Pamela Payne Smith

My clients range from institutional clients, such as banks, universities, utilities, technology companies, and manufacturers, to creatives, such as publishers, authors, artists, motivational speakers, advertising agencies, and researchers. Because intellectual property and branding affect everyone, my clients are diverse in their geography, size, and industry.

I spend my days conducting trademark clearance searches, prosecuting trademark applications at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and filing copyright applications at the U.S. Copyright Office; drafting and advising on Non-Disclosure Agreements, License Agreements, Work-for-Hire Agreements, Consulting Agreements, and Software and App Development Agreements; drafting and providing guidelines for branding, copyright compliance, fair use, and intellectual property contracting; and providing intellectual property due diligence and negotiating contract language for the IP aspect of asset acquisitions. I also provide seminars to my clients to assist their personnel in recognizing, reporting, and understanding trademark, copyright, and intellectual property contracts and compliance issues. Finally, I help clients with protecting their intellectual property on the Internet and social media, removing infringing content, and providing advice on developing in-house strategies for both.

I love the challenge of practicing in an area where the technology outpaces the law. There are not always bright-line answers, and I love the creativity involved in structuring protection through practical methods, contractual language, and formal protection.  Most importantly, I appreciate that there is law to encourage the creativity of the mind and the passion of ideas.  My job is to protect the unique work product of the human brain. That's pretty great.