About the practice


Jim Cypher founded the practice in Oakland in 1965 with the goal of providing personal and effective legal counsel at affordable rates. He was joined in 1975 by his wife Helen on the trademark side of the business. Charlie joined the practice in 1996, following his graduation from law school. Today, Charlie and Jim focus on investigating, clearing, prosecuting, maintaining, and policing patents and trademarks, with an emphasis on mechanical and plant patents and consumer and industrial trademarks.

Get to know our attorneys

About the practice


Jim Cypher founded the practice in Oakland in 1965 with the goal of providing personal and effective legal counsel at affordable rates. He was joined in 1975 by his wife Helen on the trademark side of the business. Charlie joined the practice in 1996, following his graduation from law school. Today, Charlie and Jim focus on investigating, clearing, prosecuting, maintaining, and policing patents and trademarks, with an emphasis on mechanical and plant patents and consumer and industrial trademarks.

Get to know our attorneys

About the practice


Jim Cypher founded the practice in Oakland in 1965 with the goal of providing personal and effective legal counsel at affordable rates. He was joined in 1975 by his wife Helen on the trademark side of the business. Charlie joined the practice in 1996, following his graduation from law school. Today, Charlie and Jim focus on investigating, clearing, prosecuting, maintaining, and policing patents and trademarks, with an emphasis on mechanical and plant patents and consumer and industrial trademarks.

Get to know our attorneys

Trademark services


We handle all aspects of trademark prosecution and maintenance. We’re experienced working with entrepreneurs and startups and are the go-to trademark counsel for Catchword Branding, a leading naming firm.

We take pride in tailoring our services to each individual client. We will get to know you and how you work, so we can optimize your workflow. We’ll consult with you on how to optimize your marks across geographies.
  • Trademark Clearance
  • Domestic and International Trademark Filing
  • Registration Maintenance
  • Mark Policing

Trademark services


We handle all aspects of trademark prosecution and maintenance. We’re experienced working with entrepreneurs and startups and are the go-to trademark counsel for Catchword Branding, a leading naming firm.

We take pride in tailoring our services to each individual client. We will get to know you and how you work, so we can optimize your workflow. We’ll consult with you on how to optimize your marks across geographies.
  • Trademark Clearance
  • Domestic and International Trademark Filing
  • Registration Maintenance
  • Mark Policing

Patent services


We provide exceptional service to clients with mechanical and plant patent needs. Over the course of four decades, we have drafted hundreds of patents for Simpson Strong-Tie, including some of their very earliest. And we were drafting patents for local plant growers when there were still commercial nurseries in the East Bay.

We aim to always attain the broadest claims that meet our clients’ needs. To achieve this goal we educate ourselves in the prior art and work collaboratively with our clients. The best patents are thoughtful and well-written.

  • Patent Clearance
  • Domestic and International Patent Filing
  • Patent Maintenance
  • Patent Policing

Patent services


We provide exceptional service to clients with mechanical and plant patent needs. Over the course of four decades, we have drafted hundreds of patents for Simpson Strong-Tie, including some of their very earliest. And we were drafting patents for local plant growers when there were still commercial nurseries in the East Bay.

We aim to always attain the broadest claims that meet our clients’ needs. To achieve this goal we educate ourselves in the prior art and work collaboratively with our clients. The best patents are thoughtful and well-written.

  • Patent Clearance
  • Domestic and International Patent Filing
  • Patent Maintenance
  • Patent Policing