Marcella Ballard’s practice covers a wide range of intellectual property matters, including trademark, copyright, trade secret, privacy rights, licensing disputes, unfair competition, contract and business tort claims. She has represented clients in bench and jury trials and arbitration hearings throughout the U.S. and in the UK.

Ms. Ballard’s client base spans a range of industries that includes fashion, media, consumer products, entertainment, financial services, insurance, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and IT. Her exposure to so many industries positions her to effectively meet her clients’ needs, no matter what their business focus.

Ms. Ballard is a veteran in prosecuting and defending motions for emergency injunctive relief, and has acted as lead counsel in anti-counterfeiting actions around the country in which ex parte seizure and TRO relief was obtained. Her experience includes successfully managing the simultaneous seizure of counterfeited goods across 11 locations in a single day; an effort that involved coordinating with a large group of law enforcement, customs officials and Federal Marshalls.

She previously served as an Assistant District Attorney in New York, Bronx County where she tried over 15 jury trials to conclusion and had a near perfect record of obtaining convictions for the State.

Significant Matters

• Represented a global software manufacturer in a licensing dispute with its South American distributor in a bench trial on an expedited schedule, prevailing at the trial court level and continued the successful representation through confirmation of the award on appeal.
• Represented the US distributor of a variety of consumer goods in multiple anti-counterfeiting litigations in several jurisdictions, including moving for ex parte, emergency, injunctive and permanent relief through motions, trial practice and eventually the successful confirmation of a multimillion dollar contempt award on appeal.
• Represented the owner of the intellectual property rights to various children’s books and characters in a copyright, trade dress and unfair competition action against an infringer selling goods through the Internet and franchise stores.
• Represented a global film studio in an action brought by its licensees over the rights to licensed goods from a major motion picture and successfully resolved the case through mediation.
• Represented a luxury retailer in a class action under the Song Beverly Credit Card Act.