Belinda protects her clients’ intellectual property rights at all stages of their brand’s life cycle, from counseling and clearance to trademark prosecution, enforcement, and litigation. She has a wealth of experience managing large domestic and international trademark portfolios. Her national litigation experience includes cases involving trademark, trade dress, unfair competition, domain name, copyright, counterfeiting, and false advertising in more than 40 federal court districts and divisions, as well as before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Belinda also has extensive experience protecting non-traditional marks on a global scale, including single-color, sound, and motion marks. She is a frequent author and speaker on IP issues, has served on numerous International Trademark Association committees, and co-chaired the DC Bar Intellectual Property Community Steering Committee. Repeatedly ranked by the World Trademark Review in the WTR 1000, as well as by “Super Lawyers,” and by Who’s Who Legal, Belinda is admitted to practice in multiple jurisdictions and numerous Federal courts.
Honors
- World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000 Top Trademark Lawyer, Silver Rank (2019-2024)
- IP Stars Trade Mark Star (2023)
- Super Lawyers, Washington DC (2014-2024)
- World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000 Top Trademark Lawyer, Bronze Rank (2018)
- Who’s Who Legal: Trademarks, World’s Leading Trademark Lawyers (2012-2021)
- DC Bar Intellectual Property Community, Steering Committee (2019-2022)
- International Trademark Association, Member
- American Bar Association, Member
- American Intellectual Property Law Association, Member
- Legal 500, Ranked (2019)
- Expert Guides, World’s Leading Lawyers Chosen by Their Peers, Trademarks (2016)
- The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, Recognized (2013-2015)
- Top Women Lawyers in Illinois, Chicago Magazine (2014)
- Ohio State Bar Association, Member
- Illinois State Bar Association, Member
- Chicago Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section, Member
Publications
- Article, “Using AI to Replicate the Voice of a Celebrity – Watch Out for Legal Issues Including Violating the Right of Publicity,” Broadcast Law Blog (April 2023)
- Quoted in the blog “How to Use AI to Impersonate Celebrity Voices (And Why You Probably Shouldn’t)” on Connecting the Dots from Jacob’s Media Strategies website (April 2023)
- UNITED STATES: USPTO Continues to Tackle Increased Fraudulent Filings, INTA Bulletin (November 2021)
- Animated “Motion Trademarks” Grow in Popularity and Legal Protection Around The World, Pattishall Insights (October 2019)
- Book chapter, “State Trademark and Unfair Competition Law Remedies,” Trademark Infringement Remedies (ABA/Bloomberg 3d Ed. 2017) (December 2017) (coauthor with Jacquelyn Prom, 3d Edition and Cumulative Supplements 2016)
- 50 Years After Lanham Act’s Enactment, The Supreme Court’s Slants Decision Unanimously Holds Its Clause Barring Disparaging Marks Unconstitutional Under First Amendment; Far-Reaching Impact Will Cover The Washington Redskins and Likely Far Beyond, Pattishall Blog (June 2017)
- Book chapter, “State Trademark and Unfair Competition Law Remedies,” Trademark Infringement Remedies (ABA/Bloomberg 2d Ed. 2012 and Supplements 2013-2015) (December 2015); (coauthor with Jacquelyn Barczak, Cumulative Supplement 2016)
- Filing on behalf of Olive Garden restaurants seeking acceptance of acquired distinctiveness claim for the restaurant’s highly-publicized “Pasta Pass” promotion, discussed in the article “Brand Battles: Olive Garden Fights For ‘Pasta Pass’ Trademark” on the Law360.com Website (February 2016)
- “THANKSGIVUKKAH” Convergence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah-The Latest Pop Culture Trademark Sensation, Pattishall IP News (November 2013)
- Quoted in the article “Shutdown Puts ITC Patent Cases Into Deep Freeze” on the Law360.com Website (October 2013)
- The Likely Impact of a Federal Government Shutdown on the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Copyright Office, and Federal Courts, Pattishall IP News (September 2013)
- “Frontiers of Trade Dress Law – Recent Developments in the Law of Color, Configurations, Combinations of Elements, and Likenesses of Persons as Protectable Rights,” ABA 28th Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference, Arlington, VA (April 2013)
- 100 Years of Seeing RED-A Historical Perspective on the Second Circuit’s “Red-Sole Shoe” Mark Decision in Louboutin v. Yves Saint Laurent, Pattishall Newsletter (November 2012)
- “A Legal Kaleidoscope – Single Color Trademarks From pre-Owens-Corning Pink Insulation to Louboutin Red-Soled Shoes,” ABA Section of IP Law, 27th Annual Intellectual Property Conference Paper (March 2012)
- Protecting Your Company Brands Against Sexually Explicit and Pornographic .XXX Domain Names, WBAI Fall Newsletter (October 2011)
- Protecting Your Company Brands Against Sexually Explicit and Pornographic .XXX Domain Names – Deadline for Sunrise Period for Blocking Registrations is October 28, 2011, Pattishall IP News (August 2011)
- The Likely Impact of a Federal Government Shutdown on the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Copyright Office, and Federal Courts, Pattishall IP News (April 2011)
- USPTO Registers Unique “Non-Traditional” Service Mark: A 109-Word Narrative Story — Registration of The Peabody Hotels’ “Legend of the Ducks” Follows Earlier Motion Mark Registration of its Iconic Duck March, Pattishall IP News (October 2010)
- “U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Federal Court Jurisdiction Over Copyright Infringement Claims for Unregistered Works: Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Munchink,” Pattishall IP News (March 2010)
- “Chicago Trademark Attorneys successfully conclude Federal court litigation to protect the Peabody Hotels’ Peabody name and famed marching ducks,” Pattishall IP News (May 2009)
- Book chapter, “State Trademark and Unfair Competition Law Remedies,” Trademark Infringement Remedies (ABA/BNA 2006; Annual Supps. 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010).
- “Defending Copyright Infringement Claims Involving the ‘Total Look and Feel’ of Literary and Artistic Works”, American Intellectual Property Law Association, Fall 1995, AIPLA Selected Legal Papers.
- “Trademark Law Revision Act of 1988 and Its Impact on Trademark Prosecution and Enforcement in the U.S.,” 3 The Corporate Analyst 176 (1991) (Co-Author).
- “A Journalist’s View of The Progressive Case: A Look at the Press, Prior Restraint and the First Amendment from the Pentagon Papers Cases to the Future,” 41 Ohio State L.J. 1165 (1980).
Speeches and Presentations
- “Protecting Its Customers and Itself: How the United States Patent and Trademark Office Is Responding to Fraud and Fighting Back,” 2022 International Trademark Association (INTA) Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. (May 2022)
- “Scandalous Marks One Year Later: The Impact of Brunetti and the PTO’s Commonplace Words Doctrine,” DC Bar, Washington, D.C. (May 2020)
- “In re Booking.com and the Shifting Sands of Trademark Genericness Rulings” Table Topic, INTA Annual Meeting, Singapore (April 2020)
- “The Intersection of Artificial Intelligence With Trademark and Copyright Law,” a live and video-streamed presentation for the legal department of an international corporate client (November 2019)
- “Hot Topics at the U.S. Trademark Office and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board,” panel featuring Hon. Mary Boney Denison, Commissioner of Trademarks, Hon. Sharon Marsh, Deputy Commissioner of Trademarks for Examination Policy, and Hon. Gerard Rogers, Chief Judge of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, DC Bar IP Community Program, co-sponsored by the Virginia State Bar IP Section, INTA, Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (IPLAC), Intellectual Property Law Section of the California Lawyers Association, and the Pauline Newman American Inn of Court, Washington, DC in-person and by national webcast available to non-members (June 2019).
- “The Increasing Importance of Non-Traditional Marks and How Best to Protect Them,” Live program and webinar, DC Bar, Washington, DC (June 2018)
- “Lunch with a Lawyer with the D.C. Bar Intellectual Property Law Community,” DC Bar, Washington, DC (May 2018)
- “Trademarks and Branding – Best Practices for Protection of Marks and Proper Use of Others’ Marks,” Legal and Marketing Departments of International Corporate Client, Santa Clara, CA (May 2018)
- “Principles of Trademark Law and Protection,” Legal Department of International Corporate Client, San Jose, CA (May 2018)
- Moderator, “The TTAB and Genericness – Are Recent Rulings an Evolution or Revolution?” Table Topic, INTA Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (May 2016)
- Moderator, “Could Color Alone be a Meaningful Marketing Tool? What Conditions Are Required and In Which Situations?” INTA Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA (May 2015)
- Panelist, “Do You Hear What I Hear?: Advising Clients on the Registration of Non-Traditional Trademark Sounds,” ABA Webinar (March 2015)
- “The Best Defense is a Good Offense: Tactical Use of Offensive Counterclaims in IP Litigation,” Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago, Chicago, IL (February 2015)
- “The Blonde, the Red Shoe, the Round-Cornered Rectangles: Debating the Frontiers of Trade Dress Law,”ABA 28th Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference, Arlington, VA (April 2013)
- 100 Years of Seeing RED – A Historical Perspective on the Second Circuit’s “Red-Sole Shoe” Mark Decision in Louboutin v. Yves Saint Laurent, JurisDiction Blog Podcast Interview
- “Commercial and IP Law Department – Trademarks” practice segment, Fortune 500 company’s Law Firm Summit (January 2013)
- “The Color of Love (and Other Things) – Trademarks and Aesthetic Functionality,” Pattishall CLE presentation (June 2012)
- “The Rise and Fall of Aesthetic Functionality,” ABA 27th Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference, Arlington, VA (March 2012).
- “How Do Small Women-Owned Businesses Protect Intellectual Property?,” Women’s Business Development Center’s “Connection Points,” Chicago, IL (December 2011).
- “It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Trademark – It’s a Theme, It’s Colorful, It’s Noisy, It Moves, It’s Shapely, It Lights Up, etc. (“The Creative World of Trade Dress and Non-Traditional Marks”),” Texas Bar CLE Program, Austin, Texas (October 2011).
- “Clearance of Chinese Character Trademarks,” Pattishall presentation (January 2010)
- “It’s Noisy, It Smells, It Moves, It’s Your Color, It’s Shapely, It’s Flavorful, It Lights Up, It’s Got Texture – It Might Just Be a Non-Traditional Trademark!” Pattishall CLE presentation (July 2009)
- “Your Association is a Brand — Protect it Like One: Hot Topics on Protection of Trade and Professional Association Intellectual Property Rights,” Chicago Bar Association (December 2008).
- “The Foundation Of International Enforcement Against Counterfeiting – International Trademark Registration And Border Control Registration Protections,” IQPC Seminar (September 2007).
- “Worldwide Registration to Protect Brands,” IQPC/Legal IQ Workshop (October 2006).
- “The Borders Beyond – Using U.S. and Foreign Customs Agencies To Halt Exportation and Importation of Counterfeits Worldwide,” INTA Anti-Counterfeiting Forum (February 2005).
- “Filing and Prosecution Strategies,” INTA Madrid 101 Distance Learning Seminar (December 2003).
- “Navigating Copyright and Trademark Basics,” IACC Meeting Enforcement Seminar & Handbook (October 2000).
- “Damages in Trademark Cases,” IACC Meeting (October 1998).
- “Success in Trade Dress Litigation Can Mean More Than An Injunction – The Tools Plaintiffs Need To Improve Prospects For Monetary Relief,” INTA Spring Forum on Trade Dress (February 1997).
- “Defending Copyright Infringement Claims Involving the ‘Total Look and Feel’ of Literary or Artistic Works,” AIPLA Annual Meeting (1995).
- “Annual Trends in Anticounterfeiting: 1994-1995,” IACC Meeting (1995).
- “Fundamentals of Copyright” and “Protection of Copyrights in Judicial Reports – From the 19th Century to West Publishing Co. v. Mead Data Central, Inc. to Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co.,” Association of Judicial Court Reporters Annual Meeting (1991).
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