Fashion & Free Trade: Questions about Globalism, Tariffs, and Trade
Short video from FedSoc Films
Do you know where your clothing comes from? America consumes billions of dollars of apparel...
Intellectual Property Practice Group
Susan Scafidi, Lee S. Sporn, David Spooner, Augustine Tantillo, Howard Deutchman, Julia K. Hughes
Short video from FedSoc Films
Do you know where your clothing comes from? America consumes billions of dollars of apparel...
Today (April 26) is designated World IP Day by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)....
Sandra Aistars, Lee S. Sporn, Susan Scafidi, Stephen M. Doniger
Short video featuring Sandra Aistars, Lee Sporn, Susan Scafidi, and Stephen Doniger
The Copyright Act of 1976 was designed to protect and encourage creative expression. Courts, however,...
On Monday evening, President Trump swiftly shut down Broadcom/Avago’s attempted hostile takeover of Qualcomm, thus...
Short video featuring Greg Dolin
Does the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) have the constitutional authority to revoke patents?...
Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
Judge Love was sworn in as U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Texas on January 3, 2006. Before serving as Chief Staff Attorney to U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis in 2002, he practiced civil trial law in San Antonio. Judge Love has been a panelist in numerous federal practice and intellectual property seminars and is the co-author of Complex Patent Cases: Observations from the Bench, which appeared in the Spring 2010 edition of the Southern Methodist University Science and Technology Law Review. Judge Love graduated cum laude from Texas A&M University and St. Mary’s University School of Law.
Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
Adam Mossoff is Professor of Law at Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. He has published extensively on why patents, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights have been—and should be—legally secured to innovators and creators as property rights. His scholarship has been relied on by the United States Supreme Court, by lower federal courts, and by U.S. federal agencies. He has been invited to testify numerous times before the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives on intellectual property legislation. His writings on intellectual property policy have also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, Investors Business Daily, and in other media outlets. His journal articles can be downloaded here.
Professor Mossoff is a longstanding member of the Executive Committee of the Intellectual Property Practice Group of the Federalist Society, on which he served as Chairperson from 2016-2018, and he is Chair of the Intellectual Property Working Group of the Regulatory Transparency Project of the Federalist Society. He is a Senior Fellow and Chair of the Forum for Intellectual Property at the Hudson Institute, a Visiting Intellectual Property Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Intellectual Property Understanding. He is a member of the Intellectual Property Rights Policy Committee of ANSI and he has served as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Intellectual Property Committee of the IEEE-USA, on which he remains a member in good standing.
Associate Professor, Boston College Law School
David Olson is an associate professor and the Faculty Director of the Program on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He teaches patent law, intellectual property law, antitrust law, and various seminars. His research and writing primarily focus on patents, copyrights, antitrust, and incentives for innovation and competition. Since joining BC Law in 2007, he has been recognized for his teaching excellence and contributions. In 2011, he received the Business & Law Society Faculty Award for Achievement in Business & Law. In 2012, he received the Professor Emil Slizewski Award for Faculty Excellence. For one semester in 2015, Olson served as a visiting professor at Pontifical Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he conducted research and taught a course on intellectual property.
Olson has published scholarly articles on patent law, copyright law, antitrust, music licensing, and first amendment copyright issues. His writing has been cited in Supreme Court and other legal opinions. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on matters of drug patents, FDA regulation, and antitrust.
The media frequently seeks Olson’s insights and opinions. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, and Reuters, among others. He has appeared as a guest panelist on WBUR’s Radio Boston, WAMU's Kojo Namdi Show, and Public Radio Canada. His op-eds have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Washington Times, and The Hill.
Olson came to Boston College from Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society, where he conducted research on patent law and litigated copyright fair use impact cases. Before entering academia, Olson practiced law as a patent litigator. He clerked for Judge Jerry Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Associate Professor, UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law
Zvi S. Rosen is an Associate Professor at UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law and the Faculty Director of the Franklin Pierce Society for Intellectual Property. He has served as a Assistant Professor at the Southern Illinois University School of Law, as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, and as a Visiting Scholar and Professorial Lecturer in Law at George Washington University School of Law.
In 2015-2016, he was the Abraham L. Kaminstein Scholar in Residence at the U.S. Copyright Office. Mr. Rosen received his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 2005 and LLM in Intellectual Property in 2006 from the George Washington University Law School. He has practiced at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP as well as smaller firms and his own practice, and clerked for the Hon. Thomas B. Bennett of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama. He has written extensively on the development of modern copyright and trademark law, as well as on bankruptcy law.
Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
Adam Mossoff is Professor of Law at Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. He has published extensively on why patents, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights have been—and should be—legally secured to innovators and creators as property rights. His scholarship has been relied on by the United States Supreme Court, by lower federal courts, and by U.S. federal agencies. He has been invited to testify numerous times before the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives on intellectual property legislation. His writings on intellectual property policy have also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, Investors Business Daily, and in other media outlets. His journal articles can be downloaded here.
Professor Mossoff is a longstanding member of the Executive Committee of the Intellectual Property Practice Group of the Federalist Society, on which he served as Chairperson from 2016-2018, and he is Chair of the Intellectual Property Working Group of the Regulatory Transparency Project of the Federalist Society. He is a Senior Fellow and Chair of the Forum for Intellectual Property at the Hudson Institute, a Visiting Intellectual Property Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Intellectual Property Understanding. He is a member of the Intellectual Property Rights Policy Committee of ANSI and he has served as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Intellectual Property Committee of the IEEE-USA, on which he remains a member in good standing.
Partner, Wiley Rein LLP
Wesley is a trial and appellate lawyer who represents pharmaceutical companies and technology companies in patent litigation, licensing and trade secret disputes, and other complex matters. He has deposed numerous fact witnesses and scientific experts, cross-examined witnesses at trial, briefed dispositive motions and appeals, and argued a successful appeal as lead counsel before the Ninth Circuit.
Wesley currently co-chairs the American Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Litigation Non-Practicing Entity (NPE) sub-committee and serves on the Intellectual Property Executive Committee for the Federalist Society.
Founder, IP Quality Pro, LLC
Dr. Julie Burke, Ph.D., a former TC1600 Quality Assurance Specialist, is founder of IP Quality Pro LLC, where she acts as an expert witness on patent office procedures and practices. She helps practitioners resolve complicated procedural situations in the field of US patent practice. She is also an Advisor for Petition.ai. From 2006-2015, in her role as QAS, Dr. Burke drafted over 800 petition decisions for review and signature by a variety of TC1600 Group Directors. Dr. Burke is a former Vice Chair of IPO’s Patent Office Practice Committee. She frequently gives talks on patent office practices and procedures.
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Legal Officer, DivX
Noel Egnatios is DivX’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Legal Officer, as well as a member of its Management Committee. She leads a global team that builds industry solutions ranging from SDKs with an installed base of 2 billion products, to digital media software with over a billion downloads. The team delivers efficient, immersive entertainment experiences to consumers through its technology in TVs, smart phones, in-car devices and more. Noel is a longtime DivX employee who shepherded the growth of the company’s intellectual property portfolio and spearheaded pivotal corporate transactions and licensing deals. Under Noel’s leadership, the company continues to build on its rich heritage of creating and licensing pioneering products and technologies in video encoding/decoding, streaming and digital rights management.
Before joining DivX, Noel advised companies on intellectual property portfolio management, enforcement and licensing matters. Noel began her career working in private practice at Cooley LLP, where she oversaw the intellectual property portfolios of major Silicon Valley technology and social media companies and represented wireless technology companies in global patent litigation and arbitration.
Noel holds a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Michigan.
Of Counsel, Foley & Lardner LLP
Eli Mazour’s goal is to help the savviest in-house counsel and business executives deal with their most important patent-related challenges. With deep insight into the patent system, emerging policy trends, and an unwavering commitment to client success, Eli helps companies leverage IP to meet business objectives.
“[Eli] is the best at taking care of our portfolio and strategy” – a longtime client that has successfully enforced patents across the globe.
Known for data-driven, innovative prosecution strategies, Eli helps clients navigate the USPTO efficiently and secure strong patents. When necessary, he also leverages alternate USPTO channels to achieve results. His experience in licensing, enforcement, and opinion work gives him a unique, business-minded approach to prosecution and transactions, helping clients avoid pitfalls and grasp opportunities.
Eli currently focuses on:
Eli also has extensive experience in obtaining license-ready, litigation-grade standard essential patents (SEPs) and preparing corresponding claim charts for licensing negotiations for one of the world’s leading developers of connectivity technology. He was the go-to attorney for the head of that company’s cellular patent development team.
He also has a background in the defense and government contracting space, including experience at a defense agency and a published article in the ABA’s Public Contract Law Journal on the importance of contractors preserving patent and technical data rights. He is particularly interested in supporting clients seeking to apply their dual-use and defense-centric innovations to advance national security objectives.
Eli’s love of talking to people and telling stories led him to start Clause 8, a widely followed IP podcast featuring the most significant voices in the IP community. He is frequently sought out for insights on patent policy, legislative developments, and changes at the USPTO.
Partner, Davidson Kappel LLC
Clint Mehall is a registered patent attorney practicing in multiple technology areas. Mr. Mehall has prosecuted hundreds of U.S. patent applications from filing to issuance, taking into consideration patent analytics for efficient prosecution without unnecessarily narrowing the claims. During prosecution, Mr. Mehall has an aptitude for identifying when an patent examiner will not issue claims of a reasonable scope, and has filed over a hundred appeals with the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeals Board, where he has an exceptional win rate. Representative technologies of his practice include electric vehicle batteries, metallurgy, nuclear energy, aeronautics, image processing, electric vehicle batteries, automated controls systems, automotive drive trains, rail transport, semiconductors, wireless data transmission systems, fuel cells, various software, nonwoven fabrics, convertible vehicle tops, and printing presses.
Mr. Mehall also has experience collaborating with foreign attorneys on patent applications in Europe, Japan and China, litigating patents, post-grant proceedings and client counseling, which includes performing patentability searches, and preparing infringement, validity and freedom to operate opinions. Currently, he serves as the co-chair of NYIPLA’s Patent Law & Practice Committee. Mr. Mehall graduated Cum Laude from DePaul University College of Law in May, 2007. At DePaul, he was an associate editor for DePaul’s Intellectual Property Digest, counseled clients through DePaul’s Intellectual Property/Technology Clinic and was a semifinalist in DePaul’s New Venture Business Challenge. He was admitted to the practice law in New York in February, 2008 and was admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in May, 2008. Mr. Mehall received a Bachelors of Science in biological engineering, with a biomedical emphasis, from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2003.
Managing Attorney, Rogitz & Associates
John M. Rogitz is a second-generation patent attorney that currently serves as Managing Attorney at Rogitz & Associates. He is also a member of the IPWatchdog Advisory Committee and an adjunct professor at Trinity Law School. In addition, John recently served on the Executive Committee of the IP Section of the California Lawyers Association (2023-2025) and co-founded CLA’s AI Interest Group.
As Managing Attorney at Rogitz & Associates, John manages the firm’s day-to-day operations and many of the firm’s clients. He is a registered patent attorney specializing in patent preparation and prosecution in a range of technologies including artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles, extended reality, video games, Internet of things (IoT), blockchain, fintech, rules-based software, computer hardware, medical devices, and other electrical and mechanical inventions. His clients range from startups and independent inventors to Fortune 500 companies. Before joining Rogitz & Associates, John was engaged in civil litigation at the Watkins Firm, a San Diego-based law firm.
John teaches all types of IP at Trinity Law School and has also taught IP at the undergraduate level. He writes for IPWatchdog, America’s leading patent law publication, and has also been published by IP Today, IP Magazine, and others. John regularly speaks to trade groups like the National Association of Patent Practitioners and Licensing Executives Society. Prior to practicing law, John worked in industry as a web developer.
John received his J.D. in 2009 from California Western School of Law, where he was selected for the Dean’s List and served as President of the Student Intellectual Property Law Association. John studied physics at Loyola Marymount University where, among other activities, he wrote for the school newspaper and participated in various philanthropic endeavors.
Academic Director, Fashion Law Institute, Fordham University School of Law
Susan Scafidi is the first professor ever to offer a course in Fashion Law, and she is internationally recognized for her leadership in establishing the field. She has testified regarding the proposed extension of legal protection to fashion designs and continues to work actively with members of Congress and the fashion industry on this and other issues. Her additional areas of expertise encompass property, intellectual property, cultural property, international law, trusts &estates, and legal history. Professor Scafidi founded and directs the nonprofit Fashion Law Institute, which was established with the generous support and advice of the Council of Fashion Designers of America and its president, Diane von Furstenberg, and is located at Fordham Law School. Prior to teaching at Fordham, Professor Scafidi was a tenured member of both the law and history faculties at SMU, and she has taught at a number of other schools, including Yale, Georgetown, and Cardozo.
Of Counsel, Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP
Lee is an internationally renowned intellectual property and corporate lawyer and a leader in the fashion and retail law industry. His focus is on clients in the luxury goods, fashion and retail industries. Lee has extensive experience over a broad range of legal matters including intellectual property, licensing, marketing, transactional, securities, commercial and retail real estate, and employment.
Lee has served as General Counsel and in key management positions, most recently as Senior Vice President - Business Affairs, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at Michael Kors Holdings Limited. He was part of the senior management team that over his thirteen year tenure transformed the company into one of the most successful fashion brands in the world, culminating in the company’s successful initial public offering in 2011.
Prior to Michael Kors, Lee was Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at Kasper A.S.L., Ltd., and he spent over eleven years at Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, including as its Vice President of Intellectual Property and Associate General Counsel. His areas of responsibility included initial public offerings, product and territorial licensing, acquisitions and management of substantial licensees, joint venture agreements, supervision of major litigation, managing and enforcing the global intellectual property portfolio, and a range of compliance and legal issues relating to all production, advertising and public relations matters.
Lee was awarded the Luxury Law Summit's Lifetime Achievement Award. He is at the forefront of academic and industry leadership, including serving as Professor from Practice at Cardozo Law School where he helped create, and is now Co-Director of, its unique Fashion, Arts, Media and Entertainment Law Center (FAME). In addition, he serves as a Lecturer in Law at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and Adjunct Professor at Villanova Law School. Lee is a contributor to Fashion Law, A Guide for Designers, Fashion Executives & Attorney (Fairchild Books, 2014), and was the project creator and co-editor of the seminal treatise, Trademark Counterfeiting (Aspen Law & Business, 1999). He served as Chairman of the International Anticounterfeiting Coalition and served on its board as a member of its Executive Committee for over a decade, and has been a frequent lecturer to federal, state and local law enforcement personnel, as well as to the trade, on matters relating to intellectual property protection and licensing. Sporn has been featured in publications including Corporate Counsel, Global Legal Post and Women’s Wear Daily.
Sporn received his J.D. Magna Cum Laude from Brooklyn Law School where he was a notes editor on the Brooklyn Law Review and received the Stanley Nathanson Award for outstanding leadership & scholarship. Following Brooklyn Law School, Sporn was an associate at Proskauer Rose. He received his B.A. at Oberlin College of Arts & Sciences and Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Partner, Barnes & Thornburg LLP
David M. Spooner is a partner in the Corporate Department and Co-Chair of the International Trade Practice Group. Mr. Spooner represents governments, trade associations, and corporate clients on international trade matters, including trade remedies, trade policy and customs issues. He uses his past experience as a high-level political appointee in the Executive Branch and on Capitol Hill to assist clients with their advocacy efforts before both branches of government, as well as before foreign governments.
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Spooner served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Import Administration. In that capacity, Mr. Spooner led U.S. Government enforcement of trade remedy laws, principally the antidumping and anti-subsidy laws. He administered the Foreign Trade Zone system; oversaw apparel trade policy and the implementation of laws governing trade in apparel; managed trade remedy negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as dispute resolution proceedings at the WTO; chaired U.S.-China talks on macroeconomic reforms and the steel industry; and supervised the US Department of Commerce’s import safety initiatives.
Prior to his Senate confirmation as Assistant Secretary, Mr. Spooner served as the Chief Textile and Apparel Negotiator and Transition Coordinator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). While at USTR, he was a principal negotiator for free trade agreements with Central America, the Dominican Republic, Singapore, Australia, Chile, Panama, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Colombia and Peru, principally negotiating customs enforcement, apparel and textile, origin and safeguard provisions. He was heavily involved in building support for congressional passage of the Bush Administration’s trade agenda. Mr. Spooner also negotiated a comprehensive apparel trade agreement with China and concluded bilateral customs and quota arrangements with several nations.
Before his appointment to USTR, Mr. Spooner worked on Capitol Hill, managing the Washington D.C. office and serving as the legislative director and press secretary for a member of Congress, serving as Communications Director for the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, and working for the U.S. House Committee on Rules, which manages debate and amendments in the House of Representatives.
Mr. Spooner is a noted speaker at industry events with a particular focus on the regulatory issues facing retailers and apparel brands. He is often quoted in news stories on trade remedy disputes and trade agreement negotiations.
Mr. Spooner earned his J.D. from the College of William & Mary School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Virginia.
He is admitted to practice in Washington, D.C., and Virginia and before the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
President & CEO, The National Council of Textile Organizations
Auggie has worked in government service or government relations in Washington, D.C. since 1981. Most recently he served as Executive Director of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, a trade association dedicated to furthering the interests of U.S. manufacturing. At earlier points in his career, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles & Apparel at the U.S. Department of Commerce under President George H. W. Bush, and Chief of Staff to U. S. Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. Auggie earned a B.S. in Agricultural Economics from Clemson University.
President, United States Fashion Industry Association
Julia K. Hughes is President of the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA), which represents brands, retailers, importers, and wholesalers based in the United States and doing business globally. She represents the industry in front of the U.S. government as well as international governments and stakeholders, explaining how fashion companies create high quality jobs in the United States and economic opportunities around the world.
An expert on textile and apparel trade issues, Julie has testified before Congress and the Executive Branch. She frequently speaks at international conferences including the China & Asia Textile Forum, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), Harvard University’s Bangladesh Development Conference, MAGIC, Prime Source Forum, Vietnam Textile Summit, and others.
Julie served as the first President and is one of the founders of the Washington Chapter of Women in International Trade (WIIT) and is one of the founders of the WIIT Charitable Trust. She also was the first President of the Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT). In 1992, she received the Outstanding Woman in International Trade award and in 2008, the WIIT Lifetime Achievement Award. She also is a member of the International Women’s Forum.
She has an M.A. in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.
President, The Free State Foundation
Randolph J. May is Founder and President of The Free State Foundation. The Free State Foundation is an independent, non-profit free market-oriented think tank founded in 2006.
From October 1999-May 2006, May was a Senior Fellow and Director of Communications Policy Studies at The Progress & Freedom Foundation, a Washington, DC-based think tank. Prior to joining PFF, he practiced communications, administrative, and regulatory law as a partner at major national law firms. From 1978 to 1981, May served as Assistant General Counsel and Associate General Counsel at the Federal Communication Commission.
May has held numerous leadership positions in bar associations. He is a past Chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Mr. May also has served as a Public Member of the Administrative Conference of the United States and currently is a Senior Fellow at ACUS.
Mr. May has published more than two hundred articles and essays on communications, administrative and constitutional law topics. He is author of A Call for a Radical New Communications Policy: Proposals for Free Market Reform, and co-author of #CommActUpdate: A Communications Law Fit for the Digital Age and The Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property. Mr. May is editor of two books, Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age: The Next Five Years and New Directions in Communications Policy. In addition, he is the co-editor of two other books, Net Neutrality or Net Neutering: Should Broadband Internet Services Be Regulated? and Communications Deregulation and FCC Reform. In the past, Mr. May has written regular columns on legal and regulatory affairs for Legal Times and the National Law Journal, leading national legal periodicals.
He received his A.B. from Duke University and his J.D. from Duke Law School, where he serves as a member of the Board of Visitors.
Clinical Professor and Senior Scholar and Senior Fellow for Copyright Research and Policy of C-IP2, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
Sandra Aistars is Senior Fellow for Copyright Research and Policy and a Senior Scholar at the Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy (C-IP2). She also leads the law school’s Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Program. Professor Aistars has over twenty years of advocacy experience on behalf of copyright and other intellectual property owners. She has served on trade missions and been an industry advisor to the Department of Commerce on intellectual property implications for international trade negotiations; worked on legislative and regulatory matters worldwide; frequently testified before Congress and federal agencies regarding intellectual property matters; chaired cross-industry coalitions and technology standards efforts; and is regularly tapped by government agencies to lecture in U.S. government-sponsored study tours for visiting legislators, judges, prosecutors, and regulators.
Immediately prior to joining Scalia Law, Professor Aistars was the Chief Executive Officer of the Copyright Alliance – a nonprofit, public interest organization that represents the interests of artists and creators across the creative spectrum. While at Scalia Law, she continues to collaborate with the Copyright Alliance as a member of its Academic Advisory Board. Professor Aistars currently serves on the boards of the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts (WALA) and the Howard Intellectual Property Program (HIPP), and she has previously served as trustee of the Copyright Society of the USA (CSUSA). Professor Aistars has also previously served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Time Warner Inc. She began her legal career in private practice at Weil, Gotshal and Manges LLP.
Of Counsel, Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP
Lee is an internationally renowned intellectual property and corporate lawyer and a leader in the fashion and retail law industry. His focus is on clients in the luxury goods, fashion and retail industries. Lee has extensive experience over a broad range of legal matters including intellectual property, licensing, marketing, transactional, securities, commercial and retail real estate, and employment.
Lee has served as General Counsel and in key management positions, most recently as Senior Vice President - Business Affairs, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at Michael Kors Holdings Limited. He was part of the senior management team that over his thirteen year tenure transformed the company into one of the most successful fashion brands in the world, culminating in the company’s successful initial public offering in 2011.
Prior to Michael Kors, Lee was Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at Kasper A.S.L., Ltd., and he spent over eleven years at Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, including as its Vice President of Intellectual Property and Associate General Counsel. His areas of responsibility included initial public offerings, product and territorial licensing, acquisitions and management of substantial licensees, joint venture agreements, supervision of major litigation, managing and enforcing the global intellectual property portfolio, and a range of compliance and legal issues relating to all production, advertising and public relations matters.
Lee was awarded the Luxury Law Summit's Lifetime Achievement Award. He is at the forefront of academic and industry leadership, including serving as Professor from Practice at Cardozo Law School where he helped create, and is now Co-Director of, its unique Fashion, Arts, Media and Entertainment Law Center (FAME). In addition, he serves as a Lecturer in Law at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and Adjunct Professor at Villanova Law School. Lee is a contributor to Fashion Law, A Guide for Designers, Fashion Executives & Attorney (Fairchild Books, 2014), and was the project creator and co-editor of the seminal treatise, Trademark Counterfeiting (Aspen Law & Business, 1999). He served as Chairman of the International Anticounterfeiting Coalition and served on its board as a member of its Executive Committee for over a decade, and has been a frequent lecturer to federal, state and local law enforcement personnel, as well as to the trade, on matters relating to intellectual property protection and licensing. Sporn has been featured in publications including Corporate Counsel, Global Legal Post and Women’s Wear Daily.
Sporn received his J.D. Magna Cum Laude from Brooklyn Law School where he was a notes editor on the Brooklyn Law Review and received the Stanley Nathanson Award for outstanding leadership & scholarship. Following Brooklyn Law School, Sporn was an associate at Proskauer Rose. He received his B.A. at Oberlin College of Arts & Sciences and Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Academic Director, Fashion Law Institute, Fordham University School of Law
Susan Scafidi is the first professor ever to offer a course in Fashion Law, and she is internationally recognized for her leadership in establishing the field. She has testified regarding the proposed extension of legal protection to fashion designs and continues to work actively with members of Congress and the fashion industry on this and other issues. Her additional areas of expertise encompass property, intellectual property, cultural property, international law, trusts &estates, and legal history. Professor Scafidi founded and directs the nonprofit Fashion Law Institute, which was established with the generous support and advice of the Council of Fashion Designers of America and its president, Diane von Furstenberg, and is located at Fordham Law School. Prior to teaching at Fordham, Professor Scafidi was a tenured member of both the law and history faculties at SMU, and she has taught at a number of other schools, including Yale, Georgetown, and Cardozo.
Doniger/Burroughs APC
Over the past five years, Mr. Doniger has handled more copyright cases than any other attorney in the United States, with his firm named as the top copyright litigation firm in Lex Machina’s 2015 Copyright Litigation Report. He has also prevailed in every copyright matter taken to trial, and has been lead trial counsel in many of the largest copyright verdicts in the Central District, including: Advanced Visual Image Design, LLC v. Exist, Inc., Case No. 2:10-cv-09383 ($1,754,272 verdict), United Fabrics International v. Lane Bryant, et al., Case No. CV08-6865 ($447,670 verdict), Caribbean Blues, Inc. v. Target Corp., et al., Case No. CV10-3334 ($389,638 verdict). He has also realized numerous six and seven figure settlements in his clients’ favor, including a $1.1 million settlement in favor of his client on the day of trial in Star Fabrics, Inc. v. Morex, Inc. et al., Case No. CV-10-7987, and a low seven-figure settlement in L.A. Printex Industries, Inc. v. William Carter Co., Case No. CV09-02449 which was negotiated in the middle of a bifurcated trial after he obtaining a willful copyright infringement liability verdict.
Since prevailing in his first trial as a sole practitioner in 1997 (One World Marketing v. MEK Int’l, Case No. BC 193556 – trademark infringement / trade secret theft jury verdict for plaintiff of $550,000), he has built a successful practice around business disputes in general and intellectual property in particular, representing photographers, authors, fine artists, and clients in the marketing, fashion, entertainment, real estate and hospitality industries. And in his 20+ years of practice Mr. Doniger has successfully litigated cases in the federal and state courts of California, New York, Nevada, and South Carolina, and has overseen litigation in foreign jurisdictions including Canada and the United Kingdom through local counsel.
Mr. Doniger has also successfully handled numerous state and federal appeals, including arguing before the Second Circuit to affirm a willful infringement verdict he obtained at trial before the Southern District of New York in LA Printex Ind., Inc. v. Pretty Girl, Inc. et al., prevailing in LA Printex Industries, Inc. v. Aeropostale, Inc., et al, (9th Cir. Case No. 10-56149 – January 12, 2012 reversal of summary judgment against Doniger/ Burroughs client) and United Fabrics International v. Lane Bryant, et al. (9th Cir. Case No. 10-56169 – 12/20/11 substantially affirming of Doniger / Burroughs trial verdict).
Mr. Doniger has been selected by Global Law Experts as its exclusive copyright law expert for California, has been a featured speaker on copyright, trademark, and misappropriation of likeness law for California Lawyers for the Arts, Fashion Business Incorporated and other groups, and has been retained as an expert witness on copyright litigation. He has also been profiled multiple times in the Daily Journal, which complimented that “he projects a thoughtful and ethical wisdom, particularly when it comes to practicing law,” and has featured and quoted in many other articles on intellectual property and business topics. Similarly, Doniger / Burroughs and its work has been featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal, Daily Journal, Los Angeles Weekly, and Fortune Magazine.
Mr. Doniger graduated from Brandeis University in 1992 with a double major in political science and philosophy, and a minor in international studies. In 1995 he obtained his law degree from the University of Southern California where he was a member of the Hale Moot Court Honors program, externed for the Honorable Ronald S.W. Lew, interned for the District Attorney’s Office in the Environmental Crimes Division, and was a California State Bar Environmental Law Section student writing competition winner.
Attorney and Legal Commentator
John Shu is an attorney and legal commentator. His focus areas include constitutional law, securities & corporate law, antitrust law, administrative law, politics, and international affairs. Mr. Shu has lectured and published on a wide variety of issues.
Mr. Shu served President George H.W. Bush and President George W. Bush. He also served Judge Stanley Sporkin, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who was Director of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and General Counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency, and Judge Paul Roney, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, who was Presiding Judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review.
Mr. Shu is a member of the National Committee on U.S. - China Relations, the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the Foreign Policy Association.
Professor of Law, University of Baltimore School of Law (on leave); Senior Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice
Professor Dolin’s scholarship centers on patent law with a specific focus on how the patent regime affects innovation, especially in bio-pharmaceutical areas. His work in these areas includes a number of scholarly articles, presentations, amicus briefs, and congressional testimony.
Dr. Dolin is currently on leave from his academic duties while he serves as Senior Counsel in the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice.
From January 2020 to January 2022, Professor Dolin served as a resident Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Palau. In this role, he (together with other members of the Court) heard appeals in civil, criminal, administrative, and constitutional law matters.
Prior to joining the University of Baltimore School of Law, Professor Dolin held visiting appointments in other law schools. He also served as a law clerk to the Hon. Pauline Newman, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the late Hon. H. Emory Widener Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Rumors that he has a real Russian bear in his office are entirely true.