Trademark and Copyright
Knowledgeable business lawyers and experienced litigators, our Trademark and Copyright attorneys provide a broad range of services to our diverse clientsโfrom enforcing and defending the trademarks of established companies, to helping start-ups select and clear their names and product designations, to negotiating distribution and licensing agreements.
Our trademark lawyersย will help you make the most of your trademarks. We are skilled at helping search for an available trademark, analyzing and investigating potentially conflicting marks, and preparing and filing applications for state and federal trademark registration.
Further, we will work with you to develop and maintain the right portfolio of trademarks for your products and services and aid in your marketing, distribution and licensing strategiesโboth domestically and worldwide, regularly accessing a global network of law firms, many of whom rely upon Wiggin and Dana to provide local counsel to their worldwide clients.
We also represent clients in disputes involving claims of trademark infringement and dilution in the courts and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in registration opposition and cancellation proceedings, and in litigation involving our clientsโ trademarks.
Our copyright lawyers represent rights holders and licensees in many industries and endeavors, advising them on the protection, enforcement, and commercial exploitation of their art, literary, photo, video, digital, web, and artifact properties. We provide clients with a wide range of copyright services, including filing copyright registration applications and counseling clients on works made for hire, the fair use of copyrighted works, and the protection and licensing of all types of copyrighted works, such as software, databases, art, literary and visual works, websites, and new media products.
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EXPERIENCE
Trademark Litigation
- Represented PGA of America in confidential arbitration successfully resolving a trademark and breach of contract dispute.
- Defended Legal & General (insurance/financial services) in a breach of contract and trademark infringement matter in District of Connecticut against The Travelers Companies successfully resolving the case, involving use of their respective logos on favorable terms.
- Represented Deckers Outdoor Corporation in various trademark matters in the Central District of California, regarding protection of the Deckers famous โUggsโ trademark and the trade dress of its footwear designs. Resolved the cases on favorable terms.
- Represented small start-up with the rights to Unicorn trademark for beverages against one of the largest convenience store chains, successfully resolving the case without trial.
- General Mills Specialty Products, LLC v. Raw-Bite ApS, Civ. Action No. ย 17-cv-03625, D. Minn., represented defendant for trademark and trade dress infringement on a preliminary injunction, crafting a settlement after the hearing.
Copyright
- Shpisman v. Envisiontec โ Obtained favorable settlement on behalf of Envisiontec against former employeeโs 3D printer software copyright claims after filing for summary judgment.
- Representing Mystic Seaport Museumโone of the worldโs foremost maritime museumsโas lead counsel in a federal copyright and contract lawsuit brought by a private party seeking to nullify a decades-old donation of thousands of historically significant yacht-design drawings. The district court granted summary judgment on all of plaintiffsโ copyright and contract-based copying claims and further held that the donated drawingsโdescribed as the โyacht-world equivalent of holding the original sheets where Beethoven drafted his symphoniesโโmust remain with the museum.
- Represented The Authors Guild Inc. and other artistsโ-rights organizations as amici curiae in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision raising an important issue of copyright law infringement in Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy. In its 6-3 ruling in favor of our client, the court held that a copyright owner can recover damages โno matter when the infringement occurredโ and with โno time limit on monetary recoveryโ, permitting copyright owners to obtain relief for claims without imposing an artificial cutoff on recovery.
- Defended Iron Maiden in a copyright case related to album cover art. Case No. 3:10-CV-1782 (RNC)โ Ensley v. Iron Maiden Holdings Ltd., Case No. 3:10-CV-1782 (RNC), (D. Conn. Mar. 30, 2012).
- Defended Pharrell Williams in copyright claims related to a song with the Neptunes. Currin, et al. v. Arista Records, Inc., et al. 724 F. Supp. 2d 286 (D. Conn. 2010)
- Defended Capcom CO., LTD. in copyright claims related to images in Resident Evil video game. Judy A. Juracek,v. Capcom CO., LTD. and Capcom USA, Inc.