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Professionals 87 results
Capabilities 24 results
Practice Area
Practice Area
We routinely help clients protect and commercialize their intellectual property (IP) assets and provide due diligence on complex technology and IP transactions. We negotiate and draft IP licenses and transfers; provide strategic guidance on optimal structures for IP and IT transactions; and evaluate copyright, trademark, and patent portfolios and provide related due diligence activities in connection with IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, licenses, and other corporate transactions.
Practice Area
Winston’s Intellectual Property (IP) Practice is one of the most active and highly regarded in the United States per Chambers USA, Benchmark Litigation US, and Best Law Firms®, among other ranking organizations. Our team features some of the country’s best IP lawyers, attorneys with the technical abilities to litigate and try highly complex IP disputes, and technical lawyers who provide critical advisory services.
Experience 5 results
Experience
|August 1, 2023
American Multinational Hedge Fund and Financial Services Company Trademark Counseling
Winston does significant brand enforcement work for an American multinational hedge fund and financial services company, including trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings, UDRP and related domain name proceedings as well as other enforcement work on a global basis. We represent the company in its global trademark portfolio management and in domain registry matters and in connection with IP licensing. We also advise on other IP-related matters, including open-source counseling.
Experience
|December 28, 2022
Winston Represented Health Brands Company in Trademark Infringement Case
Represented Kiva Health Brands, LLC, a Hawaii-based company that sells natural supplements and food products under the KIVA mark in a trademark infringement action against Kiva Brands, Inc., a California-based company that sells cannabis-infused edibles also under the KIVA mark. Kiva Brands counterclaimed against Kiva Health for infringement of Kiva Brands’ California state trademark registration for the KIVA mark. The case presented a number of novel trademark issues relating to Kiva Brands’ attempted enforcement of its trademark rights for products that are illegal under federal law and the narrowing gap between the cannabis and CBD market and the health food and supplements market. Kiva Health defeated Kiva Brands’ laches defense following an evidentiary hearing with witness testimony, after which the judge agreed with Kiva Health that any delay in taking action against Kiva Brands was reasonable in light of Kiva Brands’ progressive encroachment into Kiva Health’s market. The case settled favorably for the client shortly thereafter.
Experience
|July 17, 2020
Defended Generic Drug Manufacturer in Trade Dress Infringement Case
Represented Respirent Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., a Chinese generic drug manufacturer in a trademark infringement action. Glaxo sued Respirent alleging that the trade dress of a Respirent inhaler device infringes on the trade dress of Glaxo’s Diskus inhaler device. Respirent counterclaimed to cancel Respirent’s trade dress registrations on the grounds that the dress is functional. The parties have settled their dispute and Winston continues to represent Respirent in connection with its U.S. trademark matters.
Insights & News 286 results
In the Media
|September 23, 2025
|2 Min Read
Kathi Vidal Discusses Gender Gap in Patents with MLex
Winston & Strawn partner Kathi Vidal was featured in a MLex article where she discussed the gender gap in patents, outreach efforts in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under her leadership as the former Director, and how the office can support women inventors. A 2022 study from the USPTO showed that office policy can help close the gap between men and women in the US patent system. The paper studied the effectiveness of the Pro Se Pilot Examination Unit (PSPEU), which provides additional communication and assistance to inventors attempting to prosecute a patent without representation.
Article
|August 25, 2025
|7 Min Read
Adapting To USPTO’s Tighter Inter Partes Review Rules
This article was originally published in Law360. Any opinions in this article are not those of Winston & Strawn or its clients. The opinions in this article are the authors’ opinions only.
Recognitions
|June 10, 2025
|1 Min Read
Winston Lawyers Named as 2025 IP Stars
Winston & Strawn lawyers have been recognized as 2025 IP Stars by Managing Intellectual Property. Each year, senior practitioners are selected through information obtained by Managing IP’s research analysts from thousands of firms, intellectual property practitioners, and their clients through interviews, emails, and online surveys. IP Stars are recognized as experienced senior IP practitioners in private practice who have been recommended by peers, clients, or someone that is integral to the success of their firm.
Other Results 24 results
Site Content
What Is Trademark Infringement?
Trademark infringement is defined as the unauthorized use of a trademark or service mark. This use can be in connection with goods or services and may lead to confusion, deception, or a misunderstanding about the actual company a product or service came from. Trademark owners can take legal action if they believe their marks are being infringed. If infringement of a trademark is proven, a court order can prevent a defendant from using the mark, and the owner may be awarded monetary relief.
Site Content
The term cybersquatting refers to the unauthorized registration and use of Internet domain names that are identical or similar to trademarks, service marks, company names, or personal names. Cybersquatting registrants obtain and use the domain name with the bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of the actual trademark owner. Both the federal government and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers have taken action to protect the owners of trademarks and businesses against cybersquatting abuses.
Site Content
The United States Patent and Trademark Office refers to a trade secret as a type of intellectual property. This definition of trade secret is in reference to the business ownership of a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process that provides a competitive edge. As a member of the World Trade Organization, the U.S. government has a responsibility to protect trade secrets. The passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) also increased trade secret protection. Under the DTSA, an individual or organization may be found liable in a civil case for the misappropriation of trade secrets.