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Pirkey Barber is one of the largest firms in the United States specialising exclusively in the fields of trademark and copyright law. We have offices in Austin, Texas and the Washington DC metro area, with clients located throughout the world.
Experience and expertise
With over 300 years’ collective experience representing clients from a variety of industries, our attorneys devote 100% of their time to trademark law, copyright law and related fields such as advertising law. We help clients establish, protect and enforce their rights as owners of valuable marks, including some of the best known trademarks in the world. Our competitive and adaptive pricing model, combined with the efficiencies gained through the experience of our team, allow us to provide excellent work at an exceptional value.
Recognised as one of the top trademark litigation firms in the United States, we have represented plaintiffs and defendants in hundreds of trademark cases in federal courts across the country and before USPTO. We have litigation expertise that is highly unique for trademark practitioners.
We are experienced in all facets of trademark clearance and prosecution. Our professionals regularly perform searches; represent clients before the USPTO through all aspects of registration, including through
ex parte appeal; and manage global trademark portfolios.
We advise our clients concerning developments with domain names and are highly experienced in handling domain name disputes under the policies of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. We regularly craft strategies to combat trademark violations online, including by working with (or against) online service providers.
We assist clients with in-bound and out-bound licence agreements, creative content agreements, trademark coexistence agreements and the development and implementation of intercompany licensing arrangements. We also provide strategic guidance on both protecting and enforcing rights of publicity, including negotiating agreements surrounding such rights.
We counsel clients seeking to acquire, protect and enforce copyright assets and assist in obtaining registrations, assessing fair use claims, negotiating licences, policing and management of copyright portfolios and asserting takedown notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. We have significant experience developing and negotiating software and ownership agreements and outsourcing arrangements.
Professional recognition
The firm has been widely recognised for its high degree of expertise in trademark and copyright law by many of the world’s leading ranking publications.
WTR 1000:
- Received a Silver Tier ranking nationally, one of only three firms to receive a Gold Tier ranking for Texas and ranked in the Bronze Tier for the Washington DC metro area.
- Received US individual national rankings for Lou Pirkey and Bill Barber (gold), and Shannon Vale (silver). 12 attorneys (Mr Barber, Rodney Caldwell, Sherri Eastley, Steven Espenshade, Chris Graff, Chris Kindel, Anna Kuhn, Wendy Larson, Jered Matthysse, Steve Meleen, Mr Pirkey and Mr Vale) are ranked in Texas and Tara Vold is ranked in the Washington DC metro area.
Managing Intellectual Property:
- Named Firm of the Year in 2015 and 2016 in the categories of US Trademark Contentious (National) and US Trademark Contentious (South).
- Named Firm of the Year for US Trademark Prosecution (South) in 2014 and US Trademark Contentious (South) in 2013 and 2017.
- Individual IP Stars honours for Mr Barber, Mr Graff, Ms Kuhn, Ms Larson, Mr Meleen, Mr Pirkey, and Mr Vale.
Best Lawyers:
- Received Best Law Firms’ top-tier ranking in the Austin Metropolitan Area in three practice areas (Trademark Law, Copyright Law and Litigation – IP Law).
- Individual honours for Mr Barber, Mr Caldwell, Ms Eastley, Mr Graff, Mr Kindel, Ms Kuhn, Ms Larson, Mr Matthysse, Mr Meleen, Mr Pirkey and Mr Vale.
Chambers & Partners:
- Ranked among the top 8 in the category of Intellectual Property – Texas.
- Individual honours for Mr Barber, Mr Kindel, Ms Larson, Mr Meleen, Mr Pirkey and Mr Vale.
The International Who’s Who of Trademark Lawyers:
- Individual honours for Mr Barber, Mr Kindel, Ms Larson, Mr Meleen, Mr Pirkey, Mr Vale, and Ms Vold.
Leadership and service
Pirkey Barber has a deeply rooted commitment to serving IP professional organisations and bar associations. Mr Barber and Mr Pirkey have both served as president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). Many of our lawyers serve in leadership capacities in organisations, including AIPLA, INTA and the Intellectual Property Owners Association.
