Olive & Olive is hard at work…

We do realize that life and work are disrupted worldwide right now due to the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic.  But we’ve been around long enough to know that we can get through this together, and we will do so in partnership with our clients.

Throughout the crisis and for as long as it lasts, we’ve made arrangements that will allow us to continue working.  Please know that:

• We are at work, wherever we are. We’ve always had staff working remotely, and although this may be the first time we all do so, we’ve made sure everyone can work from home without disruption to our services and security.
• Email remains available. Whether we are on-site or remote, we check email regularly and will respond to our clients’ needs.  There is no need to change emailing practices.
• Phones and voicemail still work. Our phones are being answered during normal hours, and calls are being returned. That will continue, along with our ability to meet via conference call.  You may experience an increase in the times you initially get voicemail rather than a live voice when calling the office, but rest assured that any message you leave in an attorney or staff member’s voicemail is automatically and immediately forwarded to them.  Messages left in our general voicemail box are reviewed and acted on, as always, by our intake specialist.
• We continue to monitor and meet deadlines. Even though many institutions are closed, and many local court deadlines are extended, that’s not the case with all courts and intellectual property offices, or with federal deadlines.  We are keeping close track of the rapidly changing situation, and continuing to work to meet the intellectual property filing and litigation deadlines that are an everyday part of our practice.
• We updated our website, added general information, and made it easy to pay bills by credit card. Our website at oliveandolive.com has updated information, with some of our many articles about patents, copyrights, trademarks, and intellectual property disputes in our Learning Center.  We’ll continue to amp that up and hope you’ll let us know what you need to see there.  To help clients avoid handling paper or using the mail, there is a link for paying invoices at the bottom of each page. We encourage its use, as postal service may be disrupted.

Be sure to allow extra time when deadlines are approaching. Change is occurring at a rapid pace. Government offices already are short-staffed, even where filing deadlines are being enforced, and government e-filing sites may develop technical problems.  Please get any requested information and signatures to us as early as possible. We would prefer to avoid last-minute rushes so that these types of glitches remain mere annoyances rather than barriers to your protection.

Please be careful, and stay safe.  Be aware not only of health issues but also cybersecurity.  Hackers and other pirates are taking advantage of increased online activity. Don’t become a victim!

If you need help as you think through your remote working practices, or have domain dispute or other online issues, or intellectual property questions of any kind, don’t hesitate to ask us.  There are no unimportant questions in this field, and we all do best when we work together.

As always, we appreciate the opportunity to be your counsel and colleague. Participating in the world’s largest work-from-home experiment is certainly a new challenge, but we will make the best of it and know you will as well.  We look forward to hearing the great new ideas that these enforced periods of solitude will stimulate, and to helping you address any intellectual property issues that come up, both in the short term and over the years to come.  Keep in touch!