Vanessa C. Hew

Vanessa Hew is a Partner in our Intellectual Property group. She focuses on intellectual property litigation and strategic counseling, with an emphasis upon trademark, copyright and unfair competition issues.

Vanessa has a distinguished career representing some of the world’s most recognized brands in litigations and other proceedings around the country involving trademark, trade dress, copyrights, trade secret, counterfeiting, false advertising, unfair competition, defamation and breach of contract claims. Throughout her career, she has successfully obtained dismissal of lawsuits for her clients, sanctions for discovery violations and summary judgment in her clients’ favor. She has also argued appeals in trademark, copyright, unfair competition and contracts cases before the Second, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits.

Clients have trusted Vanessa to provide creative and cost-effective solutions to complex intellectual property issues. Vanessa helps her clients develop strategies to protect and enforce their valuable intellectual property. She also helps her clients commercialize their intellectual property assets through license agreements, brand sponsorship and integration agreements, and entertainment, advertising, and media agreements. She also works with her clients to manage their intellectual property portfolios and mitigate business risks through proper clearance and reviews. 

Vanessa has represented clients in a wide array of industries, including personal care products, cosmetics, food and beverage products, wellness products, fashion, home care and design products, social media, software, music, and art. 

Representative Experience

• Obtained an order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirming the dismissal of a copyright claim relating to lace patterns used on women’s undergarments. The District Court dismissed the entire action brought by plaintiff, which alleged copyright infringement, false advertising, and breach of contract; the appeal only concerned the dismissal of the copyright claim.
• Obtained dismissal of all claims brought by manufacturer and supplier alleging breach of contract, promissory estoppel, promissory fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and fraudulent concealment.
• Obtained partial summary judgment in Digital Millennium Copyright Act case, holding that cloud storage of music files does not constitute copyright infringement and that the DMCA applies to pre-1972 works -- both cases of first impression and enormous impact on the music industry.
• Successfully opposed motion for a preliminary injunction on the grounds that plaintiff’s alleged trademark and trade dress were descriptive and generic.
• Represented fashion retailer in copyright infringement case against fast fashion retailer regarding dress designs and obtained sanctions against defendant’s principals.
• Represented tableware company in copyright infringement case against retailer involving regarding copyrighted patterns on casual dinnerware.
• Represented plaintiff in lawsuit involving infringement of famous brands in television commercials and on product packaging.
• Represented defendants in international copyright, trademark, and false advertising action regarding various international software products with multiple parallel actions in other countries.
• Represented retail chain and its vendor in an action for damages based upon claims of copyright infringement, federal and common law unfair competition.
• Represented Japanese retail chain in an arbitration proceeding involving claims of et al. breach of a trademark licensing agreement, reverse passing off, trademark dilution and unfair competition and deceptive trade practices.
• Represented fashion retailer in trademark infringement and dilution case regarding defendant’s use of trade name in connection with clothing stores.