A trademark is more than a symbol. It’s an asset that can be worth billions worldwide. From false advertising to selling counterfeit goods oceans away, the digital age has made it easier than ever for infringers to misappropriate and profit from the intellectual property of others.
Pryor Cashman’s Trademark Practice manages large-scale trademark maintenance and enforcement programs for some of the world’s most recognizable brands. We advise on every aspect of trademark law, from establishing vigilance programs to litigating disputes. Many of the cases we have won have become the gold standard for addressing conflicts between intellectual property rights and the First Amendment. Our work has consistently been recognized by Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500, and World Trademark Review, among others.
What We Do
Pryor Cashman counsels clients throughout all phases of brand development, implementation, enforcement, and litigation, ensuring that our clients’ marks are optimized and protected worldwide. Managing over 13,000 active pending and registered trademarks, and over 270 contentious proceedings, our trademark services include:
- Global trademark search and clearance
- Filing, prosecution, management, and maintenance of trademarks on a worldwide basis
- Enforcing brands through domestic and international litigation and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) proceedings
- Structuring joint ventures and managing mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures
- Formulating and implementing global brand strategies
- Obtaining domain names through ICANN proceedings
- Advising on trade name and trade dress rights and usage
With diverse backgrounds that include prosecuting trademarks, examining applications for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and litigation, our attorneys work together seamlessly, aligning our services with our clients’ real-world business goals and delivering real-time results.
Enforcement and Protection
While leveraging and protecting trademarks is essential in today’s global marketplace, there is no bulletproof plan for warding off infringers. We provide worldwide watchdog services to identify and pursue trademark infringement, false advertising, trade dress infringement, and other violations of our clients’ IP rights. Our enforcement services include:
- Instituting, handling, and defending worldwide litigations as well as TTAB opposition and cancellation proceedings
- Pursuing cybersquatters of generic top-level domains (gTLDs)
- Establishing trademark enforcement protocols, including anti-counterfeit measures and Internet monitoring
Going beyond enforcement, we clear the way for new endeavors by defending our clients’ applications against unsubstantiated opposition. When musician Pharrell Williams formed i am OTHER entertainment, LLC, artist will.i.am (aka William Adams) objected to the “i am Other” mark, opposed all six applications and threatened a lawsuit. We crafted a settlement, where all six oppositions were withdrawn and Adams’ claim was dismissed with prejudice.
As technology advances and infringers get more creative, Pryor Cashman attorneys are in sync - if not one step ahead - in protecting and enforcing our clients’ trademarks on a global scale.
