Meeting Distinctiveness Requirements for International Trademarks

Mr. Asbell, a partner and member of Lippes Mathias’ intellectual property team, works comfortably and efficiently with clients in diverse industries. Mr. Asbell's passion for his work in intellectual property arises from a deep appreciation for creativity, whether in the form of invention, design, expression, or branding and marketing. He assists clients in clearing, obtaining, enforcing, and defending trademark, patent, design and copyrights in the United States and throughout the world, while also advising on domain names, social media and related issues. Mr. Asbell serves as an adjunct professor of law and frequent guest lecturer at Fordham University and The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (Yeshiva University), and has taught at Columbia University and the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economia (ISDE) in Madrid, Spain. He regularly mentors new lawyers and law students. 

Mr. Frisbee helps clients to develop tailored strategies for protecting and enforcing their brands in the U.S. and around the world. He routinely guides clients from trademark selection and clearance through registration and beyond, emphasizing a pragmatic and strategic approach. Mr. Frisbee also counsels brand owners regarding the intersection of trade dress, copyright, and design patent laws to protect product designs. He represents clients in trademark and copyright disputes and enforcement efforts, including handling proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, managing multi-jurisdictional disputes, and negotiating settlement agreements. Mr. Frisbee’s transactional experience covers IP licensing, assignments, and due diligence. He serves on the International Trademark Association’s U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Committee, which advocates to the USPTO on behalf of the trademark community. Mr. Frisbee also regularly appears as a panelist on IP topics for CLE presentations hosted by Strafford and has written articles published in the INTA Bulletin and IP Watchdog. 

Mr. Fuhrmann is an expert in all kinds of EUTM proceedings, with a special interest in the protection and enforcement of Non-Traditional Trademarks. He advises international clients in complicated and complex multijurisdictional matters as well as the enforcement of famous marks. He also has extensive experience in relation to trademark portfolio management, searching, filing, and prosecuting trademarks throughout Europe and worldwide. He has actively handled proceedings before the General Court and the European Court of Justice, in Trademark as well as Design matters. He has experience in advising clients from various jurisdictions and industry sectors with particular expertise in the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, telecommunication, food and beverage, and toy industries. He also is an author in one of the leading German commentaries on EU trademark law and regularly publishes on EU trademark and design topics.

Mr. Hood is sought after by brand owners focused on building and protecting their brands and reputations through efficient trademark clearance and prosecution. He regularly advises clients on effective strategies to manage and monetize their trademark portfolios and has successfully enforced clients’ trademark rights in Canada’s Federal and provincial courts. His practice spans all aspects of trademark counselling, prosecution and litigation. He counsels brand owners through trademark selection, clearance and prosecution, as well as opposition proceedings, section 45 non-use, cancellation proceedings and invalidity expungement proceedings. He counsels many famous brand owners, from leading professional sports teams to popular social media platforms to renowned consumer electronic companies to famous fashion houses, in the enforcement and protection of their IP rights in Canada.

Mr. Wang's practice focuses on all aspects of China trademark law and extends to copyright, domain name, unfair competition and other IP related laws. With over 20 year experience, he has successfully represented both Chinese and foreign clients in protecting their brands worldwide. Since moving to New York in 2007, he mainly provides strategic advice to U.S. clients in trademark prosecution, enforcement and litigation in China.