The Polasek Law Firm (TPLF) is an intellectual property litigation law firm dedicated to providing exceptional legal service to companies and individuals. Its attorneys have 30 years of litigation experience, with over 25 years of experience in patent, trade secret, trademark, copyright, and other commercial litigation. The focus of the firm’s practice is on patent and trademark litigation. The firm is also experienced in trademark applications, technology licensing, providing opinions, and general IP counsel.
When you find yourself embroiled in a dispute involving Intellectual Property, you need patent lawyers and trademark lawyers that have experience in handling those types of disputes. Please contact TPLF. The initial consultation is at no charge.
TPLF strives to provide exceptional service to every client, on every matter. TPLF is experienced in engineering that allows the firm to effectively represent clients in numerous technology areas. TPLF has extensive experience in litigating cases in courts all over the United States for clients from all over the world. At TPLF, clients receive one-on-one attention from the firm.
The Polasek Law Firm recognizes that clients expect quality legal representation at a reasonable price. The firm provides its clients with affordable representation at hourly rates significantly lower than those charged by big firms, and for certain matters provides result-oriented fee arrangements, such as a contingent fee option.
TPLF has years of experience in enforcing patents through patent litigation and licensing for clients seeking hourly or contingent fee representation and defending companies accused of violating the intellectual property rights of others.
Ted has litigated patent infringement, trademark infringement, trade secret, copyright infringement, and other commercial disputes over the past 30 years. Ted has litigated many patent infringement cases on behalf of patent owners and companies accused of infringement. He has also successfully negotiated patent licenses covering patent portfolios of more than 100 patents.
Ted understands that clients seek counsel that works efficiently and provide high-quality representation.
Polasek Law Firm has decades of experience handling cases in intellectual property and patent litigation.
Polasek Law Firm is located in Bellaire, Texas which is part of the Houston metroplex area, and concentrate in the area of intellectual property law, with an emphasis on litigation and licensing, specifically dealing with patent infringement, trademark infringement, copyright infringement, and trade secret lawsuits on a reasonable hourly basis, contingency fee or result based fee.
TPLF is experienced in mediation, rendering infringement and validity opinions, licensing and technology transfer, and client counseling.
Dec 16, 2025 | By Ted Polasek | Read Time: 3minutes
Intellectual property lawyers focus on helping you protect and profit from your ideas and creations. Intellectual property, or IP, plays a huge role in the United States economy. According to a report by the U.S. Commerce Department in 2016, IP-intensive industries account for 38.2%, or $6 trillion, of the United States? gross domestic product (GDP) and support at least 45 million U.S. jobs. In other words, there is a lot of money at stake when it comes to intellectual property. So it is important that you take the right steps to protect yours. An experienced IP lawyer can advise you on the best way to preserve your intellectual property rights and how to use them to grow your business. If you want to learn more about what an intellectual property lawyer does, keep reading. Talk With a Houston Intellectual Property Lawyer About Protecting Your Ideas What Does an IP Lawyer Do? An intellectual property lawyer can advise you on anything related to intellectual property. Common examples of intellectual property include: An IP lawyer can help you identify the type of protection you need for your intellectual property. They can also help you properly register your intellectual property and enforce your rights against infringement. When Should You Consult an Intellectual Property Attorney? Any time you have a question relating to intellectual property, you can rely on an experienced IP lawyer to advise you. However, there are a few specific situations when an intellectual property attorney will be most helpful. You Want to Protect Your Intellectual Property Intellectual property protection falls into four main categories: patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secrets. Sometimes you may need more than one type of protection for your intellectual property. In other situations, you may need to choose the type of protection that makes the most sense for your needs. An IP lawyer will advise you on how to protect your intellectual property in a manner that furthers your individual goals. They can also make sure you correctly register your IP and put appropriate procedures in place to preserve your rights. You Want to Stop Someone Else from Using Your Intellectual Property If someone infringes on your intellectual property rights, it is important to take prompt action. In some cases, sleeping on your rights can weaken or bar your IP claim. Additionally, allowing IP violations to go unchallenged can cost you licensing revenue, cut into your market share, or reduce the value of your product. Your attorney may start by asking the infringer to stop using your IP. If they refuse, then your attorney can file a lawsuit and enforce your rights in court. You Want to License Your Intellectual Property One of the ways to create revenue from your intellectual property is by licensing it to others. For example, a website might pay you a fee to use a photograph you took. Or you can sell a license to use software on a limited number of devices. Another way is to license your patent. Licensing your intellectual property can involve complicated agreements that define your rights and obligations as well as those of the licensee. Important terms may include: It is important to have an attorney draft or review the terms of any licensing agreement. Your attorney can help you negotiate favorable terms and understand how the agreement will affect you. What Clients Say About Our Intellectual Property Practice What Does an Intellectual Property Lawyer Do for You? When you hire an intellectual property lawyer at The Polasek Law Firm, you can feel confident that your IP will be protected. We advise clients in Houston and nationwide on intellectual property law matters. Attorney John (Ted) Polasek has been helping people to protect and benefit from their intellectual property for nearly 25 years. Ted understands how important responsive, hands-on service is to clients. Intellectual property can be a very personal thing, representing your individual creativity and ingenuity, and you need someone who will value your IP the way you do. Call or fill out an online form to schedule a free consultation with Ted, and learn how he can help you protect your ideas. Our Houston Office | Serving Clients Nationwide
Dec 12, 2025 | By Ted Polasek | Read Time: 4minutes
How To Prevent Intellectual Property Theft If you’re wondering how to prevent intellectual property theft, you’re not alone. Intellectual property is often one of a business’s most valuable assets, yet it is also one of the most vulnerable. From copyrights and trademarks to patents and trade secrets, protecting your IP requires awareness, planning, and ongoing attention. While no strategy can completely eliminate the risk of intellectual property theft, there are practical steps you can take to reduce exposure and strengthen your legal position. Below, we outline five ways businesses and creators can better protect their intellectual property rights, with guidance from an experienced intellectual property attorney. Have questions about intellectual property law and how you can use it to your advantage? Give The Polasek Law Firm (TPLF) a call. With more than 25 years of experience helping our clients protect their intellectual property rights, we are confident that we can help you too. Step 1: Know What Intellectual Property You Can Protect The first step to preventing theft of intellectual property is to understand what intellectual property rights you may have. “Intellectual property” is an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of rights. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), intellectual property refers to creations of the mind and includes things such as inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, symbols, names, and images. Four of the most common types of protectable intellectual property are: Patents provide the owner an exclusive right to prevent or stop others from using a patent’s claimed invention without authorization. Trademarks are words, phrases, symbols, or designs that identify a source or goods or services and allow the owner to prevent others from using similar marks in connection with related goods or services. Copyrights provide the owner an exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, or display an artistic, literary, or creative work. Trade secrets protect your confidential information. Without knowing what protectable rights you may have, it will be difficult to prevent others from infringing upon them. Step 2: Secure Your IP Rights Once you’ve identified what intellectual property rights you may be able to protect, the next step is to move forward with actually securing those rights. To prevent others from using your invention, you must first apply for and obtain a patent. With copyrights, your rights attach as soon as the work is created. By registering your work with the United States Copyright Office you can put others on notice of your rights, and bring suit in Federal Court. Similarly, you do not have to register your trademark and can acquire protection through use of the mark in commerce. However, federal registration provides certain nationwide presumptions related to your mark. Step 3: Monitor Your Intellectual Property Once you’ve registered your intellectual property, it’s important that you continue to actively monitor it. For example, this might include periodically checking online or setting up alerts for internet searches for similar or identical trademarks, copyrights, or inventions being used by others without your consent. By diligently monitoring potential infringement, you can better prevent extensive and continued theft of your intellectual property. Step 4: Should You Send a Cease and Desist Letter? If you do notice use of your IP by unauthorized third parties, make sure to take prompt action. A first step to consider in many cases is to send a cease and desist letter. This puts the infringing party on notice that you are actively monitoring your IP and demands that they stop infringing on your rights. However, sending such a letter opens the potential for the other party to preemptively file a lawsuit. So this action should not be undertaken without careful thought and consulting an attorney. If you need help drafting a cease and desist letter to send to infringing parties, TPLF can help. Step 5: Contact an Intellectual Property Attorney Finally, one of the best ways to prevent theft of intellectual property is to hire an experienced intellectual property attorney. An attorney can help you: No matter how diligent your efforts are, there’s always a chance that others will attempt to use and profit from your hard-earned intellectual property rights. Thus, having a qualified IP attorney in your corner can be a fantastic asset. Speak With a Houston Intellectual Property Attorney About Protecting Your IP Countless business owners, creatives, and entrepreneurs want to know how to prevent intellectual property theft. Our intellectual property attorney in Houston can help identify risks before theft occurs. And while there’s no surefire way to prevent the theft of your IP, there are a number of steps you can take to protect your rights. If you have questions about how to prevent intellectual property theft, The Polasek Law Firm is here to help. With decades of experience, we have what it takes to strategically protect and enforce intellectual property rights and actively pursue your intellectual property rights. For a free consultation with a knowledgeable intellectual property attorney in Houston, contact TPLF today. What Clients Say About Working With Us Our Houston Office | Serving Clients Nationwide
Dec 9, 2025 | By Ted Polasek | Read Time: 4minutes
What is Copyright Registration? Understanding the copyright application process is an important step in learning how to register a copyright and protect your original work. From the moment you create an original work, you have an exclusive intellectual property right to make copies of your work. This is known as copyright. This right exists regardless of whether you publish your work or register it with the federal government. However, there are many benefits to registering your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office, such as: If you have created a new work, consider consulting an experienced copyright lawyer to help you understand what is the process of copyright registration. They can help you prepare your copyright registration, advise you about copyright infringement, and help you with contracts to publish or license your work. Steps in the Copyright Registration Process If you decide to register your copyright, you will need to pay a fee depending on is you are re-registering one piece of work. The typical copyright registration cost for standard registration is $65 and if you are submitting for a piece of work that has been registered before and you are the only author, the fee is $45. You will also need to submit an application to the U.S. Copyright Office. This process involves several steps: Prepare Your Registration Materials Your copyright registration consists of three things: Generally, you should plan to include one copy of your work if it is unpublished and two copies if it is published. Determine How You Want to Register Your Copyright You can register a copyright either by mail or online. The easiest and quickest way to register your copyright is by submitting your registration online with the U.S. Copyright Office. Online copyright registration also has cheaper filing fees than paper registration. In many cases, you will need to mail the copies of your work separately, even if you complete registration online. However, the following works may be submitted electronically: If you prefer to register your copyright by mail, you need to choose the appropriate form for the type of work you are copyrighting. The Copyright Office has different forms for visual arts, performing arts, literary works, sound recordings, and single serials. You can download the forms online or request to have them sent to you by mail. You can mail your form to: Library of Congress U.S. Copyright Office-SR101 Independence Avenue SEWashington, DC 20559-6000 If you complete your registration by mail, you need to include your fee and copies of your work in the same package as your registration form. Follow Up on Your Registration If you register online, you will receive an electronic confirmation. If you register by mail, you should consider using certified mail to confirm receipt. The U.S. Copyright Office will not send you a confirmation. It generally takes about three to nine months for the Copyright Office to process your registration. The length of time depends on whether you submit your registration and copies electronically or by mail and whether further communication is needed before the copyright can be granted. If you file online, you can check the status of your claim online. If you file a paper application, you can contact the Copyright Office to check your claim?s status after about six weeks. If the Copyright Office has questions or needs more information from you, it will reach out by mail, email, or phone. If the Copyright Office cannot grant your copyright, it will send you a letter explaining why it rejected your registration. If all goes well and your copyright is registered, the Copyright Office will send you a certificate of registration by mail. How Long Does Copyright Last? The length of time a copyright lasts depends on when it was registered and whether the author is an individual or an institution. For any copyrights registered after January 1, 1978, the following rules apply: Individual Authors If the author of a work is an individual, their copyright will last for the length of their life plus 70 years. If the work has more than one author, then the copyright will last for the length of the last surviving author?s life plus 70 years. Institutional Authors Different rules apply if the author is an institution, such as a corporation or nonprofit organization, or someone they hired to complete work on their behalf. In this circumstance, the copyright lasts either 95 years from the date of publication or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever comes first. This rule also applies to anonymous authors. Talk With a Houston Copyright Lawyer About Protecting Your Work If you have questions about copyright registration or if you have questions regarding trademarks or patents, our experienced intellectual property attorneys are here to help. Whether you need assistance filing your registration or need representation in a copyright infringement dispute, contact us today and see what Polasek Law Firm can do for you. Trusted by Creators, Innovators, and Businesses Nationwide Serving Houston, TX and Clients Nationwide
