Robert is a leading advertising and brand protection specialist, safeguarding, enforcing and commercializing some of the world's most famous brands. He is a founding member of the firm's Sports Industry Team and a member of the firm's Advertising Team.
Robert provides strategic counseling on issues related to trademark registration and clearance, content clearance, prize promotions, advertising claim substantiation, and cause marketing regulatory compliance under the Lanham Act, Section 5 of the FTC Act, and various other federal and state consumer protection statutes. He and his team have structured hundreds of brand promotions—such as contests, sweepstakes, giveaways, charitable sales promotions and giving campaigns—across the country and in dozens of major markets around the world, helping clients avoid costly challenges from consumers, competitors and state and federal regulators. Robert is especially experienced in matters unique to the sports and entertainment industry. He counsels clients on intellectual property rights in connection with arenas and event centers, professional, semiprofessional and amateur sports teams, athletes and artists.
Robert brings years of experience from his first career in the advertising industry to his premier advertising law practice, and is recognized as an expert in negotiating brand and publicity licenses, sponsorships, naming rights and other promotional agreements. Robert brings a practical approach to risk management, with a first-hand understanding of the time pressures of the advertising industry and the issues brands and agencies face with consumer messaging across all channels, including social media, web and new technology platforms. Robert maintains current market intelligence in these areas to ensure his clients remain the industry leaders.
Robert and his team also protect and enforce clients' brands by strategically navigating intellectual property infringement and licensing disputes in federal courts nationwide, as well as through administrative proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau (NAD) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and through enforcement actions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). Robert has achieved significant wins in trademark infringement cases in federal jury trials and hundreds of brand enforcement actions against infringers in various other forums. Clients praise Robert's practical approach to intellectual property litigation and the development of wholistic, effective and economical strategies for global brand protection and enforcement.
Global brands and agencies trust Robert as their first call when dealing with issues involving advertising, negotiation of licenses or promotional agreements, or when they must take fast, strategic action to protect or enforce their valuable intellectual property.