Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu

Firm overview:

Fifty-year old boutique Fross Zelnick counsels US and international clients from startups to billion-dollar companies on the best strategies to clear their trademarks for US and worldwide use. Operating at the highest level for non-contentious trademark services, Fross Zelnick is sought out by clients and other law firms for advice on complex or novel trademark issues in the US and internationally.

Indicating the firm’s reputation for trademark prosecution, one industry report cites Fross Zelnick as managing the fifth largest US trademark portfolio with over 16,000 registrations. The firm handles US and global trademark matters for top brand owners across cosmetics, apparel, luxury goods and other industries. Particular strengths include overcoming blocking citations of prior marks, implementing sophisticated enforcement programmes, and portfolio management. A dedicated litigation team steps in for clients needing representation in court or other forums.

Some of the firm’s more noteworthy registrations include the 'Red Sole' for Christian Louboutin shoes, the ‘Tarzan Yell’ for toys, the ‘Tiffany Blue Colour’ and the ‘Tiffany Blue Box’.

Team overview:

Fross Zelnick is based in New York. An industry peer recommends the “entire” team for trademark matters.

Partner Allison Strickland Ricketts is one of the country’s stand-out lawyers for non-contentious trademark services. In nearly three decades of practice, Ricketts has filed and prosecuted more than 2,500 US trademark applications and assisted Peloton, Major League Soccer and Christian Dior before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).

Partner John Margiotta mainly represents clients in the luxury fashion, watch, and jewellery industries, across both contentious and non-contentious trademark matters. Margiotta is particularly respected for his representations in federal district and appellate courts across the country, and before the TTAB.

Another highly rated member of the team, senior litigation counsel Richard Lehv has handled trademark, copyright and trade dress cases for more than four decades. Lehv also serves as a mediator in trademark infringement cases, and is a lecturer in law at Columbia Law School, where he teaches a seminar on trademark and copyright litigation.

Key matters:

• World Champ Tech v Peloton Interactive

Fross Zelnick defended fitness company Peloton against a trademark infringement suit in California. The dispute involved Peloton’s use of ‘Peloton Bike+’ as the name of the deluxe version of its connected stationary bike, launched in 2020. The plaintiff, fitness app developer World Champ Tech, offers mobile app BIKE+.

In July 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the lower court’s ruling, agreeing that consumers were not likely to be confused by the names.

• The ‘Tarzan Yell’ sound mark for toys owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Nancy Sabara is the attorney of record at the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the ‘Tarzan Yell’ sound mark. The mark is a yell consisting of a series of approximately ten sounds, alternating between the chest and falsetto registers of the voice. The owner is Edgar Rice Burrough Inc, the company behind the creations of the author of the Tarzan and John Carter of Mars stories.

Clients:

Peloton