First in nation certification for South Florida firm
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News Analysis
By John Johnston
Managing Editor
Intellectual property – a new phrase, but one heard more and
more often as the world and its creativity is more widely, and much
more easily, stolen.
Witness the recent judgments entered against persons who not only
stole music through the Internet – but also widely and loudly
advertised that it was available – as if having access to it
automatically meant that it was free.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) says that intellectual
property “refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary
and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in
commerce.”
Intellectual property is generally divided into two categories, according
to WIPO
• Industrial property, which includes inventions (patents),
trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source.
• Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such
as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, artistic works such
as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural
designs. Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists
in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings,
and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs.
Miami based Kluger Peretz Kaplan and Berlin (KPKB) recently announced
that Steven I. Peretz and Michael B. Chesal, were among a recently
certified 80-member lawyer group – certified in the practice
of intellectual property law.
The firm has a second office in Boca Raton – but what makes
all of this more than just a continuing education item is that Florida’s
program is the first of its kind in the US.
Florida Tops
Certified attorneys are the only Florida lawyers allowed to identify
or advertise themselves as specialists or experts. Certification is
the highest level of evaluation by The Florida Bar of the competency
and experience of attorneys in areas of law approved for certification
by the Supreme Court of Florida.
Peretz, a founding member of the firm, is co-chair of KPKB’s
Intellectual Property Protection and Commercialization Group. Recognized
as one of the “Top 250” lawyers in South Florida, Peretz
focuses his practice on copyright, trademark, patent, and trade secret
litigation, primarily in Federal courts. Peretz holds a J.D., from
the University of Chicago Law School and a B.A., magna cum laude,
from Wesleyan University.
Chesal, co-chair of KPKB’s Intellectual Property Protection
and Commercialization Group, holds a J.D., cum laude, from the University
Of Miami School of Law and a B.S.B.A., cum laude, from the University
of Florida. A member of the Florida Bar since 1988, Chesal joined
KPKB in May of 1991.
Florida currently offers 22 specialty areas of practice for which
board certification is available – the greatest number of state-approved
certification areas in the nation.
"Board certification is a valuable credential that is becoming
a significant trend in the legal profession,” said Florida Bar
President Frank Angones Jr. “Specialization recognizes lawyers’
expertise and professionalism, and is a natural progression for lawyers
who can demonstrate high skill levels in particular areas of law.”
Intellectual property board certification standards are available
on The Florida Bar web site at www.FloridaBar.org/certification .
