Justin E. Pierce
Partner
Justin’s practice includes:
- Representing clients in litigation involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, and advertising claims in a variety of industries, including apparel, consumer goods, electronics, food and beverage, footwear, media, mobile device, pharmaceutical, software, and telecommunications. Justin has handled cases in U.S. federal courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission
- Developing and implementing worldwide brand protection strategies for companies around the world, ranging from start-ups to multinational corporations. Justin regularly assists clients in identifying vulnerabilities in their business model and devising innovative solutions to protect their brands and content, and their company’s reputation in the international marketplace
- Working with regulatory and law enforcement agencies in the United States and abroad to address counterfeiting issues. Justin has helped brand owners recover substantial damages through enforcement actions and litigation aimed at high-value counterfeiters, and worked with clients to facilitate the seizure and destruction of numerous counterfeit products
- Working with clients to maximize and better leverage the value of their intellectual property through licensing and other transactions. Justin has managed complex intellectual property licensing on an international scale in matters dealing with patents, trademarks, and copyrights
- Providing counsel regarding cross-border trade, customs, and outreach to foreign governments on intellectual property matters. Justin has worked with a number of U.S. agencies responsible for intellectual property and trade enforcement issues on behalf of clients
Prior to joining Venable, Justin served as an in-house counsel to a major multinational corporation for a number of years. In this role, Justin led a government relations initiative that enhanced company intellectual property enforcement efforts in key markets around the world. This experience gave him substantial knowledge of the business and strategy issues that challenge executives and their in-house legal teams.
Justin is also an inventor who currently holds a patent and a number of published applications dealing with mobile applications, augmented and virtual reality, gaming, and anti-counterfeiting technology.
Before law school, Justin served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army, and attained the rank of captain.
Related Practices
- Advertising and Marketing Litigation
- Brand and Content Protection
- Intellectual Property Litigation
- Trademark Prosecution and Brand Management
- International Trade
- Legislative and Government Affairs
- Trademark Litigation
- Copyrights and Licensing
- Domain Names and Cyber Protection
- Patent Litigation
- Intellectual Property
- International
Experience
Experience
Government Experience
- Captain, United States Army
Representative Matters
- Managed numerous intellectual property litigation matters on behalf of a major multinational mobile device manufacturer, including management of §337 patent litigation in the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), and intellectual property litigation in various U.S. federal district courts
- Representing Luxottica Group, S.p.A. in ongoing trademark infringement lawsuits involving Luxottica sunglass brands. (Filed in 2016: Luxottica Group, S.p.A., et al. v. Snow Deals Now, et al.; Luxottica USA LLC et al. v. Sole Society, Inc. et al.; Luxottica Group S.p.A. et al. v. Tycon Net, LLC et al.; Luxottica Group S.p.A. et al. v. College Glasses. Filed in 2015: Luxottica Group S.p.A. v. Sherman Specialty Inc. et al.; Luxottica Group S.p.A. v. Promotion Store LLC et al.; Luxottica Group S.p.A. v. Unbeatable Sale.Com Inc. et al.; Luxottica Group S.p.A. v. A&M Promotions, Inc. et al.; Luxottica Group S.p.A. v. Web 4 Half LLC et al.)
- Represents Luxottica Group, S.p.A. in ongoing trademark enforcement actions involving online e-commerce stores. (Luxottica Group S.p.A. et al. v. BCBG Max Azria Group, LLC et al.; Luxottica Group S.p.A. v. Party City Holdco Inc. et al.)
- Representing the defendants in a patent lawsuit involving address handling within mobile devices. Case is ongoing. (Arendi S.A.R.L. v. Sony Mobile Communications, et al.)
- Representing the defendant in a patent lawsuit involving encryption and user authentication technologies in computers and mobile devices. Case is ongoing. (MAZ Encryption Technologies, LLC v. BlackBerry Corp.)
- Represented a third party in a patent lawsuit involving a method of connecting computers securely over a wireless network. (In re Certain Devices with Secure Communication Capabilities, Components Thereof, and Products Containing the Same); ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-818
- Represented one of the defendants in a patent lawsuit involving form-based operating systems used in Internet-connected computing and mobile devices. (Cyberfone v. Cellco, et al.)
- Represented a major defense contractor and defended against an infringement action brought in the Court of Federal Claims, involving a patent related to the use of night vision goggles in conjunction with full-color cockpit displays. (Honeywell Int’l Inc. v. U.S.); 70 Fed. Cl. 424 (2006)
- Represented a major pharmaceutical company and established patent infringement by a generic drug company in a multi-month patent trial involving a multi-billion-dollar anti-infective agent. 2004 WL 2973831 (N.D. W.Va.)
- Represented a major wireless communications equipment provider and plaintiff in an infringement action concerning patents related to wireless technology under the IEEE 802.11 standard. (Agere Systems Guardian Corp. v. Proxim, Inc.); No. 01 339 RRM (D. Del.)
- Represented a major wireless communications equipment provider and intervenor in an infringement action concerning wireless local area network technology. (In re Certain Wireless Local Area Network Cards); ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-455
- Managed IP due diligence and review in numerous merger and acquisition transactions, including providing strategic advice on the scope and value of the target company's intellectual property, enforcement capability, infringement risks, and the impact of ongoing intellectual property litigation
- Represented a major international digital publishing company in a government affairs and advocacy matter regarding international copyright law issues
- Managed international intellectual property and brand protection-related advocacy and government relations on behalf of a major multinational corporation
Insights
Insights
Credentials
Credentials
Education
- J.D. George Washington University Law School 2000
- B.S. United States Military Academy at West Point 1992
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
Court Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, American Intellectual Property Lawyers Association
- Member, International Trademark Association
- Co-authored the U.S. chapter in Anti-Counterfeiting 2016 – A Global Guide, published by the World Trademark Review
Recognition
Recognition
- National Law Journal, Trailblazer, Intellectual Property, 2018
- The National Black Lawyers Top 100, 2016
- World Trademark Review
- WTR 1000, Enforcement and Litigation, 2015 – 2023
- WTR 1000, Prosecution and Strategy, 2013 – 2023
- Legal 500
- Intellectual Property – Patents: Litigation (full coverage), 2019 – 2024
- Trademarks: Non-Contentious, 2013
- Managing Intellectual Property, IP Stars, 2022 – 2023
- Lawyers of Color, Law Firm Leaders, 2022
- Super Lawyers, 2023
- IAM Strategy 300, 2023