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Deborah A. Wilcox

An experienced trademark lawyer, Deborah A. Wilcox is the Ohio coordinator for the firm’s Intellectual Property, Technology and Media Practice. She has been rated as preeminent in her field with the highest ethical standard by Martindale-Hubbell, an authoritative resource on the legal profession. Ms. Wilcox manages complex copyright, trademark and e-commerce litigation, from contractual software disputes to cybersquatting to the ex parte seizures of infringing character and sports merchandise. She is also experienced in copyright, trademark and Internet domain name selection, registration and licensing, both in the U.S. and internationally. As Internet technologies continue to develop, Ms. Wilcox regularly counsels clients regarding search engine optimization, online auction sites, blogs and social media sites, including addressing matters under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Ms. Wilcox has traveled extensively in Southeast Asia and has appeared in a Korean television broadcast concerning international protection of intellectual property rights of United States companies. Based on years of experience in the area, she speaks regularly on protecting rights in the People’s Republic of China and other countries known for both manufacturing legitimate products and for counterfeiting.

Ms. Wilcox counsels clients on intellectual property and advertising matters in merchandising and entertainment areas such as toys and online worlds, clothing and shoes, cartoons, sports, music, television and radio, restaurants, household goods and appliances and power tools. She manages intellectual property rights and disputes for authors and artists, educational institutions and clients in diverse industrial and e-commerce areas from aerospace to zinc. She also manages IP issues for insurance and business services clients.

Ms. Wilcox teaches annual Continuing Legal Education courses on registration and enforcement of intellectual property rights. In addition, she writes a monthly column on character licensing for The Licensing Journal and has written “IP Online” columns for Wisconsin Technology News. Her speeches, presentations and publications cover a variety of IP topics, such as:

• “Search Engines: Protecting Organic Rankings,” Baker Hostetler IP Seminar (January 2010, October 2009, March 2009, October 2008)
• “Contests for Fans to Create Characters,” The Licensing Journal (January 2010)
• Benefits of trademark registration: “New Benefits of Trademark Registration,” The Licensing Journal (November/December 2009)
• “Nicknames as Trademarks,” The Licensing Journal (October 2009)
• Consumer-generated content: “Dealing With Consumer-Generated Content on Social Networking Sites,” The Licensing Journal (June/July 2009)
• Domain names: “Cybersquatters Use India Courts To Stall Legal Action,” NAMESMASH (April 2009)
• Trademark protection: “Protection of Trademarks in a Web 2.0 World,” PLI Webinar, San Francisco, California (April 2009)
• Copyright and trademark enforcement: “Unauthorized Guidebooks on Character Properties,” The Licensing Journal (February 2009)
• Online marketing: “Legally Compliant Online Marketing and Sales in E-Commerce,” NBI Teleconference (February 2009)
• Domain names: “Million Dollar Domain Case,” PubCon, Las Vegas, Nevada (November 2008)
• Online licensing: “Special Terms in Fan Kit Licenses,” The Licensing Journal (October 2008)
• Search engine optimization: “Web 2.0 and Beyond: Search Engine Optimization,” Baker Hostetler, New York, New York (October 2008)
• Copyright and trademark enforcement: “Intellectual Property Updated,” Akron Law Copyright Speech, Akron, Ohio (October 2008)
• Search engine marketing: “Courts Correcting Advertising,” SMX Conference, New York, New York (October 2008)
• IP enforcement: “Global IP Jurisdiction, Enforcement and Dispute Resolution Issues,” NBI Teleconference (September 2008)
• IP dispute resolution: “Resolving Disputes Over Intellectual Property,” NBI Teleconference (August 2008)
• Copyright and trademark enforcement: “Beyond VeRO: Enforcement of Character-Related Auctions on eBay,” The Licensing Journal (July 2008)
• Keyword advertising:“Keyword web advertising disputes rage on,” Lawyers USA online article (June 2008)
• Online privacy: “Privacy Issues in the Internationalization of Character-Related Websites,” The Licensing Journal (April 2008)
• Trademark licensing: “Common Myths on Quality Control,” The Licensing Journal (January 2008)
• Evolving technologies: “Making deals with evolving technologies in mind,” Wisconsin Technology Network (April 2007)
• Online personas: “Inline intellectual property raises legal issues,” Wisconsin Technology Network (February 2007)
• Trademark disputes: “A Practical Guide to Litigating and Resolving Trademark Disputes,” CLE Speaker at the Cleveland Intellectual Property Lawyers Association meeting (February 2007)
• Copyright infringement: “The press vs. Google: Copyright cases to watch,” Wisconsin Technology Network (December 2006)
• Search engine marketing: “Keyword advertisers win some, lose some,” originally published on Wisconsin Technology Network and subsequently added to IPFrontline.com (June 2006)
• Trademark infringement: “Resist, cease and desist: A lighter approach may work better with trademarks,” Business Law Today, American Bar Association Section of Business Law (May/June 2006)
• Copyright protection: “O.K. Knockoffs, This Is War,” New York Times (March 2006)
• Copyright law: “Google Wins Nevada Copyright Case,” InformationWeek (January 2006)
• Search engine marketing: “Moot Court: Trademark Protection on Trial,” Search Engine Strategies conference (August 2004)
• Quoted in Search Engine Advertising, Buying Your Way To The Top To Increase Sales (2004)

Ms. Wilcox has served as an adjunct professor at Case Western Reserve University Law School, teaching Trademarks, and has served on the Advisory Board for the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law. She is a member of, and has chaired, various copyright and trademark committees for the American, Ohio and Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Associations (currently serving as Chair of the CMBA’s Intellectual Property Section), the Cleveland Intellectual Property Law Association (currently serving as Vice President), the International Trademark Association and the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (currently serving on the Legislative Committee).

Ms. Wilcox is a member of the Advisory Group for the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, and serves on the Board for the Ingenuity Festival of Art & Technology for 2010. The Ingenuity Festival is an annual weekend-long celebration of art and technology, designed for audiences of any age and experience, staged in Downtown Cleveland.