Brand Protection & Enforcement

The power of brands to excite and inspire has become only more evident in the era of instant global communication. But borderless digital commerce has also made brand protection more challenging than ever. For many of the world’s most iconic brands, Davis Wright Tremaine is their go-to resource for navigating this mix of risk and opportunity.

We view brand protection as a focused, strategic enterprise in which trademark, copyright, and advertising are approached as an integrated whole, both on- and offline. We’ve been recognized as a national leader in all these areas, with World Trademark Review noting our deep industry expertise, breadth of resources, and pragmatic business-focused approach. (WTR 1000, 2018, 2019).

We serve industries spanning entertainment, media and advertising to technology, fashion & luxury goods, food & beverage, hospitality, communications, consumer products, financial services, and healthcare. Many of us had previous careers as in-house counsel, so we understand the needs of business and know how to communicate informed, practical advice across business units.

Our experience in trademark clearance, protection, and worldwide portfolio management is matched with a highly adept practice in enforcement, disputes and litigation, including anticounterfeiting. We handle cases of every variety in courts around the country, and also devise and direct comprehensive global enforcement programs. We have been at the forefront of developing innovative ways to apply existing law to emerging technologies and novel uses of traditional IP assets. As a consequence, we have secured powerful results for clients combatting elusive bad actors operating digitally round the globe. World Trademark Review calls us "a pioneer in addressing IP infringements in the digital domain" (WTR 1000, 2019).

As nationally recognized copyright experts, we’ve helped set important legal precedents in areas such as anti-circumvention, fair use, contributory infringement and vicarious liability online, and design infringement. Learn more about our IP Litigation practice here. We also develop identification and registration programs, analyze chain of title, and negotiate transfers, licenses and agreements for the distribution and exploitation of copyrighted works.

We create strategies for digital content development, distribution and control, helping companies manage their IP rights, digital brand identities and social media programs. Our understanding of IP issues in connection with emerging technology includes significant experience with the Internet of Things, smart speakers, the “Cloud,” gaming, entertainment and other emerging apps and platforms. And when it comes to data, we understand that this is one of your critical assets. Our privacy lawyers craft practical data management strategies designed to meet your goals and we leverage a team of nationally recognized cybersecurity experts to ensure that your digital assets are properly secured.