Meaghan Hemmings Kent focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation, including copyright, trademark, false advertising, trade secret, patent, right of publicity and domain name matters.  She is admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a Registered Patent Attorney.  Her litigation experience covers diverse industries including: traditional and online media; software and electronics; music; photography and artwork; medical devices and pharmaceuticals; consumer products and toys; and construction and architecture.  She has appeared before federal and state courts all over the country, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Ms. Kent has particular experience in resolving online disputes, including cyberpiracy and domain name matters (ACPA and UDRP), keyword advertising disputes, social media policies, Digital Millennium Copyright Act matters, and publicity, copyright, trademark, and counterfeit matters with social networking sites and other online venues.  She has successfully litigated numerous domain name disputes before federal courts and arbitrators such as WIPO.  She is a member of Venable's Domain Name and Cyberpiracy Team which advises clients on Internet domain name disputes and worldwide domain name registration and policing strategies.

Ms. Kent's practice also includes intellectual property counseling and transactional work, including licensing, media transactions, developing intellectual property portfolios, brand management strategy, and conducting intellectual property audits.  Her experience includes copyright and trademark acquisition and licensing.

Ms. Kent is a member of Venable's Advertising and Marketing team, which was selected in 2010 and 2011 as a recipient of the Chambers USA Award of Excellence, recognized by Legal 500, and in 2011, selected as Law Firm of the Year for National Advertising by U.S. News & World Report.  Ms. Kent is also a member of Venable’s Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force and Advertising Litigation team.

Activities

Ms. Kent is an Adjunct Professor of Legal Writing at George Washington University Law School where she teaches and advises students on the AIPLA law journal, and is a guest lecturer on Copyright Litigation for American University Law School’s Art Law course. 

Ms. Kent serves as an editor of Venable’s premier intellectual property news publication, IP Buzz.  She is a frequent speaker and writer regarding intellectual property matters, authoring two books (one forthcoming) for Oxford University Press. 

Ms. Kent enjoys serving clients pro bono, including advising clients through Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts regarding copyright and other intellectual property disputes.

Ms. Kent also serves as the Board Member in Charge of the Virginia/Maryland/DC Chapter of Women in Toys.