Brian Focarino

Brian represents clients across a full range of trademark, copyright and advertising matters. He is equally adept in advising iconic brands and emerging growth companies, including many of the most celebrated startups in the world. To complement his practice, Brian teaches trademark law at Suffolk University Law School and chairs the Cooley Inclusion Alliance, leading efforts to recruit, mentor and advance exceptional, underrepresented legal talent.

Brian has a vibrant and varied intellectual property practice counseling and litigating on behalf of clients spanning a diverse range of industries, technologies and geographies. He has significant experience in complex matters relating to trademarks, trade dress, copyright, false advertising, unfair competition, cybersquatting and counterfeiting. Brian coaches companies on worldwide brand selection, adoption and protection, provides strategic counsel for infringement claims, builds and manages global IP portfolios, and partners on strategic corporate transactions. When  litigation is necessary, he achieves successful results for clients in federal courts, in opposition and cancellation proceedings before the US Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and in domain name disputes before the National Arbitration Forum and World Intellectual Property Organization.

Before joining Cooley, Brian completed in-house internships at Google and Verizon focused on trademark and copyright law matters. He also interned for Chief Judge Randall R. Rader of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

During law school, Brian was the Warnement Scholar in Intellectual Property Law, president of the Student Intellectual Property Society, executive editor of the William & Mary Business Law Review and a member of the Appellate and Supreme Court Clinic. He sits on the board of directors of the William & Mary Alumni Association.

Publications and Citations

• Author, Volunteer Spotlight: Peter Brody, Ropes & Gray, Int'l Trademark Ass'n Bulletin (Dec. 1, 2018)
• Author, Committee Spotlight: Leadership Development–Diverse Messengers with Diverse Messages, Int’l Trademark Ass’n Bulletin (Oct. 15, 2018)
• Author, Committee Spotlight: Impact Studies Committee Hits Its Stride, Int’l Trademark Ass’n Bulletin (July 2, 2018)
• Author, Tackling “Tokenism” in Legal Departments and Law Firms (It’s Not Just a Virtual Currency), Ass’n of Corporate Counsel (March 26, 2018), 
• Author, C-Suite Executives More Aware of Trademark Portfolio Risk and Reward, IPWATCHDOG (Apr. 18, 2017)
• Author, Disparaging Marks: The Question of Offensiveness, World Trademark Review (Jan. 2, 2017)
• Co-Author (with John W. Crittenden), Supreme Court to Consider "Disparaging" Trademarks, IPWATCHDOG (Oct. 2, 2016)
• Author, Trader Joe’s and Extraterritorial Application of the Lanham Act, IPWATCHDOG (Sept. 21, 2016)
• Author, Associates Can Lead Diversity Efforts, Too (Perspective), Bloomberg Law (July 1, 2016)
• Author, Brand Owners Watch as Smoke Clears on Plain Packaging Efforts, IPWATCHDOG (June 16, 2016)
• Author, Social Media and the Rise of Opportunistic #Trademark Filings, IPWATCHDOG (Apr. 14, 2016)
• Author, The Trademark as a Novel Innovation Index, 9 J. Bus. Entrepreneurship & L. (2016)
• Co-Author (with John W. Crittenden), Federal Circuit Strikes Ban on "Disparaging" Trademarks, Cooley (Dec. 29, 2015)
• Author, Napa Valley Vintners First Wine Group in US to Receive Certification Mark Registration, IPWATCHDOG (Dec. 27, 2015)
• Author, Unconstitutional – CAFC Rules PTO Cannot Deny Registration for Disparaging Trademarks, IPWATCHDOG (Dec. 23, 2015)
• Author, Patent Law's Unexceptional Future, 2015 Corporate IP Inst. (Ga. State Univ. College of Law and J. Mack Robinson College of Business), Oct. 2015, at VI
• Author, The Trademark as a Novel Innovation Index, AUG./SEPT. 2015 REPORT (N.Y. Intellectual Prop. Law Ass'n), Oct. 2015, at 1, 3-10
• Co-Author (with Renée C. Quinn), ‘Happy Birthday to You' Now in the Public Domain (Sort Of), IPWATCHDOG (Oct. 28, 2015)
• Author, Trademark Tea Leaves: Balancing Product Secrecy with Public Trademark Registration, IPWATCHDOG (Oct. 8, 2015)
• Author, To the Batmobile! Copyright Saves the Day in Gotham City, IPWATCHDOG (Sept. 24, 2015).
• Author,Dancing Baby Center Of Test Case Over Bad DMCA Takedowns, IPWATCHDOG (Sept. 21, 2015)
• Author, Patent Law's Unexceptional Future, 97 J. Pat & Trademark Off Soc'y 472 (Sept. 2015)
• Author, Big Tobacco Heads to Court Over Cigarette Plain Packaging Laws, IPWATCHDOG (July 19, 2015)
• Author, Bad News for the Redskins Trademark – Registration Exempt from First Amendment Scrutiny, IPWATCHDOG (July 14, 2015)
• Author, Free Speech or Scandal? The Slants Case and the Future of Disparaging Trademarks, IPWATCHDOG (July 5, 2015)

Media and Podcasts

• Making Connections in Boston’s IP Community, Boston Patent Law Association (February 4, 2020)
• Quoted, Arch-Conservative Political Pundit Obtains "MEDIA MALPRACTICE" Trademark, IPWATCHDOG (Oct. 3, 2016)
• Episode 332: Drones Without Borders, This Week in Law (Jan. 8, 2016)
• Trademarks May Make for a Better Innovation Index in China, World Trademark Review (July 15, 2015)

Panels and Presentations

• Invited Moderator, Visit America’s National Marks!, International Trademark Association Annual Meeting, Houston, TX (November 2020)
• Guest Lecturer, Trademark Law Course, William & Mary Law School, Williamsburg, Virginia (April 16, 2020)
• Panelist, Making Connections in Boston’s IP Community, Boston Patent Law Association, Boston, MA (February 4, 2020)
• Panelist, “Navigating Disruptive Technologies,” American Bar Association IP West Conference, Long Beach, CA (October 11, 2017)
• Moderator, “Nominative Fair Use: How Much is Too Much?,” International Trademark Association Annual Meeting, Barcelona, Spain (May 24, 2017)
• Panelist, Silicon Valley Comic Con's "Geek Law 101: Intellectual Property Law Basics" Silicon Valley Comic Con (March 20, 2016)