Overview
Jessica Sganga focuses on domestic and international trademark, unfair competition, copyright, data privacy, advertising, and internet law. Clients regularly applaud Jessica for her practical approach to trademark protection and enforcement and her highly responsive client service. Jessica has been named a World IP Review (WIPR) leader in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Her practice includes domestic and foreign trademark selection and searching, trademark procurement and prosecution, inter partes proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, intellectual property licensing, domain name disputes, counterfeit goods and customs, rights of publicity, and trademark, trade dress, unfair competition, and copyright enforcement and litigation. She also advises clients on an array of electronic commerce matters, including advertising, promotions, and social media. Jessica is a certified data privacy specialist by the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
Jessica represents clients across a broad range of industries, including well-known companies in the food and beverage, cosmetic, fashion, e-commerce, and entertainment space. She also worked as seconded in-house counsel for Monster Energy in 2017. This experience allowed her to take an active role in business decisions and provided her with insight into business drivers and concerns surrounding trademark protection and enforcement. Further, Jessica’s experience in enforcement and adversarial proceedings, as well as counseling and prosecution, enables her to give clients well-rounded and thoughtful legal advice with respect to all of their trademark and copyright needs.
Jessica has been a Guest Lecturer at Chapman School of Law (Music and Entertainment Law). She was also the 2016 Chair of the Orange County Bar Association’s Entertainment, Sports, and Marketing Section. Jessica is also an active member of the International Trademark Association, currently serving as co-Chair of a subcommittee of the Young Practitioners’ Committee. In addition, Jessica is member of the firm’s Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Steering Committee and serves on the firm’s Mentor Committee.
Jessica received her law degree with honors from Pepperdine University School of Law, where she was an editor for the Dispute Resolution Law Journal. She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics with honors from Colgate University.
She worked as a summer associate at the firm in 2012 and joined the firm in 2013.
Extern Experience
Extern for the Honorable Ronald S.W. Lew, United States District Court Senior Judge, Central District of California, 2011.
Education
- Pepperdine University School of Law (J.D., 2013), cum laude
- Colgate University (B.A. Mathematics, 2010), cum laude
Recognition
Awards & Honors
- Named among Los Angeles Times’ “Beauty and Fashion Visionaries” for work on behalf of clients in the beauty and fashion industries (2024)
- Recognized by The Legal 500 “United States” for Trademarks: Non-Contentious (2024)
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Recognized by The Legal 500 “United States” for Trademark: Non-Contentious (2023)
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Recognized as one of Southern California’s “Rising Stars” for her outstanding intellectual property legal work in Super Lawyers magazine (2023)
- Named among 2023 “Top 100 Lawyers” by Los Angeles Business Journal
- Named a 2023 “Women of Influence: Attorneys” by Los Angeles Business Journal
- Recognized in the 2022 edition of Euromoney’s Expert Guides – Rising Stars for Trademark/Copyrights
- World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR) Leader in Trademarks (2021 – 2024)
Affilliations
- Chair, Orange County Bar Association’s Entertainment, Sports, and Marketing Section (2016)
- Member, International Trademark Association’s Law Firm Committee (2016-Present)
- Member, International Trademark Association’s 2018 Annual Meeting Project Team (2017-2018)
- Chair, International Trademark Association’s Associate Concerns Subcommittee (2018-Present)
- Co-Chair, Santa Monica Bar Association’s IP Section (2019-Present)
News & Insights
Articles
Why You Should Apply for an INTA Bulletin YPC Writing Fellowship, International Trademark Association (March 22, 2023)
A New Direction? Data Privacy and the FTC, Intellectual Property Magazine (March 2, 2017)
Grey market Abbott goods deemed infringing, World Trademark Review (January 5, 2017)
Alert: California and the EU’s Changing Privacy Laws (December 8, 2015)
GoDaddy victorious in dispute over OSCARS and ACADEMY AWARDS marks, World Trademark Review (September 29, 2015)
Tacking isn’t tacky – narrow doctrine saves defendant, World Trademark Review (January 17, 2014)
Trademark Owner’s Strategy: Litigation Versus the UDRP?, 12 Pepp. Disp. Resol. L.J. 159 (2013)
Data Privacy Blog
Fashion & Beauty Blog
Trademark Law’s Millennial Leaders: Forging a New Path in Unprecedented Times, International Trademark Association (September 16, 2020)
Speeches & Seminars
That’s Not a Trademark!, Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Entertainment Law & Intellectual Property Section (November 29, 2023)
How to Think About Trademarks in the Healthcare World, Orange County Intellectual Property Law Association (February 23, 2023)
Protecting Your Healthcare Brand: Trademark Considerations and Challenges Unique to the Healthcare Industry, Amazon In-House Counsel Presentation (January 26, 2023)
Trademarks, the Metaverse, and NFTs, Oh My!, Knobbe Martens Webinar (October 2022)
Hot Topic: Trademarks, the Metaverse and NFTs, Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) (September 2022)
Bayside Chat – IP Issues and Trends in a Pandemic and (Eventually) Post-Pandemic World, ACC DoubleHeader (October 2021)
The “Hoppy” Taste of Victory: Effective Online Brand Enforcement, ACC DoubleHeader (November 2020)
Guest Speaker, Privacy Law – The Hottest Field You Haven’t Heard Of, Pepperdine Caruso School of Law Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law (October 28, 2020)
Guest Speaker, Q&A Session – Intellectual Property Law Careers, Pepperdine Caruso School of Law Intellectual Property Student Association (September 1, 2020)
A Practical Guide to Online Brand Enforcement, Knobbe Practice Series Webinar (2020)
Women in IP Law Panel, Pepperdine School of Law (2019)
Ready, Set, Go! A Practical Approach to CCPA Compliance, Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) (2019)
How To Not Strike Out With The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Knobbe Martens Webinar (June 2019)
How To Be A Super Star Associate, International Trademark Association Annual (INTA) Meeting (May 2019)
How Not to Strike Out with the CCPA, Private Event (March 2019)
Trademarks Meet Marketing Meet Advertising and Find Data Privacy Lurking Behind the Door, Trademark Administrators and Practitioners (TMAP) Meeting (September 13, 2018)
Practical Considerations in Improving Your Trademark Litigation Practice Webcast (INTA), Moderator (September 27, 2017)
Trademarks, Data Protection, and the FTC – OH MY, International Trademark Association Annual (INTA) Meeting (2017)
Guest Lecturer, Chapman School of Law (Music and Entertainment Law) (April 2015)