International Trademark Protection After Abitron: Branding and Enforcement Considerations

Mr. Brooke handles matters ranging from serving as litigation counsel in major intellectual property disputes across the globe, to initial counseling and trademark selection, copyright and trademark registration around the world, licensing, and technology transfers. Related matters include drafting and interpreting agreements regarding ownership and use of names, images, photographs, software, trade secrets, music, and other IP. Mr. Brooke ranks among the most prolific filers of U.S. trademark applications and has strong relationships within the USPTO. He currently serves on the INTA's Internet Committee, working to craft worldwide policy on domain name abuse. Mr. Brooke previously served as chair of the INTA's U.S. Legislation Committee, where he helped craft the Federal Anticybersquatting Piracy Act and the Federal Trademark Dilution Act.

Ms. Leipold works with clients from a wide range of industries to create and execute customized intellectual property protection programs that align their goals with the practical realities of emerging e-commerce trends. She regularly counsels on brand protection strategy and mitigation of risk in connection with the launch of new marketing campaigns. Ms. Leipold has designed and implemented trademark enforcement programs for clients ranging from startups to large, international corporations. She also assists clients in securing, protecting, enforcing, and licensing other intangible assets, from copyright to trade secrets to publicity rights. When litigation becomes inevitable, Ms. Leipold draws on her significant experience before state and federal courts, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and in international arbitration proceedings pursuant to the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy. She regularly partners with foreign counsel to tackle issues that become global in scale, coordinating strategic alignment across jurisdictions.

Mr. Schwimmer has been practicing IP law for over 30 years. He counsels ventures of any size from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies and litigates in U.S. federal district and appellate courts, and in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Mr. Schwimmer manages global trademark portfolios, and has instructed matters in most trademark jurisdictions in the world, including Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Through his writing, speaking, committee work, lobbying, counseling, and litigating, Mr. Schwimmer has been at the forefront of the forces that have transformed trademark law – including domain names, blogging, search engines, ecommerce, social media, and blockchain. He is the publisher of The Trademark Blog, the world’s oldest blog devoted to trademark and copyright law, and has authored numerous articles that have appeared in trademark publications, as well as a number of amicus briefs.