Sam Eichner
Sam Eichner
Biography
Sam Eichner is a trademark and copyright lawyer with a wealth of experience in IP litigation, prosecution, due diligence, licensing and enforcement matters. Sam routinely appears in federal court and before the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. He brings a valuable litigator’s perspective to client counselling and portfolio management, invariably seeking practical business solutions for clients. Sam efficiently coordinates global IP portfolios for his clients at all stages, from clearance and prosecution to global enforcement, and has managed trademark portfolios and handled complex licensing matters for Fortune 50 companies and famous brands across industries. Sam also regularly counsels on copyright matters affecting a range of creative works, including art, photography, written publications, software, fonts, consumer goods and music, and has significant experience counseling on generative AI transactions and disputes.
Professional experience
Representative experience
Representative experience
- Defended well-known luxury goods retailer and fashion brands as lead counsel in defense of false advertising, copyright and trademark infringement claims, leading to favorable settlement and dismissal following briefing on defendants’ motions to dismiss.
- Maintained worldwide trademark portfolio for television industry honorary organizations that confer one of the four major entertainment awards in the US.
- Advised Fortune 50 multinational conglomerate in merger of equals in connection with trademark due diligence, licensing, clearance and post-merger rebranding strategy.
- Represented television industry honorary organizations against defendant’s unauthorized association of plaintiffs’ famous statuette with the COVID-19 pandemic, securing an exceptionally favorable ruling that rejected a fair use defense at the motion to dismiss stage and dismissed all counterclaims, including a counterclaim under New York’s broadened anti-SLAPP law.
- Represented not-for-profit scholastic examination publisher in nationwide copyright enforcement matters against private and public educational institutions.
- Served on the litigation team in connection with the copyright infringement claims against one of the largest eCommerce platforms in the US and defeated platform’s motion for summary judgment on copyright infringement claim, which led to favorable settlement.
- Represented one of the most well-known automakers in the world in connection with trademark enforcement matters throughout the US.
- Represented scholastic examination publisher in connection with copyright infringement claims against online platform that allowed students to upload copyright-protected exam questions and obtain answers on student exams and assignments.
- Defended famous American sports equipment company against trademark infringement and related claims and pleaded counterclaims for cancellation of plaintiff’s trademark registrations and leading to favorable settlement.
- Represented major Canadian bank in connection with trademark infringement, false advertising and related claims against defendant’s financial technology platform related to use of bank logos in connection with collecting sensitive banking information and leading to favorable settlement.
- Represented several defendants in defense of copyright and trademark infringement claims in connection with license termination, as well as third-party claims against plaintiffs’ quality control agent, leading to favorable settlement.
Education
Education
- JD, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, 2012
- BA, Johns Hopkins University, 2008
Admissions
Admissions
- District of Columbia Bar
- New Jersey State Bar
- New York State Bar
Publications
Publications
- Author, “The Copyright Implications of Generative AI,” American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) CLE Paper, October 20, 2023
- Author, “The Legal Impact of AI on Associations,” American Society for Association Executives, October 17, 2023
- Author, “The Cost of Honest Mistakes: Even After Unicolors, Copyright Application Errors May Still Have Consequences,” IP Watchdog, March 2, 2022
- Author, “US Copyright Office Issues Report on Sovereign Immunity Study,” National Law Review, October 2021
- Author, “SDNY: Use of Photojournalists’ 9/11 Footage May Be Fair Use,” The National Law Review, September 2021
- Author, “SCOTUS to Consider Intent-to-Defraud Requirement for Copyright Registration Invalidation,” National Law Review, June 2021
- Author, “SCOTUS Reverses Federal Circuit Finding Google’s Android Platform Made Fair Use of the Java API,” National Law Review, April 2021
Speaking engagements
Speaking engagements
- Speaker, “IP Crash Course for Tech Startups,” Johns Hopkins University FUEL Accelerator program, March 29, 2024
- Presenter, “The Copyright Implications of Generative AI,” 2023 American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Annual Meeting, October 20, 2023
- Presenter, “The Science of Trademarks and Copyrights: Key Considerations for the NIH, CDC and FDA,” presented to The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at the 2022 Technology Development and Transfer Committee Forum, August 1, 2022
- Presenter, “Cancellation Actions Against Banksy Trademarks - Monkey with Sandwich Board and Flower Thrower,” 2022 American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Spring Meeting, May 17, 2022
- Presenter, “Exploring Domain Name Genericness: What to expect from the Supreme Court’s decision in the BOOKING.COM case,” Lexology, June 16, 2020
Memberships and activities
Memberships and activities
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- Chair, Appellate Advocacy Subcommittee and Copyright Committee, 2024 – Present
- Member, Professional Programming Committee, 2018 – Present
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