Seven Knobbe Martens Attorneys Recognized as “World IP Leaders” by World Intellectual Property Review
Knobbe Martens is pleased to announce that partners Matthew Bellinger, Stacey Halpern, Jonathan Hyman, Susan Natland, Joseph Re, Jessica Sganga and Craig Summers have been recognized for their top-tier patent and trademark work as part of World Intellectual Property Review’s (WIPR) 2022 Leaders Guide (U.S.). Halpern, Natland, Re and Sganga were all previous honorees.
The annual guide identifies the top patent and trademark practitioners in 68 countries through a survey of their peers. The publication’s editorial team then narrows the survey results through an extensive vetting process that analyzes thousands of recommended attorneys’ practice history, notable cases and community involvement with outside thought-leadership opportunities, among other qualifications.
Matthew Bellinger (Trademark Leader) is a litigation partner representing clients in all types of intellectual property disputes, including patent, trademark, trade dress, copyright and unfair competition matters. Bellinger has represented clients in district courts throughout the country and in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) proceedings, including in Trademark Trial and Appeal Board opposition matters. He is a member of several community and professional groups, and previously served as President of the Orange County Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
Stacey Halpern (Trademark Leader) focuses on all areas of international and domestic trademark, unfair competition and copyright matters, including counseling, prosecution, audits, maintenance, policing, licensing and enforcement. Halpern has deep expertise handling trademark issues for clients in a number of industries, including healthcare, medical, financial, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, apparel, food, retail and other service businesses.
Jonathan Hyman (Trademark Leader), who serves as Co-Chair of the firm's CBD and Legal Cannabis Group, has deep expertise assisting clients with creating robust trademark portfolios, domestic and foreign trademark prosecution, enforcement and clearance, proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), intellectual property licensing, copyrights, rights of publicity, domain name disputes, entertainment law and client counseling. He currently represents clients in a wide range of industries and fields, including entertainment, sports, fashion and apparel, retail, technology, food and beverages and legal and medicinal cannabis and CBD.
Susan Natland (Trademark Leader), who serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Trademark and Brand Protection Group, has more than 20 years of experience advising on all aspects of international and domestic brand protection and enforcement, including domestic and foreign trademark selection and clearance, trademark procurement and prosecution, ex parte and inter partes proceedings before the TTAB, domain name disputes and counterfeit goods. Earlier this year, Susan was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to serve as Chair of the USPTO’s Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC). Susan has also taught advanced trademark law at her alma matter UCLA and held several leadership positions for the International Trademark Association (INTA).
Joseph Re (Patent Leader) is a nationally recognized trial and appellate attorney, having handled various high-stakes patent cases in his more than 30 years as an attorney. Re previously served as the President of the Federal Circuit Bar Association and 2020-21 President of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). He has consistently been named as one of the top "100 Leading Lawyers in California” by the Daily Journal and one of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America" by The National Law Journal.
Jessica Sganga (Trademark Leader) specializes in international and domestic trademark, unfair competition, copyright, data privacy, advertising and internet law. Her experience includes trademark procurement and prosecution, inter partes proceedings before the TTAB and copyright litigation, among others, and she is certified as a data privacy specialist by the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Outside of her work for the firm, Jessica serves as a member of the International Trademark Association’s Law Firm Committee and has been a guest lecturer on Music and Entertainment Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law in Orange, California.
Craig Summers (Patent Leader) has more than 35 years of experience handling intellectual property litigation and dispute resolution, including patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights, and unfair competition. Over the years, Craig has litigated hundreds of intellectual property cases in district courts throughout the United States, the International Trademark Committee (ITC), the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and the TTAB. In addition to his litigation practice, Craig has extensive experience advising clients regarding intellectual property infringement and validity issues, and he has been able to successfully resolve many disputes for his clients without litigation, either through informal pre-litigation negotiations or through formal ADR, such as mediation and arbitration.
You can view the full global 2022 Leaders Guide here.
