Ropes & Gray

Firm overview:

Ropes & Gray operates one of the most sophisticated trademark practices in the US, supporting a broad spectrum of clients that range from emerging innovators to major global corporations. The firm’s trademark team sits within a deep, multidisciplinary IP practice, allowing clients to benefit from integrated counsel across litigation, transactions, advertising, privacy, and regulatory considerations that increasingly intersect with brand protection.

The firm advises on the full trademark lifecycle, including clearance, prosecution, portfolio strategy, and licensing, and prosecutes applications for marks in every jurisdiction where its clients do business. The team’s 10-year relationship with Luxury Brands Partners, for which it provides trademark counsel including worldwide brand management, indicates clients’ satisfaction with its services.

When matters become contentious, Ropes & Gray’s litigators handle high-stakes disputes under the Lanham Act, as well as proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), with a reputation for resolving matters involving counterfeiting, trade dress, false advertising, and unfair competition.

Team overview:

Ropes & Gray’s trademark team is primarily based across its Boston, New York and Washington, DC offices. Numerous members of the team are actively involved in the International Trademark Association (INTA), sitting on committees of strategic importance to trademark practice.

A stand-out lawyer for non-contentious trademark work, Emilia Cannella focuses her practice on trademark clearance, prosecution, and global brand portfolio management. She advises clients across technology, life sciences, and consumer sectors on brand strategy, enforcement, and disputes before the USPTO and TTAB. Known for her precision and practical guidance, she helps companies protect and strengthen their trademarks through every stage of development. Her work forms a key foundation for the team’s broader brand management capabilities.

Another key team member, Erica Han counsels clients on all aspects of US and international trademark protection, including clearance, registration, licensing, and enforcement. She is particularly skilled in managing global portfolios and navigating complex brand issues for companies operating in regulated and high-growth markets. Her approach blends strategic foresight with commercial pragmatism, making her a trusted advisor on long-term brand strategy.

Adding further depth, Peter Brody is a seasoned trademark litigator who represents clients in high-stakes Lanham Act cases, TTAB proceedings, and appellate matters. He frequently handles disputes involving counterfeiting, false advertising, and trade dress, particularly in competitive industries. His courtroom experience and strategic insight position him as a leading advocate for protecting and enforcing valuable US brands.

Key matters:

• Domino’s Pizza: Transactions

Ropes & Gray advised on two standout IP-driven transactions in 2025. The firm represented Domino’s Pizza in its $1.32 billion whole-business securitisation refinancing, leading all trademark, copyright, patent, and technology-asset structuring. The team conducted global IP due diligence, negotiated key transfer and licensing agreements, and perfected security interests in trademarks, work that was central to retiring existing notes and strengthening Domino’s franchise model.

The team has provided trademark-related legal counsel to Domino’s Pizza for more than 15 years.

• Luxury Brand Partners: Worldwide portfolio management

The team assists Luxury Brand Partners with the development of beauty and personal care products from initial mark selection and clearance through worldwide rights acquisition, as well as worldwide management of brands including In Common, IGK, R+CO and Smith & Cult.

The work has included advising the client in connection with the sale of the Oribe brand as well as assisting with copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and false advertising claims.

• Harvard Law Review Association: Trademark and copyright enforcement

Ropes & Gray regularly represents and advises the Harvard Law Review Association (HRLA) in trademark and copyright disputes over its reference work The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, and unauthorised imitations of that work and the HLRA’s registered ‘Bluebook’ marks.

The team most recently assisted the HLRA with a dispute involving counterfeit copies of The Bluebook offered for sale on a leading retail website, and previously assisted the HLRA with a dispute involving the intended use of copyrighted content from The Bluebook, and marks confusingly similar to HLRA’s ‘Bluebook’ marks, for a competing, purportedly public-domain product.

Clients:

Areteia Therapeutics, Bronco Wine Company, Domino’s Pizza, Heartland Dental, Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité, Luxury Brand Partners, Planet Fitness, Simple Mills, Sodiaal, The Hershey Company, TJX Companies, TPG Capital, TSG Consumer Partners