Bobby Ghajar

When the stakes are highest, Bobby Ghajar is the attorney global brands, celebrities and technology companies call. Recognized by Managing IP as its 2026 Trademark Litigation (West) Practitioner of the Year – the preeminent honor in the field – Bobby is one of the most decorated intellectual property trial attorneys in the country. Last year, Forbes recognized him as one of the top 250 attorneys in the country. He has earned consecutive recognition from Chambers USA in both Intellectual Property and Artificial Intelligence and is consistently ranked among the top trademark and copyright litigators in California and nationally by the World Trademark Review, Legal 500, the Daily Journal and prominent entertainment and business publications.

Bobby's practice spans the full spectrum of intellectual property litigation, with a primary focus on trademark, trade dress, copyright, right of publicity and false advertising. He is a strategist with first-chair jury trial and appellate experience. He is sought out to obtain and defend against temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunction motions in bet-the-company cases. He’s won and argued precedent-setting appeals before various appellate courts and secured landmark decisions that have shaped the law. He routinely defends companies in lawsuits involving nine-figure damages demands, iconic brands and cutting-edge legal questions never before confronted by the courts.

Bobby is also at the forefront of generative AI intellectual property litigation. His team achieved a landmark fair use victory for Meta in one of the first copyright cases in the United States to challenge a generative AI model – a matter recognized by Managing IP as its Impact Case of the Year and which won numerous awards by the American Lawyer.  In another recent high-profile case, Bobby led the team that obtained a preliminary injunction on behalf of the City & County of San Francisco against Oakland airport’s rebrand – and later led and argued the defense of that ruling on appeal to the Ninth Circuit.

Bobby regularly counsels companies on the evolving intersection of AI and IP, speaks at leading conferences and preeminent organizations including the Copyright Society, and his series of “AI x IP” presentations have reached thousands of in-house counsel and executives. He also publishes and teaches in these areas, including as a guest trademark lecturer at UCLA Law School.

Beyond litigation, Bobby brings extraordinary depth to trademark counseling and portfolio strategy, having managed some of the world's largest trademark portfolios across nearly 200 jurisdictions, overseen litigations in dozens of countries and developed enforcement strategies for marquee global brands. Bobby strategizes with many companies faced with tricky rebrands and global product launches, carefully assessing the landscape and providing practical advice.

His practice also covers advertising, defamation, DMCA takedowns and defenses, extensive platform and social media, TTAB enforcement, trade secret litigation, domain name disputes and complex business litigation.

The World Trademark Review describes Bobby as an “excellent, results‑driven tactician” whose opponents “instantly gain respect for him.”

WTR highlights his “superb courtroom performances and a string of recent trial successes,” calling him “a trial lawyer you turn to when you can’t afford to lose.”  WTR further noted that “Ghajar is a fierce defender of brands in high‑stakes litigation across the country, pairing courtroom tenacity with globally minded, results‑driven counsel.” Legal 500 echoes this assessment, recognizing him as a “very strong advocate with great business acumen.” Chambers adds that “Bobby has tremendous expertise and provides great strategy and execution. He is very practical and explains legal issues well.” Together, these rankings reflect a lawyer whose strategic clarity, courtroom strength and business‑aligned judgment make him one of the most trusted brand protectors in the market.

Bobby is a member of the International Trademark Association and has served on several of its subcommittees. He speaks and writes extensively on intellectual property and internet issues, street art, fair use, AI and other cutting-edge IP concerns. He has co-written treatises on right of publicity and trademark law, and he has been quoted as an expert in numerous entertainment and legal publications and podcasts in the US and Canada.

Bobby has also been recognized in various news outlets including Forbes (2025), Variety (2025-2026), The Hollywood Reporter (2025), LA Business Journal (2024-2025), Daily Journal (2024 – 2025) Super Lawyers (2014-2021) and IP Stars (2020-2025).

Bobby’s representative matters include:

• Achieved a landmark fair‑use summary judgment victory for Meta in high‑stakes copyright litigation challenging the LLaMA model, following an early motion‑to‑dismiss win that eliminated vicarious, derivative‑work, DMCA and state‑law claims; the fair use ruling – one of the first to reject core copyright theories asserted against generative AI models – earned the Cooley team a Litigator of the Week accolade and was recognized by Managing IP as its Impact Case of the Year.
• Secured a preliminary injunction on behalf of the City and County of San Francisco in a trademark infringement lawsuit against the Port of Oakland, prohibiting the Port from using its new name, "San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport" for Oakland International Airport and defended the ruling on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Argued and won summary judgment for Meta in a trademark suit challenging its rebrand, defeating Metabyte’s infringement and genericness claims and later obtaining a tentative ruling granting a multi-million dollar fee request, which led to resolution of the case.
• Defended Meta in a trademark, fraud and unfair‑competition suit brought by Andrew Bamforth, winning early dismissal of all claims after establishing he could not unwind a prior settlement; defeated reconsideration; and secured Ninth Circuit affirmance, earning Litigator of the Week recognition.
• Defended high‑profile false endorsement and trademark lawsuits brought against a celebrity client and her company, reaching successful settlements in both.
• Represented an automated pet product maker in trademark, patent and false‑advertising litigation against a competitor, securing rare early wins defeating motions to dismiss the client’s core claims and later obtaining dismissal with prejudice of all of the adversary’s amended counterclaims – including interference, review‑manipulation, unfair‑competition and defamation theories – while defeating a parallel patent‑invalidity challenge; the team’s victories earned Litigator of the Week recognition before the case settled in 2024.
• Secured a rare late‑stage default judgment for Emerson Radio in a trademark suit against Emerson Quiet Kool, obtaining $6.5M in damages and injunctive relief; defeated multiple emergency‑stay requests in the Delaware district court and Third Circuit, won a subsequent Third Circuit appeal, and obtained over $3.9M in additional fees and enhanced damages, along with victories in related New Jersey litigation before the matter moved into bankruptcy proceedings.
• Defended a national real estate firm in a contract and trademark dispute; navigated competing breach‑of‑contract and declaratory‑judgment claims before the case resolved in the final weeks of discovery in 2025.
• Won early Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal of trademark infringement claims brought against Meta in Dfinity Foundation v. Meta Platforms relating to Meta’s corporate logo, which was recognized as one of the top trademark decisions of 2022 and reported in multiple publications
• Defended a medicine product company and its celebrity founders in a bet‑the‑company trademark dispute, defeating a motion for preliminary injunction, aggressive demands, and social‑media takedowns, and favorably settling the case .
• Won dismissal with prejudice of all secondary‑copyright claims against a cloud services company in a first‑of‑its‑kind ruling holding that a hosting provider cannot be liable for encrypted BitTorrent activity by VPN users; defeated reconsideration and resolved the case on favorable terms after moving for attorneys’ fees.
• First-chaired a two-week jury trial representing a multinational toy and game company and licensors in a long-running trademark infringement and unfair competition action, resulting in an $8.6 million verdict for his clients, and winning and defeating numerous summary judgment motions, including significant rulings dealing with fraud on the USPTO.
• Defeated a preliminary injunction motion against a top online workplace platform, defending that ruling on appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and successfully resolving case.
• Defended a popular virtual reality hardware and software maker against claims of trademark infringement and obtaining summary judgment on behalf of the client, followed by dismissal of the multimillion-dollar damages request.
• Represented a board game and book publisher in an appeal to the Ninth Circuit, arguing and winning a precedential decision reversing a district court ruling relating to the issue of trademark distinctiveness
• Represented a famous worldwide sports and apparel company, arguing and winning summary judgment, and obtaining dismissal of trademark and unfair competition claims that sought nearly eight-figure damages, followed by defeat of motion seeking summary judgment as to fraud counterclaims.
• Represented a global toy and entertainment company in an appeal relating to opposition to a movie company’s application to register a trademark identical to the toy company’s claimed rights to several trademarks, and winning a precedential decision from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for the client and preserving one of its key brands against a charge of abandonment.
• Defeated an e-learning technology company’s TRO and preliminary injunction motion that threatened to prevent the launch of the client’s new computerized learning device, and winning summary judgment dismissing the majority of the plaintiff’s damages claim and forward confusion claim, as well as debunking a theory of “search engine” confusion.
• Represented an international entertainment company in a breach of implied contract and copyright lawsuit seeking nearly nine-figure damages, winning motions to dismiss non-copyright claims and dismissal of individual defendant, and resolving the matter.
• Represented a global clothing retailer in a multimillion-dollar victory against a competitor by co-chairing a team during the two-week jury trial to prevail on trademark, unfair competition and contract claims, leading to a jury award of $5.7 million for the client.
• Represented an upscale beverage maker in relation to false advertising and Consumers Legal Remedies Act class action claims, and successfully resolving the issues on behalf of the client.
• Represented a solar technology company against claims of false advertising and trademark infringement, settling the case after filing a motion for summary judgment and a Daubert motion excluding the other party’s damages expert.
• Represented an international computer company in TRO and preliminary injunction proceedings that sought to shut down a collaborative social media and music project by defeating the TRO, with the plaintiff subsequently dismissing the case.
• Led a team that defended a nonprofit entity in a trademark and trade name infringement case by defeating the preliminary injunction and the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment, then winning a summary judgment dismissing all claims.
• Defended a semiconductor company in a trademark and trade name infringement case involving secondary meaning and genericness issues, and obtaining dismissal with prejudice
• Obtained on behalf a real estate developer, manager and broker a complete defense summary judgment on a national law firm plaintiff’s infringement, cybersquatting and dilution claims (one of the first under the Trademark Dilution Revision Act), along with a partial award of defendants’ attorneys’ fees and costs
• Served as lead counsel on behalf of an international semiconductor company in a trademark infringement and dilution action, winning judgment against corporate and individual defendants, and defending that judgment on multiple appeals to the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• Defending an international apparel company in a copyright and California right of publicity lawsuit, obtaining dismissal of certain claims on 12(b)(6) motion, and mediating the case to obtain a favorable settlement
• Successfully represented a natural beverage company in a forward and reverse confusion infringement and dilution lawsuit against large alcoholic beverage and vodka manufacturers by defeating summary judgment on dilution and infringement grounds, then obtaining several key pretrial rulings and a favorable settlement for the client.
• Won key summary judgment rulings and obtained a favorable settlement for a worldwide soft drink manufacturer in defense of a trademark and copyright infringement action involving a well-known logo.
• Defended a motion for preliminary injunction brought by a multibillion-dollar lending institution against mortgage broker clients, leading to a favorable settlement after an early mediation.

Recent presentations

• “From Ideation to Production: Copyright Considerations From the Front Lines of AI-Augmented Creation,” 2026 Copyright Society Midwinter Meeting, Rancho Mirage, CA, January 26, 2026
• “Generative AI: Navigating the Legal and Risk Landscape” MCCA Global TEC Forum, Sunnyvale, CA, June 18, 2024
• “Copyright Protection and AI Litigation” The Copyright Office Comes to California, Intellectual Property Law Section of California Lawyers Association, Redwood Shores, CA, May 16, 2024
• “Responsible AI in Business: Ethical Challenges and Opportunities, ” USC Marshall School of Business, Neely Center for Ethical Leadership and Decision Making, Los Angeles, January 29, 2024 
• “How Foreign Law Influences U.S. Trademark Law,” PLI’s Intellectual Property Institute, San Francisco, November 3, 2023
• “AI and Intellectual Property Issues,” ACC New York, New York, NY, October 5, 2023
• “AI Talks, Intellectual Property,” Cooley Webinar, October 4, 2023
• “Legal Issues Surrounding AI,” Practising Law Institute Technotainment 2023, San Francisco, CA, October 2, 2023
• “Analog to AI: Using AI as a Shield Not a Sword,” IP-Con 2023: The Coming Vortex – The Convergence of AI, IP and Regulation, Redwood City, CA, September 29, 2023
• “Harnessing the Power of Generative AI: Legal and Policy Considerations,” Major, Lindsey and Africa Webinar, June 13, 2023
• "Surveys and Other Experts in Copyright Litigation," McCarthy LA Copyright Symposium, Los Angeles, March 16, 2023
• “The Augmented Author: Exploring the IP Implications of Generative AI, ” Cooley CLE Program, New York, March 9, 2023
• “The Augmented Author: Exploring the IP Implications of Generative AI,” Cooley CLE Program, San Francisco, February 8, 2023
• “Extraterritorial Application of the Lanham Act: Enforcing Foreign Rights in the US and Enforcing US Rights Against Foreign Conduct,” Practising Law Institute (PLI) Intellectual Property Law Institute, New York, September 23, 2022
• “The Use of Empirical Evidence in Intellectual Property Cases,” IP-Con 2022: An Annual Symposium for the Progress of Science and Useful Arts, Phoenix, Arizona, March 17, 2022
• “Developments in Anti-Counterfeiting,” PLI Intellectual Property Law Institute, San Francisco, October 19, 2021
• “From Kitties to Kicks (and Everything in Between): NFT Challenges and Opportunities,” Lexology webinar, August 18, 2021

Recent publications

• Co author of “The Presumption that Changed Trademark Law,” Daily Journal, May 2026
• Co-author of "Do Courts in the 9th Circuit Have Authority to Adjudicate Issues of Trademark Registration?” Daily Journal, May 2024
• Co-author of “US Copyright Office Grants Limited Registration for AI-Generated Graphic Novel,” Cooley Alert, February 2023
• Co-author of “Purchasing NFTs? Watch Out for These IP Issues, Bloomberg Law, May 2022
• Co-author of “Upcycled Goods: Considering When Restoration Crosses into Infringement,” IP Watchdog, March 2022
• Co-author of “Trademark Modernization Act Resolves Disparate Handling of Presumption of Irreparable Harm in Trademark Cases,” The Trademark Lawyer, December 2021
• Author of “Is Trademark Dilution Even Still A Thing?” Law360, June 2021
• Co-author of “NFTs Present Opportunities and Challenges for IP Rights Holders,” The Wrap PRO Insight, April 2021