully enforced the legalities of many U.S. patents for numerous clients. He is astute in contract negotiations and enforcement litigation and has been involved in more than 50 U.S. District Court infringement actions. Jerry also is a successful patent and trademark holder personally, with several commercial business enterprises. Jerry also does significant international patent and trademark prosecution throughout the world. Jerry has prosecuted more than 300 foreign patents and more than 300 foreign trademark registrations with an extensive network of foreign patent and trademark attorneys and agents.

Jerry has prosecuted to issuance more than 1,000 patents. See a full list of those patents here.

Jerry’s representative experience includes prosecuting:

• Copyrights for camouflage hunting clothes for BackLand Outdoors.
• Patents and trademarks for toys for Blip LLC.
• Patents and trademarks for agricultural chemicals and fertilizers.
• Patents and trademarks for archery accessories, including broadheads and releases, archery bows, rifles and hunting accessories for Bass and Bucks, Inc., Acu-Archery and Athens Archery.
• Patents and trademarks for asphalt products and landscaping supplies.
• Patents and trademarks for building trade hand tools, industrial pumps, sprayers and cleaning hand tools, plumbing supplies, portable room partitions for Versare Soltions, windows, doors, institutional ceiling tiles, and panels and treatments.
• Patents and trademarks for heavy duty demolition equipment for Exodus Machines Incorporated.
• Patents and trademarks for stickers, paper products and printed labels for Mello Smello, and canvas products, tamper resistant seals and packaging equipment.
• Patents and trademarks for health food and food ingredients, agricultural and animal ventilation products for Schaefer Ventilation Equipment, beer brewing and restaurant services, and ice cream products.
• Patents and trademarks for jewelry.
• Patents and trademarks for pet supplies for dogIDs.com.
• Patents and trademarks for sports mouthguards and dental appliances, prosthetics and artificial limbs and catheters.
• Patents for gas permeation sensing equipment.
• Patents for novelty and party balloons for Anagram International.
• Patents for crossbows and accessories.
• Trademarks and contracts for outdoor celebrities.
• Patents and trademarks for hunting accessories for Wildlife Research Center, Inc.

Jerry has also:

• Assisted in representing the client in defending its U.S. patent in Federal District Court and Federal Circuit.
• Represented defendants in trademark infringement, unfair competition, deceptive trade practices act litigation.
• Obtained dismissal of claims RICO and Conspiracy Claims against group of related corporate and individual defendants.

• “Patent Owners May Tend to Sue for Infringement and Negotiate Later,” The Licensing Journal, August 2021.
• “Patent Owners May Tend to Sue for Infringement and Negotiate Later,” Taft IP Law Bulletin, June 11, 2021.
• “Canadian Intellectual Property Office Now Accepting Requests for Expedited Examination of Trademark Applications,” Taft IP Law Bulletin, May 25, 2021.
• “Patent and Trademark Best Practices When Employees Are Virtually Working,” Taft IP Law Bulletin, March 23, 2020.
• “Tips for Registering Trademarks for Hemp-Derived Skin Care Products,” Lexis Practice Advisor, Lexis Nexis, 2019.
• “Understanding Patents and Trademarks,” 2009 Archery University, Archery Business, Jan. 19, 2009.
  
• “Steering Clients Toward Successful Patents,” The Best Practices of Leading IP Lawyers, Aspatore Books, Feb. 19, 2007.