Elissa Brockbank Reese is an associate in Venable’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group.  Ms. Reese has significant litigation experience involving various intellectual property rights including: Lanham Act false advertising, trademark infringement, trade dress infringement, infringement through keyword advertising, dilution and unfair competition; copyright; cybersquatting and domain name disputes including Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act litigation and domain name dispute resolution through the World Intellectual Property Organization; social networking issues; FTC Act; state deceptive trade practices; rights of publicity; trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board; design and utility patent infringement; and Digital Millennium Copyright Act matters. 

Ms. Reese has experience with all phases of litigation, from demand letters, initial pleadings, motions for preliminary injunction, and fact and expert discovery, to motions for summary judgment and trial preparation.  Ms. Reese has appeared in courts around the country and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and WIPO.  Specifically, Ms. Reese has appeared numerous times before the so-called “Rocket Docket” of the Eastern District of Virginia, and she is well-versed in the court’s local rules and customary practices.

Ms. Reese is a member of Venable’s Advertising and Marketing team, which was selected in 2011 as a recipient of the Chambers USA Award for Excellence, Law Firm of the Year for National Advertising by U.S. News & World Report, and recognized as a Top-Tier Firm by Legal 500.  Ms. Reese is also a member of Venable’s Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force and Advertising Litigation team.   

Significant Matters

Ms. Reese’s litigation experience includes:

• Assisting in obtaining a successful outcome for a national water filtration company in Lanham Act false advertising litigation.
• Representing a national department store in defending against a trademark opposition proceeding before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
• Successfully arbitrating a domain name dispute before the World Intellectual Property Organization for a nationally recognized university.

Activities

Ms. Reese is a co-editor of Venable’s premier Intellectual Property News publication, IP Buzz.  She is also an active member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law, Private Advertising Litigation Committee.
 
Ms. Reese enjoys serving clients pro bono as part of Venable’s pro bono program.  She has successfully defended a pro bono client against a non-payment of rent suit and has successfully assisted a number of pro bono clients before the Social Security Administration’s Office of Disability Adjudication and Review.