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Who is the TrademarkGuru? I am Jeffrey J. Look. I have been a licensed attorney since 1990 and I have practiced in the intellectual property law field since 1993 when I became a Trademark Examining Attorney for the United States Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) in Washington, D.C. While at the PTO, I examined THOUSANDS of trademark applications filed by everyone from large Fortune 500 companies to two girls, sisters ages 9 and 11. The girls came up with products to sell to other kids, and I remember thinking how astute they were for realizing the importance of protecting their product names at such a young age. While at the PTO I also worked on special projects with the Assistant Commissioner for Trademark's Office. Many of these projects concerned examining "Petitions to the Commissioner". The vast majority of these petitions usually involved requests to revive abandoned trademark applications because either the PTO made a mistake that had to be corrected or the applicant missed an important deadline or made some other mistake in connection with the prosecution of an application. Some mistakes are fixable and some are not. However, in reviewing the petitions, it drove home the point to me that while the trademark application process can appear on its face to be a simple process, in reality there are traps for the unwary that can make obtaining a trademark registration much more difficult. I was also asked to revise the PTO's BASIC FACTS ABOUT TRADEMARKS booklet which it distributed to help people learn more about the trademark process. An electronic version of this booklet is now available on the PTO's website at www.uspto.gov. In 1998 I left the PTO and went to work for a law firm which had offices in Little Rock, Arkansas and Nashville, Tennessee. The firm's Nashville office had an entertainment law practice and some of the clients I filed applications for were well known country and Christian/gospel music artists. I also handled some copyright matters such as providing assistance with copyright "Work For Hire" agreements, copyright assignments and filing copyright applications with the United States Copyright Office. I was involved in one of the first litigation cases under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) and I handled domain name disputes, some of which involved filing petitions under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). In October 2000, I moved to a large downtown Dallas law firm and became Special Trademark Counsel in its intellectual property law department. I managed a large trademark portfolio and filed applications on behalf of clients in diverse industries from food products to computer software as well as for service businesses in the computer and telecommunications industry, restaurants, on-line retailers and educational services. I filed applications with the USPTO and supervised foreign trademark filings in the European Community Trademark Office, Canada, Mexico and many Asian-Pacific nations. I have prosecuted and defended trademark oppositions and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. In 2002, I ventured out into my own law practice and created this website as I wanted to be able to help individuals and businesses, WHETHER SMALL OR LARGE, get experienced, high quality legal assistance in the trademark and copyright field at fee rates that are affordable. Whether or not you actually hire me to handle your trademark or copyright matters, I hope that this website will provide you with some assistance in understanding the intracacies of trademark and copyright law. Send me an e-mail or give me a call and let me know what you think of TRADEMARKGURU.BIZ and whether you have any suggestions. PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND BAR MEMBERSHIPS
Law review articles include: "Law and Order on the Wild Wild West (WWW)" published in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Summer 2002) "Warning: TrafFix Jam Ahead for Product Configuration Trade Dress" published in the March 2002 issue of Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal, a publication of Aspen Law & Business. "The Virtual Wild Wild West (WWW): Intellectual Property Issues In Cyberspace - Trademarks, Service Marks, Copyrights and Domain Names" published in the University Of Arkansas At Little Rock Law Review, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Fall 1999). A sequel to this article entitled "Law and Order on the Wild Wild West (WWW)" is expected to be published in July 2002 in the UALR Law Review. "How Intellectual Property Impacts A Commercial Law Practice: Trademarks and Service Marks" published in the Arkansas Law Review, Vol. 51, No. 3 (November 1998). |
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