Nath, Goldberg & Meyer (NGM): Pioneers in Safeguarding Intellectual Property

Joshua B. Goldberg, Co-Managing Partners

Innovation is always the mainstay for businesses, which enforces the need for continuous research and development, leading the way for the design and development of intangible creations of human intellects. In today’s competitive world, protecting such unique intellectual properties (IP) is imperative for businesses in order to achieve a competitive edge in the market and long term success. In fact, there is an ongoing pursuit to protect intellectual property rights (IPR), as they contribute enormously to countries’ national economies. Established to help enterprises navigate through the lengthy and complicated procedures associated with protecting their IP is Nath, Goldberg & Meyer (NGM), an IP law firm engaging in all aspects of IP law practice. Founded by Gary M. Nath in 1993, the company specializes in all aspects of IP—be it patents, copyrights, trademarks, or trade secrets.

In conversation with CIO Applications, Joshua B. Goldberg, Co-Managing Partner of Nath, Goldberg & Meyer, states how NGM is at the helm of utilizing its experience and expertise in assisting clients in protecting their IP.

Could you give a brief overview of your company?

NGM is a highly qualified law firm that focuses on assisting businesses to protect their IPR. We pioneer in securing global patent, trademark, and copyright rights as well as providing patent, trademark, and copyright validity and infringement opinions. We also provide counseling to our clients in licensing and litigation matters, assist them with legal advice and support in unfair competition, trade secrets, computer and internet law, and conduct various patent, literature, and trademark searches, analyses, and clearances. Our expert teams ensure that clients are protected with necessary applicable registrations in all markets of interest, enabling them to protect their commercial activities and defend their rights. We provide due diligence and analysis services to keep our clients away from the courtroom so that they can focus solely on furthering and growing the business.

We are nationally and internationally recognized in the patent community to facilitate our clients' journeys in protecting their IP. NGM has individual attorney memberships in several IP communities, including the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), Licensing Executives Society (LES), The International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), and Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), to name a few.

Could you talk about the client base that NGM caters to?

NGM is the compilation of enthusiastic management and an expert team that includes patent attorneys, registered patent agents, technical advisors, and professional searchers. This allows the firm to cater to a wide range of clients from almost all industries, including major U.S., European, Middle Eastern, and Asian multinational corporations, universities, government agencies, research institutions, non-profit institutions, small businesses, individual inventors, and start-ups. NGM has in-depth know-how and expertise—derived through industrial research, product development, product litigation, and university teaching—enabling us to respond to the varying requirements of our clients.

With the right blend of expertise and experience coupled with its capability to handle different fields of technology, NGM serves as a reliable partner for businesses—not only in the U.S. but across the globe.

With the right blend of expertise and experience coupled with its capability to handle different fields of technology, NGM serves as a reliable partner for businesses—not only in the U.S. but across the globe

What are the major challenges that clients face when it comes to the IP space?

Protecting IP is always a challenging task for businesses with a plethora of complicated legal proceedings. In fact, the intensity of hardships varies according to the size, nature, business model, and enterprises' location. And today, we witness a massive escalation in such challenges with the recent COVID-19 outbreak. As enterprises are now shifting rapidly toward remote work, seamless collaboration with clients has become a far-fetched dream that adversely affects our operations, amid the presence of several collaboration tools. In addition, constantly changing country IP laws in different directions present various moving targets that must be navigated using experience and creativity to achieve success.

When it comes to filing for IPR internationally or in several countries, having formal documents signed, obtaining original signatures, and going through the legalization process are evolving into significant challenges. Further, in some countries that are not lenient on legal proceedings, obtaining these legalizations in required timelines is practically impossible, especially today.

What are some of the strategies adopted by NGM in mitigating these challenges and delivering high-quality work on a cost-effective basis?

Committed to providing the best-in-class services to its clients, NGM is now working on enhancing its potential to communicate with clients seamlessly. Identifying that close collaboration with clients gives awe-inspiring results, the team at NGM strives to continuously interact with its clients and understand their needs. We always maintain a deep relation and communication with several service providers around the world, including legalization agencies, to provide the best possible outcomes to our clients in obtaining and maintaining worldwide IP portfolios.

To efficiently serve our clients in various parts of the globe and facilitate international filing, we continue to interact with our associate network that encompasses well qualified and enthusiastic experts. With a widespread network across the world, we can identify the legal proceedings in different countries to respond to clients ' varying needs quickly. For example, in Poland, if the original document is submitted on or before the demanded date, the law permits to get the legalization part done later.

Even though we face issues related to the remittance of payments today, we as a legal firm ensure that clients obtain our services without falling by the wayside. Therefore, we continue to work with them to resolve their needs while seeking ways to mitigate issues related to payments. Also, we follow the guidelines by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, implementing certain sets of rules to help ease IP proceedings when collaborating with small entities.

Could you talk about some of the key factors that differentiate NGM from its competitors?

What makes NGM unique among competitors is its focus on both national and international businesses. It is, in fact, one of the major elements that drive us toward success. We are recognized for our international expertise and relationships, and we spent a lot of time and effort maintaining those relationships, especially with the right firms. Considering its clients as partners, NGM tries to understand their requirements and modus operandi to help them resolve their issues from the root level. Another factor that sets NGM apart from the rest is its responsiveness toward varying clients’ needs. NGM also stays up to date on the ranking criteria established by various international agencies to ensure our clients are best positioned to take advantage of and maximize their global rankings, particularly in the university sector.

Our recent collaboration with one of the U.S. government agencies to help execute their non-U.S. patent works well, exemplifies NGM’s value proposition. Having worked with a horribly organized law firm with no deadline management system and proper communication channels, the client struggled with their IP filing. On engaging with them, we resolved all issues within a few months and streamlined their operations related to the IP space.

What are the upcoming plans for the future?

NGM is bringing in significant changes in its operations and business model to align well with the business realm's varying needs post-COVID-19. To do this, we are adopting a comprehensive strategy where enhancing our communication skills and tools is more crucial to improving our services. We continue to roll out more advanced and efficient plans to mitigate the challenges that have already emerged during the pandemic and are likely to increase in the days to come.