Finguerra-DuCharme Profiled in “Trademark Cases to Watch in 2017”
Intellectual Property Partner Dyan Finguerra-DuCharme recently spoke with Law360 for a feature on 2017’s must-watch trademark cases.
In the article, Finguerra-DuCharme assessed the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) new policy of demanding attorney fees be paid by trademark applicants appealing to district courts, even if they win on appeal. "It's just so contrary to the American Rule, it’s unbelievable," she said.
Attorney Fees for Trademark Appeals Under the Lanham Act
The Lanham Act has always required trademark applicants who choose to file a de novo appeal to the district courts – rather than directly to the Federal Circuit – to pay “all expenses of the proceeding.” However, not until recently has the USPTO interpreted this language to include costs associated with agency travel, expert fees and the significant burden of attorney fees.
While the USPTO maintains that rising costs of the appeal process necessitate this shift in policy, a large contingent of trademark practitioners like Finguerra-DuCharme have been vocally opposed to this position. As she remarked to Law360, “Even if they lose we have to pay? That’s crazy.”
The full article can be viewed here.
More About Finguerra-DuCharme’s Practice
Dyan Finguerra-DuCharme is recognized as a “Leading Trademark Lawyer” by World Trademark Review, and is the winner of Lexology and International Law Office’s 2016 Client Choice Award in Intellectual Property: Trademarks.
Clients including luxury jewelry and watch makers, global cosmetics companies, premier car and power equipment manufacturers and financial services firms rely on Finguerra-DuCharme to secure and enforce their valuable brands. She manages large-scale trademark vigilance programs, prosecutes trademarks on a global basis and provides opinions on the availability of trademarks in the U.S. She also regularly litigates trademark and unfair competition cases in federal and state court and before foreign tribunals.
To learn more about Finguerra-DuCharme's work, please visit here.
