Trademark Litigation

A highly visible tool to engage customers and suppliers, trademarks are among the most valuable intellectual property assets a company owns. Ever-increasing globalization and online commerce demand the protection of assets, such as brands, product names, logos, and slogans. Vinson & Elkins’ Trademark Litigation lawyers help clients create, protect, and maximize trademark value through a variety of creative protection and enforcement strategies.

We represent clients with trademark portfolios in the U.S. and throughout the world in diverse industries, such as oil and gas, health care, insurance, telecommunications, computer hardware and software, food, manufacturing, and publishing. Our protection strategies include trademark portfolio management and, where appropriate, innovative licensing programs. Our enforcement strategies include robust state and federal court infringement, dilution, and unfair competition actions, where our team leads all phases of ligation to protect and enforce our clients’ trademarks. Besides litigation, we also initiate and manage cancellation and opposition proceedings before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and domain name arbitration proceedings before the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to enforce our clients’ trademark and service mark rights.

Experience Highlights

(W.D. Tex.) – Obtained a permanent injunction on behalf of a Texas brewing company in a trademark infringement lawsuit against a California-based company
(N.D. Tex.) — Represented a sunscreen and skin care products company in a claim for declaratory relief regarding alleged trade dress infringement; successfully defended a motion for temporary injunction followed by a prompt favorable settlement
(N.D. Tex.) — Represented a wireless communications provider with its own wireless network in a trademark dilution, trademark infringement, and DMCA exemption case; prevailed in rulings on motion for summary judgment that led to favorable settlement
(S.D. Tex.); (Trademark Trial and Appeal Board) — Successfully handled a trademark case to enforce our client’s rights in a mark for use in connection with offshore oil equipment and services; after suit was filed, the other side quickly agreed to our client’s demands regarding ownership and use of the mark; we obtained injunction as part of the settlement, and successfully petitioned the Trademark Office to reinstate our client’s trademark registration
(S.D. Tex.) — Represented a specialty foods manufacturer in a trademark opposition case and dilution case; prevailed in the opposition proceeding and obtained the trademark registration
(S.D. Tex.) — Represented a valve manufacturer in trade dress and trademark infringement case; obtained preliminary injunction and then settled case on terms similar to preliminary injunction
Represented a food manufacturer in false advertising dispute before National Advertising Division of Better Business Bureau
(C.D. Cal.) — Represented defendant, a biotechnology company specializing in the production of algae in a false designation and trademark infringement case; negotiated a prompt and favorable settlement
(S.D. Tex.) — Represented an oilfield equipment company in trademark infringement; obtained agreed injunction by way of settlement after completion of expert discovery

Trademark Litigation

Experience Highlights

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