Enforcement in the Court of Public Opinion: Brand Strategies in Unpredictable Times

Only available as part of a package

Brands do not exist in a vacuum—they live and die by consumer demand and consumer opinions. Today, as the whole world has become attached to mobile devices and social media platforms, reputations (and trademark rights) can be quickly damaged by a misstep in internal marketing or communication, by rogue posts from “influencers,” or even by silence in the light of controversy or challenge.

This reality has an impact on brand rights and enforcement strategies. Consumer conversations cannot be ignored, and the brand lawyer is becoming more and more of a key player in framing the discussion to ensure the brand comes out of the battle, if not unscathed, then as strong as possible.

In this session, legal team members will discuss what they do to harness the barrage of information bombarding them every day—the tools they use and the teams they build—using real-world examples of how they enforce brand rights in the court of public opinion. Get practical tips to help maintain your brand loyalty, integrity, and goodwill, while at the same time keeping your trademark rights strong.

Megan Bannigan

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Megan K. Bannigan is a member of the Litigation and Intellectual Property & Media Groups of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, focusing on trademarks, copyrights, false advertising, rights of publicity, design patents and licensing and other contractual disputes. She represents clients across a range of industries, including consumer products, cosmetics, entertainment, fashion and luxury goods, financial services, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, professional sports and technology. Ms. Bannigan has extensive trial experience, helping to secure an over $20 million jury verdict for client Learning Annex in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, among other matters.

She also has experience representing clients before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the International Trade Commission. Recognized by Managing Intellectual Property’s IP STARS, The Legal 500 and Law360 as a Rising Star, she is known for “translat[ing] complex legal issues into clear pragmatic legal advice.” Ms. Bannigan is also a frequent speaker and panel member for business, legal practice and educational groups across the country and is frequently quoted, mentioned and published in national and international publications, including Bloomberg, Reuters, Managing Intellectual Property, The World Trademark Review, Practical Law, Intellectual Property Magazine, Law360 and The International Trademark Association Bulletin, as a legal authority on trademark and copyright matters. In December 2019, Ms. Bannigan testified as an expert before the United States Senate Judiciary Intellectual Property Subcommittee on the issue of fraudulent trademarks. Ms. Bannigan is also an adjunct professor of Fashion Law at Rutgers School of Law. She previously was a Clinical Visiting Lecturer at Law at Yale Law School, leading the team of students that helped secure the landmark decision in Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding v. Rell, where the Court declared that several features of Connecticut’s system of education, including the formula for distributing funding to school districts, were unconstitutional.

Ms. Bannigan is active in intellectual property-related professional organizations, including the International Trademark Association, for which she spearheaded the development of INTA’s Pro Bono clearinghouse, was a member of the 2019 Presidential Task Force focusing on corporate responsibility and brands for a better society and, in 2017, was awarded the Volunteer Service Award for Advancement of the Association. She is also Chair of the American Bar Association- Intellectual Property Section’s Trademark Litigation Committee, as well as Publications Chair for the Fashion Law Committee, and a member of the New York City Bar IP Council.

Steve Beale

Unilever P.L.C.

Steve Beale joined Unilever UK Limited in 1996 and since 2003 has been Trade Mark Counsel at Unilever plc, located in London. He has a wide ranging role that encompasses practice in on-contentions and contentious trademark issues and related intellectual property rights. Steve currently serves on INTA’s Board of Directors.

Cathy Lueders

MasterCard International Incorporated

Cathy has been in house counsel at Mastercard since 2006. She is currently Assistant General Counsel for the US Region, the company’s largest region responsible for 40% of the revenue. Her responsibilities include end to end support for all legal issues within the US Region, including providing timely, concise and business-focused legal advice on various areas of the law, negotiating various agreements and engagements with financial institutions, merchants, non-traditional and digital partners as well as regulatory and policy issues. She is a co-lead of the Law and Franchise Integrity Department’s Community Service Volunteer efforts, personally logging over 300 hours in 2017.

Prior to MasterCard, Cathy was Chief IP Counsel and Senior Associate General Counsel for Instinet Incorporated, an electronic broker dealer in New York which is now a part of Nomura Securities. Cathy was responsible for all intellectual property, transaction, technology and contractual matters for Instinet as well as responsible for providing legal input on intellectual property and technology strategies across the company. Prior to moving in house, Cathy began her career as an associate in the Advertising and Marketing group at Hall Dickler Kent Friedman and Wood in New York.

Cathy is a graduate from Franklin Pierce Law Center (now known as the University of New Hampshire School of Law) where she earned both her Juris Doctorate and LL.M in Intellectual Property. She received her B.A. in Administration of Criminal Justice in 1991 from the Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania.

Outside of work, Cathy has been heavily involved with the International Trademark Association since 1995, serving on the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition Committee, moving up to lead that committee and recently finished a 3 year term on INTA’s Board of Directors.

Jeffrey Kobulnick

Brutzkus Gubner

Jeff Kobulnick is the Chair of the Firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. He regularly litigates claims for copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition, false advertising and related claims under both federal and state laws. He also has significant experience handling Internet-related intellectual property issues, such as domain name registration and dispute resolution, and the protection and enforcement of copyrights and trademarks on the Internet. In addition, Jeff extensively counsels and represents clients on the selection, clearance and registration of trademarks and service marks worldwide.

Jeff advises and represents clients across a wide range of industries in their intellectual property matters to develop, protect and enforce such rights around the world. He has also guest lectured on intellectual property issues at law schools including the USC Gould School of Law, Loyola Law School, and Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles. Prior to joining Brutzkus Gubner, he spent more than eight years as an intellectual property and litigation attorney with national law firms, most recently Foley & Lardner LLP.

In addition, Jeff is an active leader within the International Trademark Association (INTA). He is a past National Chair of the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition Committee, is the current Chair of the Competition’s newly formed Los Angeles region, and has served as a Project Team Leader for INTA’s Pro Bono Committee. Jeff also regularly serves as a judge for both the Saul Lefkowitz and other moot court competitions relating to trademark and copyright law issues.

Jeff is also well known for his commitments to pro bono and community involvement. He serves as a coordinator for Bet Tzedek Legal Services’ Holocaust Survivors Justice Network, assisting Holocaust survivors and their widows/widowers obtain reparation pension benefits for work performed while residing in German-controlled ghettos. In 2009, he was awarded Bet Tzedek’s Elyse S. Kline Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year Award. He has also received the Wiley W. Manuel Award from the State of California several times for distinguished pro bono legal services. Jeff has also coordinated attorney participation in Lawyers for Literacy, an annual event that benefits Everybody Wins! Los Angeles, a nonprofit literacy program helping children improve their reading skills and self-esteem. He was awarded the Lynford Lardner Community Service Award in 2006.