Adam Siegartel

Adam is an intellectual property (IP) and brand management practitioner handling worldwide trademark clearance and prosecution, IP enforcement, and the negotiation and drafting of a wide variety of licenses, sponsorship agreements, and other IP content agreements. 

He is an experienced first-chair litigator in the federal courts nationwide, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and in New York State courts, and has handled a wide variety of cases involving intellectual property and other commercial disputes.  He has also handled domain name arbitrations before the World Intellectual Property Organization and ADR Forum, and false advertising matters before the National Advertising Division and National Advertising Review Board of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. 

In addition, Adam’s practice covers advertising clearance and claim substantiation, sweepstakes and other promotional programs, copyright management, the right of publicity, counterfeiting, and other IP issues. He also manages IP due diligence projects for spin-offs, mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate transactions.

Honors & Recognitions

“Capable of seeing litigation through to conclusion and immensely experienced in worldwide portfolio management, the versatile [Adam] Siegartel does it all for his clientele.” 2024 WTR 1000 – The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals

"Adam Siegartel draws on extensive first-chair trial experience when disputes heat up, but also shows a deft counselling touch." 2022 WTR 1000 – The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals 

"Adam Siegartel, ‘a thorough, responsive and practical lawyer with a deep intellect’ and an incredible work ethic. He excels at distilling huge volumes of information and explaining complex legal concepts without resort to legalese, which serves him well as both a litigator and counsellor.” 2021 WTR 1000 – The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals

Named in WTR 1000 - The World's Leading Trademark Professionals, Individuals: for both Enforcement and Litigation, and Prosecution and Strategy (2020 to present)

Named by The Legal 500 United States (2012-2014)

Community & Professional Activities

More than fifteen years’ experience on various International Trademark Association committees, including Trademark Bulletin, Public Resources, Professional Development, and Building Bridges Committees

New York City Bar Association, Trademark and Unfair Competition Committee

Experience

Adam is an experienced IP litigator who also has concentrated on significant worldwide trademark prosecution and brand management matters, among other things.  He has handled a variety of IP prosecution, litigation, counseling, and transactional matters, including trademark, false advertising, copyright, right of publicity, counterfeiting, and cybersquatting matters. He has extensive experience negotiating and drafting a broad variety of licenses, creative services agreements, publicity releases, and other IP content agreements and supervising due diligence experience for corporate transactions.

• His litigation experience includes strategic planning, taking depositions and trial testimony, handling oral arguments and court conferences, leading settlement negotiations and mediations, preparing clients and expert witnesses for testimony, and designing surveys.
• He has provided worldwide brand management counselling for clients owning thousands of active trademark filings worldwide and were involved on a substantial number of  trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings in the USA and abroad. He has handled over 1,000 internal and outside trademark searches, application filings, office action responses, and other trademark filings.
• He has acted as de facto general counsel for various clients having legal needs in multiple practice areas including commercial disputes, labor and employment issues, regulatory and FTC compliance matters, corporate and M&A transactions, and immigration.

His clients have included

• An Olympics coordinating entity
• The world’s largest manufacturer and distributor of artificial nail products
• America’s largest distributor of reloadable debit cards
• A luxury hotel and resort chain with more than thirty properties on four continents
• A large women’s professional sports league
• A worldwide leader in “access control/secure identification” technologies and related products
• A famous designer and stylist with a leading weekly television program on QVC
• An entity famous for its data analytics, automobile ratings, and other market research
• The largest pro-business advocacy and lobbying group in the United States
• A large utility company that services customers throughout the United States and in overseas markets as well

PRIOR EMPLOYMENT

Haynes and Boone, LLP, Partner (May 2017–November 2020)

Proskauer Rose LLP, Senior Counsel (November 2011–May 2017; Associate, September 2001–October 2011)

Cases

Representative Trademark, False Advertising, and Cybersquatting Litigations

• First-chaired bench trial representing publicly traded financial services company in trademark infringement action in Southern District of New York
• Second-chaired jury trial representing world’s largest alcoholic beverage company in trademark infringement and dilution action in Eastern District of Texas
• Represented multinational consumer products company in Southern District of New York false advertising jury trial against major competitor
• Extensive experience representing both challengers and advertisers before National Advertising Review Board (NARB) and National Advertising Division (NAD)
• First-chaired ICANN arbitration representing U.S. professional sports league; successfully obtained transfer of domain name subsequently used for league’s official online secondary ticket marketplace
• Successfully represented celebrity news website opposing domain transfer in ICANN arbitration; domain continues to be used for client website with billions of hits and worldwide video distribution

Representative Copyright Litigations

• First-chaired copyright infringement lawsuit representing Academy Award-winning actor; successfully moved for summary judgment and attorneys’ fees
• Represented major music recording company in defense of copyright infringement claims; successfully moved to enforce written but unexecuted settlement agreement

Representative Commercial Litigations

• Represented leading concert promoter in successful attempt to enjoin City of New York from constructing 15,000-seat concert amphitheater on Randall’s Island in Manhattan
• Represented publicly traded financial institution in breach of contract action against former partner specializing in student loans for higher education
• Represented professional football team in several litigations regarding potential Manhattan stadium