The name is chosen. Now make it defensible.

A federal registration is the strongest version of the rights you start building the day your name enters commerce. I run clearance searches before you commit, build a filing strategy around how your brand actually operates (what you sell now, what’s coming, where you’re headed), prepare and file the application, and manage it through examination. The goal is a registration that covers the business you’re building, not just the one you have today.

The USPTO pushed back. That is not the end of your application.

Most refusals have answers. Whether the examining attorney cited a likelihood of confusion with another mark, called your name descriptive, or flagged a technical issue, I prepare the arguments and evidence to respond. Some responses are straightforward. Others take real strategy. Either way, you’ll know what you’re facing and what it will take before anything gets filed.

Registration was the beginning, not the finish line.

Federal registrations carry maintenance deadlines that arrive years apart, long after the launch energy has faded, and missing one can mean losing the registration entirely. I docket every deadline, prepare and file the maintenance documents, and audit how your marks are being used along the way, because a registration only stays strong if the use behind it does.

Someone is challenging your mark, or their registration is blocking yours.

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, or TTAB, is the administrative court within the USPTO that decides who gets to register a mark. An opposition challenges a pending application; a cancellation challenges a registration already on the books. I represent brands on both sides: defending your application when another company objects, and clearing away registrations that stand in your path. Many of these matters resolve through negotiated agreements, and I treat that as strategy, not a fallback.

Recover domain names registered in bad faith.

The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, or UDRP, is an arbitration process designed precisely for this problem: someone in bad faith registered a domain name that matches your brand to sell it back to you, divert your customers, or trade on your name. Instead of a lawsuit, the dispute goes before a panel that can order the domain transferred to you, typically within a few months. I have prosecuted UDRP complaints that resulted in the transfer of infringing domains, and I can tell you early whether your situation fits the policy.

You made it. Now put it on the record.

Copyright exists the moment your work is fixed: the print, the photograph, the pattern, the words on your site. Registration is what turns protection into power. For works created in the United States, you cannot file an infringement lawsuit without it, and timely registration makes statutory damages and attorney’s fees available (the remedies that make enforcement economically realistic). I help you decide which works to register, when, and how, and I will tell you honestly when a DIY filing makes sense and when counsel earns its keep: ownership questions, works made for hire, deposit choices, and enforcement readiness.

You found the copy. Here’s what happens next.

Maybe it’s your design in a marketplace listing, your name on someone else’s label, or your photographs on a competitor’s site. Enforcement is a series of decisions, not a single angry letter. I assess the strength of your position first, then match the response to the problem: platform takedowns, cease-and-desist outreach, negotiated resolutions, or escalation when the situation calls for it. The aim is to stop the harm while protecting the reputation and relationships your brand still needs once the dispute is over.

The partnership is exciting. The contract decides who owns what.

Collaborations, licensing deals, influencer and creator campaigns, manufacturing and vendor relationships, website and design engagements. Every one of them moves IP rights around, whether the paperwork says so or not. I draft and review the agreements that make ownership, permitted use, credit, payment, and exit terms explicit, so the deal that grows your brand doesn’t give pieces of it away.

Your claims sell the product. They also have to hold up.

“Clean.” “Cruelty-free.” “Made in USA.” Claims like these are regulated, and the FTC and platform reviewers read your labels and captions as closely as your customers do. I review advertising copy, packaging, product claims, and website language for compliance risk and proper trademark use before the campaign goes live, not after a complaint arrives.

Before printing the packaging, know the name is clear.

The most expensive naming mistake is the one discovered after launch. I advise at the decision stage: evaluating name candidates for risk and strength, guiding as your product lines grow, and reviewing marketing materials to ensure your marks are used in ways that build rights rather than erode them.

Counsel in the room before the money moves.

Note: This is legal counsel about naming and brand use. It is not graphic design, marketing services, or brand creative direction.