Elissa Brockbank Reese

Elissa Brockbank Reese represents clients in connection with a broad range of intellectual property rights with an emphasis on enforcement and litigation.  Ms. Reese’s breadth of intellectual property work includes trademark infringement, trade dress infringement, internet keyword advertising, cybersquatting and domain name disputes, trademark dilution, Lanham Act false advertisings, deceptive and misleading advertising under the FTC Act, state deceptive trade practices, rights of publicity issues, trade secret issues, copyright infringement, issues arising under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, social networking issues, and trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings.

Ms. Reese’s enforcement experience spans all phases of litigation and pre-litigation, from developing comprehensive enforcement strategies and drafting demand letters, initial pleadings, motions for preliminary injunctive relief, and applications for temporary restraining order, to conducting fact and expert discovery, drafting and arguing pre-trial motions, attending trial, engaging in post-trial briefing, and negotiating and drafting settlement agreements.  Ms. Reese has represented clients in federal court, before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau.

Beyond enforcement and litigation, Ms. Reese’s practice includes drafting and reviewing trademark co-existence agreements, intellectual property licensing agreements, work for hire agreements, and social media policies, as well as reviewing advertising for Lanham Act, NAD, and FTC compliance.

Representative Experience

• Assisted in obtaining a successful outcome for a national water filtration company in Lanham Act false advertising litigation. (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia)
• Represented an internationally recognized news organization from the filing of the complaint to trial in a copyright infringement and Digital Millennium Copyright Act suit. (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York)
• Reviewed television commercial scripts and product demonstrations to be used in advertising for a nationally recognized household product manufacturer for Lanham Act and NAD compliance.
• Worked with a scientific expert to conduct and analyze product testing in order to substantiate advertising claims for a nutritional supplement manufacturer.
• Assisted in obtaining a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and expedited discovery from third parties on behalf of a prominent hedge fund whose website was being counterfeited, resulting in immediate shut down of the infringing website, a permanent injunction and maximum statutory damages of $100,000 under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. (U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut)
• Assisted in successfully arbitrating a domain name dispute before the World Intellectual Property Organization for a nationally recognized university.
• Represented a nationally recognized financial institution in an advertising dispute before the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau.