Andrew D. Price
In naming Andrew one of the WTR Global Leaders 2019 - 2022, World Trademark Review notes, "Andrew Price's passion for trademark law sets him apart; he brings incredible and infectious energy to the practice, harnessing it to execute for his clients accurately, speedily and cost-effectively. Brand owners love his commitment not just to their needs but also to important issues such as diversity." On the community side, Washington Lawyer magazine featured him on the cover with his guitar for a 2022 story about Law Rocks, an event his band has won three times while helping to raise more than $100,000 for charity. In 2022, he was also named Trademark Prosecutor of the Year by the Bar Association of the District of Columbia (BADC).
Andrew's practice includes bringing and defending opposition and cancellation actions before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). He also works closely with the firm's Intellectual Property Litigation Group to bring and defend against trademark-related lawsuits, including preliminary injunction motions, in U.S. federal court, and has settled cases by mediation. Abroad Andrew oversees a personal network of top foreign lawyers in a full range of trademark work, from searching to litigation, and has significant experience in China.
Related Practices
Experience
Representative Matters
- Represented American Bar Association in reaching a landmark trademark settlement involving its core brand indicia, through the use of mediation
- Defended American Bar Association and AARP in litigation regarding a shared book title
- Managed the TIME'S UP brand in its high-profile global launch to address sexual harassment and gender inequality in the workplace
- Managed trademark protection for a major 2020 U.S. presidential candidate
- Successfully enforced a brand at the forefront of fighting the novel coronavirus pandemic and effects of the COVID-19 infection
- Represented Arianna Huffington in negotiating IP aspects of the sale of The Huffington Post to AOL
- Achieved a favorable settlement between client American Bar Association and The Canadian Bar Association concerning the coexistence of the parties' primary brands
- Guided Fortune 500 company RR Donnelley through a year-long process of rebranding itself and spinning off two public companies with new brands on a global basis
- Helped Sony manage the intricacies of trademark law related to its acquisition of Ericsson's 50% interest in the Sony Ericsson joint venture
- Led a billion-dollar consumer products company through the process of seeking well-known status in China
- Helped Project Management Institute manage one of the first trademark litigations in China before the new Beijing IP Court
- Got a large mobile client's "crown jewel" trademark approved by the USPTO in 13 business days, after it lingered at another firm for 3½ years with various objections
- Registered the name of Apple's iPhone App of the Year based on acquired distinctiveness, after a personal meeting with the examiner, months before the award
- Managed the simultaneous searching of 12 trademarks in 4 classes in 76 countries, for a total of 3,648 individual risk assessments, for half the budget
- Managed the simultaneous filing of 450 trademark applications worldwide for one of Interbrand's Best Global Brands, under budget
- Recovered a vanity social media handle for a top-ten Fortune 500 company after three years of attempts by the client to do so
- Licensed a nonprofit client's slogan for use in branding one of the biggest award shows in the entertainment industry
- Leveraged a restaurant chain in Panama to rebrand from COZI based on our client's U.S. rights in COSI, allowing the client to open its franchise there
- Helped a joint venture of one of the world’s top luxury automobile brands select house brands for a new "green" line of cars
- Won a seven-year battle to register a restaurant chain's main brand in the European Community
- Successfully defended a nonprofit against a party that claimed it jointly owned the client's name
- Successfully defended a large investment company in an opposition, with a counterattack that caused the competitor to withdraw and phase out its own slogan
- Worked with Venable's litigation team to defend and file preliminary injunction actions in U.S. District Court, resulting in favorable settlements
- Developed a global strategy that led to settlement after a party demanded our client not launch a critical product-line brand
- Managed the searching of more than 500 trademarks for one client in one year
- Worked on high-dollar licensing transactions involving major TV show names
- Won an appeal for Sony Mobile to register a rare motion mark in the European Community, and obtained for the client one of the few U.S. registrations for a sound mark
- Stopped Asian and European counterfeiters of the world's top-selling dance sneaker
- Filed one of the first U.S.-based applications under the Madrid Protocol, and registered the well-known nonprofit brand MENSA worldwide through the system
Representative Clients
- Served as global trademark counsel to a leading mobile phone manufacturer Sony Mobile (formerly Sony Ericsson) for ten years, and served a second leading manufacturer in the same way for two years
- Serves as global trademark counsel to a large number of nonprofits, including some of the most well-known in the world:
- American Bar Association
- Entertainment Industry Foundation (Stand Up to Cancer)
- Project Management Institute
- Responsible for thousands of active trademark applications/registrations and oppositions/cancellations in diverse fields, including global portfolios of the following clients:
- A leading Hollywood film and entertainment company
- A leading global consumer products company with $1 billion in annual revenues
- One of the world's top dance footwear and apparel companies
- One of the world's largest cloud computing organizations
- Served as U.S. and global trademark counsel for one of the world’s leading financial companies for 17 years
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. Southern Methodist University 1996
- B.A. Vanderbilt University 1991
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Virginia, Associate Member (inactive) 2009
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Member, American Mensa
- Member, International Trademark Association and its Public and Media Relations Committee
- Member, American Intellectual Property Law Association
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, The Mayflower Society (General Society of Mayflower Descendants)
- Former member, Venable Hiring Committee for the Washington, DC office — when the firm's summer associate program was ranked as one of the top in the country by Vault
- Former member, Venable’s Partnership Selection Committee
- Former member, Venable’s Diversity Committee
- Former intern, Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia
Recognition
Andrew has received high praise from the World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000 for ten years, including three consecutive Gold rankings for the Trademark Prosecution and Counseling Group he co-chairs, five consecutive individual Gold rankings, and being named one of the WTR Global Leaders four years in a row. WTR has recognized him as a "brilliant resource" for providing a "fantastic global perspective," "first-class knowledge of trademark law," and "superb understanding of clients and their needs". He is "wholeheartedly recommended" for his "smart, dedicated, and extremely creative approach. His ability to infuse life into even the driest legal issues is second to none". He has also been called an "arch strategist" who achieves "the perfect balance of being detail-focused without losing sight of the big picture" and noted as "one of the best there is".
- World Trademark Review (Individual Rankings)
- Global Leaders, 2019 – 2022
- WTR 1000, Prosecution and Strategy (Gold Tier), DC Metro Area, 2018 – 2022
- WTR 1000, Prosecution and Strategy (Silver Tier), National, 2022
- WTR 1000, Prosecution and Strategy (Silver Tier), DC Metro Area, 2012 – 2017
- WTR 1000, Enforcement and Litigation (Bronze Tier), DC Metro Area, 2021 – 2022
- Chambers USA
- Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets, Washington, DC, 2017 – 2018, 2021 – 2022
- Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets, Nationwide, 2019 – 2020
- The Bar Association of the District of Columbia, Trademark Prosecutor of the Year, 2022
- Legal 500
- Trademarks: Non-Contentious, 2013 – 2015
- Not-for-Profit (Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Organizations), 2017 – 2019
- Trademark, Prosecution and Counseling Group, Co-Chair (Group Rankings)
- Gold in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area in Prosecution and Strategy (WTR 1000, 2020 – 2022)
- Top 10 trademark firms as "Most Well-Respected Law Firm 2021" in the North America – East Coast region (The Trademark Lawyer, 2021)
- Top 10 for obtaining U.S. trademark registrations (Intellectual Property Today, 2012, 2014 – 2015; U.S. Trademark Toteboard, 2017)
- Top 20 for filing U.S. trademark applications (CompuMark, 2018 – 2019)
- Tier 1 nationally for trademarks (U.S. News – Best Lawyers, "Best Law Firms," 2011 – 2012)
- The Congressional Award (One of the inaugural recipients of the award, which is given in part for public service)
Community
Pro Bono
- Represents DC Central Kitchen and Together We Bake
Volunteerism
- Volunteer, Law Rocks – raises money for the nonprofits Law Rocks Together We Bake, with a seven-year fundraising total of more than $100,000
- Has volunteered to support a local Boy Scout troop, high school marching band, and hockey and soccer teams
Personal Activities
- Lead guitarist in the band Noise in the Basement, which won Law Rocks DC 2016, 2017 and 2018 at the legendary 9:30 Club (called the #1 moment of the 2016 international tour). Performed at the world-famous Whiskey a Go Go as part of Law Rocks LA 2017; the first ever Law Rocks-apalooza, a global virtual concert event in 2020; with the singer of Collective Soul as part of the local event Rockin’ for Scholarships in 2021; and at Law Rocks for Ukraine in 2022
- Winner of Venable DC's Sir Francis Drake Bocce Tournament and two-time winner of its annual Halloween contest / talent show
- Mentored a promising paralegal for 10 years, culminating in her graduation from law school summa cum laude