Tanya L. Curtis

Tanya L. Curtis focuses her practice primarily on intellectual property, information technology, and e-business and other Internet-related matters.

Ms. Curtis’s substantial intellectual property experience includes counseling clients on the identification, selection, clearance, registration and protection of trademarks and domain names, as well as the identification, development and protection of copyrights, rights of publicity and trade secrets and other confidential business information; managing the day-to-day responsibilities for clients’ intellectual property portfolios, including assisting clients in developing strategies to maximize the value of their intellectual property and counseling clients on handling and avoiding claims of infringement and misappropriation; preparation and negotiation of intellectual property license, purchase, security, assignment, confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements; and identifying and evaluating intellectual property rights in the contexts of IPOs, private equity and venture financings, and mergers, acquisitions and divestitures involving intellectual property rights.

Ms. Curtis additionally represents emerging and established e-business as well as software and other technology-based companies across a broad spectrum of industries. Her wealth of experience in this area includes assisting companies in establishing an Internet presence by counseling clients on the development and protection of intellectual property and technology rights, negotiating web site development agreements, conducting web site audits, and drafting privacy, use, marketplace, shrink-wrap and click-through agreements. Ms. Curtis’s experience also extends to the preparation and negotiation of contracts for the license, development, transfer or acquisition of software or other technology, and the preparation and negotiation of other technology services, strategic partnering, advertising, fulfillment, publishing, marketing, vendor and distribution agreements.

In recent years, a major focus of Ms. Curtis’s practice has been the representation of companies in the financial services sector in connection with a variety of technology and intellectual property-related initiatives.  Her unique experience in this area includes the representation of international and domestic technology providers and consumers in the licensing of electronic trading systems and other proprietary software; technology development agreements, including development related to electronic trading platforms, order routing systems, order book management systems, strategic trading tools and automated trading systems; technology, network, systems monitoring and surveillance, disaster recovery, document retention, maintenance and operational services agreements; equipment procurement, leasing and implementation; market data distribution; identification and protection of intellectual property associated with electronic trading platforms, trading tools and other technology; and joint ventures and corporate acquisitions involving proprietary electronic trading systems and applications.  Ms. Curtis has represented a wide range of clients in connection with such matters, including derivatives exchanges, hedge funds, market makers, proprietary trading firms, futures commission merchants, independent software vendors (ISVs), broker-dealers, banks and other market participants, as well as the technology providers who service them.

Ms. Curtis received a B.A. in Chemistry and History from Indiana University in 1987, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Mortarboard, and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1991.  She is admitted to practice in Illinois. Ms. Curtis has been with the Firm since September, 1991.