Industry moves and mergers
Joe Ferretti
The International Trademark Association (INTA) has elected Joseph Ferretti as its 2017 president and chair of its board of directors. Ferretti is vice president and chief counsel, global trademarks, of PepsiCo, where he heads the team responsible for the beverage giant’s global trademark, copyright and domain name work. Before that, he worked for law firm Crowe & Dunlevy for 13 years as a partner and chair of its IP group. Alongside Ferretti, other 2017 INTA appointees include Tish Berard of Hearts of Fire Company as president elect; David Lossignol of Sandoz International and Ayala Deutsch of NBA Properties as vice presidents; Tiki Dare of Oracle Corporation as treasurer; Zeeger Vink of Maus Frères as secretary; and Maury Tepper, III of Tepper & Eyster as counsel.
International law firm White & Case has expanded its staff with the addition of Christopher Carroll as a partner in its global IP practice. Carroll focuses on developing trademark and patent strategies in the mechanical, electrical and software technology sectors. He was previously an associate at Ropes & Gray.
Christopher Carroll
Boutique Pirkey Barber has merged with law firm Vold & Williamson to establish a new office in Washington DC. The move brings a number of trademark and copyright attorneys under the Pirkey Barber umbrella and allows it to expand its capacity at the US Patent and Trademark Office and in courts across the DC area.
Venable LLP has confirmed that Justin E Piece will succeed William D Coston as chair of its IP division. Pierce’s practice covers various IP matters, including trademarks, brand protection, design rights, anti-counterfeiting and domain name disputes. The IP division currently includes 80 attorneys across the firm.
Julia Gwilt
UK firm Appleyard Lees has opened a new office in Cambridge, headed by partner Julia Gwilt. The firm – which works with clients in the university, electronics, physics and engineering sectors – describes the new location as key to providing effective client support.
Squire Patton Boggs has appointed three partners from WilmerHale to expand its brand management options in Frankfurt, Reinhart Lange, Christofer Eggers and Eva Schalast will bolster the current five-strong brand management team. Lange primarily advises clients – both national and international – on the management of worldwide trademark portfolios and also has experience in brand strategy and cross-border litigation. Eggers is a litigation specialist with a focus on competition, antitrust and regulatory law in the brand management context; while Schalast’s practice covers trademark and design law relating to unfair competition matters.
Gilbert S Lee
Emily F Evitt
Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp has promoted Gilbert S Lee and Emily F Evitt – both located in its Los Angeles office – to partner. Lee focuses his practice on general commercial litigation and intellectual property, while Evitt is an IP litigator who works with clients in the film, television, music and videogame industries.
Ecuadorian firm CorralRosales has merged with the IP group of Estudio Jurídico Gallegos. Among the new additions to CorralRosales are partner Francisco Gallegos R and associates Cristóbal Montúfar, Miguel Maigualema and Mario Moncayo.
Brian Mangum
Michael Best & Friedrich has added Brian T Mangum to its roster as a senior counsel in its IP practice group. Based in the Austin office, Mangum has a legal and technical background and advises clients on IP matters, including litigation and post-grant reviews.
International legal practice Osborne Clarke has bolstered its UK trademark portfolio management practice by hiring Arty Rajendra and Mark Foreman. Rajendra previously headed up the UK litigation practice at Rouse Legal and specialises in trademark and design litigation; while Foreman is a UK and European trademark attorney who previously led Rouse’s trademark portfolio management practice.
Valerie A Purdy-Pyeron has joined Riebling IP as a senior trademark paralegal in its Washington DC office. Previously at Katten, Purdy-Pyeron has nearly 20 years’ experience in US and international trademark clearance, prosecution and management.