Alex Fonoroff concentrates his practice in the areas of copyrights, trademarks, and unfair competition. He has represented clients from a variety of industries in intellectual property litigation and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Mr. Fonoroff also focuses on trademark and copyright counseling, licensing, and trademark portfolio management. He was recognized as a 2010 Georgia "Rising Star" in the area of Intellectual Property by SuperLawyers Magazine. Professional & Community Activities Copyright Society of the U.S.A., Member International Trademark Association (INTA), Enforcement Committee, Legal Certainty of Disclaimers Subcommittee, Member Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), Copyright Law and Practice Committee, Member State Bar of Georgia, Intellectual Property Law Section, Copyright Committee, Past Chair Experience Counsel to the Collegiate Licensing Company, one of the top sports licensing firms in the U.S., Represented the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), one of the most successful licensing companies in the United States. CLC is the exclusive licensing agent for nearly 200 colleges, universities, conferences and bowl games. The firm serves as the only law firm advising CLC on its trademark matters and, as a result, manages the trademark portfolios of more than 50 colleges and universities represented by CLC. In addition to managing the portfolios of CLC and its University clients, the firm also provides brand equity counseling and has represented numerous university clients in trademark infringement and anticounterfeiting matters. The firm also advises the company's related entity, CLC International LLC, in connection with international clearance, brand management, enforcement, and contentious proceedings. Copyright enforcement for Masterfile Corporation, Represents Masterfile Corporation, a stock photography licensing company, in copyright enforcement matters and copyright litigation against unauthorized users of Masterfile's images. NAD proceeding for a leading manufacturer of erosion control products, Represented a leading manufacturer of erosion control products in proceedings before the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council for Better Business Bureaus in which a competitor alleged that certain of the manufacturers advertisements were false or misleading. Cooper v. Sony Music Entertainment Inc., et al., Defended Sony Music Entertainment Inc., So So Def Productions and other defendants in a series of lawsuits asserting copyright infringement and other claims relating to pre-1972 musical sound recordings. Representation resulted in dismissal of suit and award of defendants' attorneys' fees.
Cooper v. Sony Music Entm't, Inc., et al., 2002 WL 391693 (S.D. Tex. Feb. 22, 2002). Trademark litigation and portfolio management for a non-profit housing organization, Represent a non-profit housing organization's domestic and international trademark portfolio, including domestic and international oppositions and cancellations for the non-profit organization. We have also provided counsel regarding potential trademark litigation. Specifically, we secured a favorable settlement in a case that centered on a declaratory judgment action seeking to invalidate the non-profit's mark. Defended copyright challenge of Google's Book Search project, The firm served as lead counsel for Google Inc., in defending copyright infringement lawsuits brought by the Author's Guild, et al., and separately by McGraw-Hill and four other large New York publishers in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleged that Google's "Book Search" project (involving the scanning of books in the libraries at Michigan, Harvard, Stanford, The New York Public Library and Oxford University) infringes the copyrights of millions of authors and publishers. The litigation has been described as the most important copyright dispute in the last 50 years. A potential settlement that will allow Google to continue to work with its library partners to scan public domain and in-copyright books from their collections is being considered by the court.
The Authors Guild v. Google Inc., No. 1:05-cv-08136 (S.D.N.Y. filed Sept. 20, 2005). Masterfile Corporation v. Development Partners Inc., Served as lead counsel for Masterfile Corporation, a stock photography licensing company, in copyright infringement litigation against a company that posted copies of Masterfile's photographs on its website. Obtained an award of $150,000 in statutory damages, a permanent injunction, and an award of attorneys' fees and costs.
Masterfile Corporation v. Development Partners, Inc., No. 1:10-cv-00134, 2010 WL 3603611 (E.D. Va. Aug. 16, 2010). New Homefinders Inc. v. Network Communications Inc., Defended Network Communications Inc., a national publishing company, in a trademark infringement action. Obtained summary judgment that the plaintiff's mark was generic.
New Homefinders Inc. v. Network Communications Inc., No. 06-0442 (N.D. TX filed Feb. 26, 2008). Copyright litigation defense for global music publishing company, Represented global music publishing company against a claim involving alleged violations of authors' moral rights. Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University et al. v. Smack Apparel Co., Represented four major universities and The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) in a trade dress infringement case. In an attempt to avoid the provisions of a prior settlement agreement, the defendant, a clothing provider, sold t-shirts and other merchandise bearing university colors that did not include any of the colleges' registered marks. The firm secured a ruling rejecting the theory that school colors were aesthetically functional and that the defendant's use was "fair." After prevailing on summary judgment on the issue of liability for trademark infringement and unfair competition, we conducted a two-day jury trial on monetary relief. The plaintiffs recovered damages in the form of a reasonable royalty and an accounting of defendants' profits. The defendants later appealed, and the Fifth Circuit unanimously affirmed.
Louisiana State University v. Smack Apparel Co., 438 F. Supp. 2d 653 (E.D. La. 2006), aff'd, 550 F.3d 465 (5th Cir. 2008). Rank v. Harper Collins Publishers Inc., et al., Defended HarperCollins Publishers, one of the world's largest book publishers, against allegations of copyright infringement brought by a photographer whose photograph appeared on the cover of a book published by HarperCollins, resulting in the plaintiff's dismissal of the lawsuit with prejudice.
Rank v. Harper Collins Publishers, Inc. et al., No. 1:09-cv-02103 (N.D. Ga.). Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University v. Hokie Real Estate Inc., Successfully defended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in trademark infringement litigation against Hokie Real Estate, a real estate agency that adopted a maroon and orange color scheme in their advertising and business cards. The defendant filed a number of counterclaims alleging fraud on the trademark office and trademark misuse. The court granted Virginia Tech's motion to dismiss the counterclaims on sovereign immunity grounds. Case subsequently settled on favorable terms.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University v. Hokie Real Estate, Inc., No. 7:10-cv-00466 (W.D. Va. filed Oct. 18, 2010). Asset sale for the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr. Inc., Represented Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr. Inc. in the sale of Dr. King's papers to a buyer sponsored by the City of Atlanta. Copyright action brought against scientific, engineering and technology applications company, Defended scientific, engineering, and technology applications company against copyright claims brought by a quasigovernmental entity of Russia. *Experience gained by attorney prior to joining Kilpatrick Townsend Publications 28 April 2007, A Decade of Copyright Developments
Source: Art Libraries Society of North America, Articles 01 January 2006, Moral Rights Risks: Conflict and Constitutional Considerations
Source: Intellectual Property Desk Reference, Other Publications 10 March 2005, The Last Word? Supreme Court Resolves Split, but Only Partially
Source: Trademark World, Articles 01 October 2003, A Look Back at New Kids on the Block: Ninth Circuit Expands the Nominative Fair Use Doctrine
Source: Intellectual Property Strategist, Articles 01 September 2003, Moral Rights, Legal Wrongs: Risks, Conflict and Constitutional Consideration in Introducing Moral Rights Protection to U.S. Law
Source: Copyright World, Articles 01 February 2002, Copyright Protection for GIS Information: A New Revenue Source
Source: Georgia County Government, Articles News 04 March 2010, Kilpatrick Stockton Ranked Number One in Five 2010 Georgia Super Lawyer Categories, News Releases Events 14 May 2008, Search and Sensibility Who and What are Protected on the Internet, Events 25 March 2008, Copyright Originality Authorship Ownership Preemption Moral Rights and Infringement, Events 01 February 2007, Online Advertising and Trademark Disputes, Events 01 December 2005, Intellectual Property Issues for Transactional Attorneys, Events 01 November 2005, Recent Copyright Developments, Events 01 September 2005, TTAB Disputes, Events 01 April 2004, Copyright Protection and Electronic Commerce, Events 01 March 2004, Copyright and Patent Roundtable Protecting Software, Events |