Joseph Fortner spoke about trademarks at the recent ALFA Retail and Hospitality Seminar conference, Sleepless in Seattle? Avoiding and Managing Risk in an Era of Constant Changes in the Retail and Hospitality Industries, held in Seattle in August 2019.

Joe moderated and spoke on a panel entitled, The Shoppes at ALFA Plaza:  Protections, Pitfalls, and Prescriptions When Facing Trademark Issues. The panel reviewed trademark concepts, and then focused on related issues in the context of retail, hospitality and food service industries. Among other things, they offered recommendations for:

• Selecting trademarks in order to protect your brand,
• Avoiding the loss of trademark rights,
• Avoiding or addressing accusations of infringement by competitors and others,
• Trade dress in the context of products, services, stores, and restaurants, and
• Dealing with trademark claims and unfair competition law.

This coming March, Joe will lead a panel at the 2020 ALFA International Client Seminar called Never Wrestle With a Pig. This session will deal with unethical counsel and adversaries during trial.

Joe represents clients in intellectual property, business, and commercial disputes, and counsels the Firm’s clients regarding intellectual property issues and other business relationships.  He is co-chair of the Firm’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group, and his practice includes:

• trademark and trade dress matters,
• copyright issues,
• contract disputes,
• business fraud and other commercial torts,
• technology-related claims,
• unfair trade practices,
• class actions,
• product-related commerical disputes, and
• disputes arising from claims relating to trade secrets and confidential information.

The Halloran Sage team regularly assists our clients with all aspects of securing and protecting their intellectual property rights. Among the services provided are:

• File applications for registration at the United States Trademark Office for trademarks;
• Provide review and due diligence before and in connection with United States Trademark Office filings;
• Represent clients in proceedings before the United States Trademark Office, including appeals before the Trademark Trial & Appeals Board;
• Provide guidance with respect to patents and inventions;
• Prosecute applications before the United States Patent Office;
• Assist clients with securing rights to their creative works through copyrights; and
• Help our clients maintain their intellectual property portfolios.

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