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Coats and Bennett, PLLC, Attorney to Lead American Bar Association Intellectual Property Committee
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Cary, NC -- Coats and Bennett, one of the most accomplished intellectual property law boutiques in the Southeast, announced today that Anthony Biller, Esq., Member, Coats and Bennett, will chair the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Committee on Trademark Litigation.
Biller leads the firm’s litigation practice, representing clients nationwide with intellectual property disputes and management issues. Actively involved with the Intellectual Property Law Practice Group of the ABA, he served as chair of the Trademark and Internet Committee for the past two years and will chair Committee 208-Trademark Litigation during the 2009-2010 ABA year.
In his leadership role, Biller intends to address many topical issues facing trademark litigation, including the potential expansion of domain name infringement, or "cybersquatting", that may occur with the introduction of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs include domain names like .biz, .com, .org) by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a nonprofit that oversees many internet-related issues. ICANN has forecast the rollout to occur as soon as early 2010.
"One of our goals is to work within and prepare the ABA to have policy positions ready on cutting edge intellectual property issues as they unfold, such as on the gTLD rollout scheduled for 2010. With the continuing expansion of the Internet, it is an exciting time to be practicing intellectual property law and the ABA committees play important roles in the development of our laws." says Biller.
"Over the next year, the committee will study and perhaps sponsor ABA policy positions on other critical trademark issues like whether the ‘initial interest confusion’ doctrine – when a consumer is initially misled but realizes the mistake prior to purchase – should be applied in internet trademark infringement cases," Biller continued. "Additionally, the committee will likely examine whether the purchasing of adwords constitutes ‘trademark use’ for purposes of infringement under federal trademark laws."
The purpose of Committee 208 is to review and monitor significant issues relating to U.S. federal and state court litigation involving trademarks, trade dress, trade identity and unfair competition.
About Coats and Bennett
Coats and Bennett, PLLC, is one of the most established intellectual property law boutiques in the Southeast. Located in Cary, North Carolina, the firm provides a comprehensive range of intellectual property legal services including patents, trademarks, copyrights, licensing, trade secrets, and related litigation throughout the U.S. and worldwide. With a reputation as a trusted, experienced and effective resource for businesses and individuals in need of IP counsel, Coats and Bennett delivers quality work to local clients in North Carolina and Fortune 500 companies alike. For more information, visit www.coatsandbennett.com.
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