Trademark Counseling

For many companies, their trademarks and brands are more enduring and valuable than the tangible assets of the company and, in certain instances, the company itself. We help our clients monetize these assets: we structure, negotiate, and implement IP transactions, especially those involving trademarks and copyrights. We help our clients defend and enforce these assets: our trademark and brand protection lawyers have litigated cases involving consumer product brands, company service marks, sound marks, and more. We regularly enforce and defend trademark actions in U.S. federal and state courts, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), counterfeit actions before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and customs enforcement with the IPR Branch of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB), and in Europe. We engage in UDRP proceedings and routinely arbitrate over domain names before the World Intellectual Property Organization as well.

We also help our clients develop these assets: we assist our clients in developing brand protection and maintenance strategies, and routinely advise on new product and brand launch, relaunch, and expansion plans. Finally, we help our clients protect these assets: our team has significant experience devising and executing proactive strategies to address our clients’ needs, including disruption and deterrence of harmful conduct to protect intellectual property in both the physical and digital domains. This involves counterfeit products, pirated content, intellectual property theft and fraud, cybercrime, global enforcement of legal rights, mitigation of legal risk, and deterrence of adversaries. We have developed models for protecting intellectual property, defending supply chains, stopping illegal activity and dismantling malicious technical infrastructure.

Trademark Litigation and Enforcement. Our work focuses on claims arising under the Lanham Act and state law including trademark and trade dress infringement and dilution, counterfeit and gray market goods, unfair competition, and false advertising matters. We also handle brand enforcement and contested proceedings including trademark oppositions and cancellations before the TTAB, counterfeit actions before the ITC and customs enforcement actions at CPB. Over the past decade, our team has handled more than 250 TTAB matters, many of which were for well-known companies and brands.

Trademark Clearance, Prosecution, Maintenance, and Claims Review. We manage global portfolios for our clients, and review trademarks for clearance and prosecution purposes. We help our clients develop, audit, and maintain robust brand protection programs and strategies, including providing in-house training to lawyers and non-lawyers alike on best practices. We also counsel clients on whether trademarks may present advertising claims or claims otherwise susceptible to scrutiny by the FTC or state regulators.

Trade Dress. We represent both plaintiffs and defendants in protecting and defending against claims directed to product packaging and product design.

Global Brand Protection/International Enforcement. With our global footprint and long-standing, extensive network, our team manages litigation, prosecution, counseling, and provides transactional support wherever our clients have needs.

Transactions and Agreements. From negotiating substantial license and co-brand deals, to conducting due diligence of IP assets in M&A transactions, we protect clients’ brands, help them generate revenue, and help them prioritize brand asset investment.

Sponsorship, Broadcast, and Naming Rights. We have significant experience negotiating brand sponsorship, media rights, promotion, and naming rights deals with sports leagues and teams, athletes, entertainment properties, music artists, celebrity chefs, and many others.