Jane Shay Wald chairs the firm’s Trademark practice group. Her intellectual property practice focuses on trademark, unfair competition, false advertising and copyright. Jane counsels clients on acquiring and maintaining U.S. and foreign rights and on potential and pending infringement problems. She also provides counsel in regard to titles, names, logos and configuration and prosecutes trademark applications in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. She litigates before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the federal courts.
Since 2013, WTR 1000 – The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals has ranked the “formidable” and “rock star” Jane among the best trademark attorneys in California for “enforcement and litigation” and “prosecution and strategy.” Her brand protection practice is described as “a potent cocktail of trademark, false advertising and unfair competition” in the 2016 guide. Previous guides recognize Jane for her “dexterous handling of a diverse range of trademark assignments, including complex licensing arrangements” and for being “a wonderful lawyer—just incredibly smart and thoughtful.”
Together with David Nimmer, Jane was counsel on the briefs for Dastar Corp., the prevailing party, in the U.S. Supreme Court Lanham Act Case Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., 539 U.S. 23 (2003).
Jane’s featured commentary and coverage include:
- Hartman, Jan C., The Lawyer Says – Quotes, Quips and Words of Wisdom. Princeton Architectural Press (2020) (Jane was quoted in this book)
- “These 10 Decisions Remade the Trademark Landscape,” Law360 (July 17, 2020)
- “Lady Antebellum Sues Blues Singer Lady A Over Who Owns Trademark,” HuffPost (July 8, 2020)
- “COVID-19: Gender Equality Advocate?” Law.com/The American Lawyer (May 29, 2020)
- “Trump’s EU Trademark Revocations Provide Another Lesson on Evidence of Use,” World Trademark Review (March 10, 2020)
- “‘Old Spice’ Jingle Creator Sues Procter & Gamble,” Daily Journal (August 7, 2019)
- “Default Judgment Issued Against No-Show Desilu Studios Inc.,” Daily Journal (May 8, 2019)
- “TV Actor Sues Video Game Maker Over Copyright to ‘His’ Dance,” Daily Journal (December 19, 2018)
- “Lawyers Weigh In On High Court's Offensive-TM Ruling,” Law360 (June 19, 2017)
- “Up Front: Reason for Lawyer’s Rhymes,” Los Angeles Business Journal (September 16, 2016)
- “Restaurateur Turns Up Heat Over ‘The Kitchen’,” Los Angeles Business Journal (February 22, 2016)
- “Coca-Cola Fights for ‘Zero’ Trademark Rights,” The Wall Street Journal (February 9, 2016)
- “Ruling Could Help Washington Redskins in Trademark Case,” The New York Times (December 22, 2015)
- “Federal Circuit Topples Ban on Disparaging Trademarks,” The Recorder (December 22, 2015)
- “Redskins Lose Ruling on Trademarks, but Fight Isn’t Over,” The New York Times (June 18, 2014)
- “The Washington Redskins Don’t Really Need Trademark Registration Anyway,” Bloomberg Businessweek (June 18, 2014)
News
Honors & Awards
- Received the Lifetime Achievement Award by Century City Bar Association (2018)
- Named the Los Angeles Copyright/Trademark Law “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers in America (2012, 2018, 2020) and has been included in the list every year since 2007
- Recognized as one of the “Most Influential Women Lawyers” in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal (2017)
- Selected to the Southern California Super Lawyers list in the area of intellectual property (2005-2020)
- Named an “Icon of IP” by Law360 (2016)
Publications
- Chapter Nine, “Settlement and Alternative Dispute Resolution,” A Legal Strategist’s Guide to Trademark Trial and Appeal Practice, ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law (4th Ed. 2020, 3rd Ed. 2016, 2nd Ed. 2012, 1st Ed. 2010)
- “How Int'l Filing Strategy Led To Ivanka Trump's Coffin TMs,” Law360 (May 2020)
- “Bubble, Bubble, Oil No Trouble? The significance of V.V.V. & Sons Edible Oils Ltd. v. Meenakshi Overseas, LLC on preemption,” New Matter, the publication of the California Lawyers Association’s IP section (Spring 2020)
- “Parsing A Unique Int’l Class Of Goods Via Ivanka Trump’s TMs,” Law360 (January 2020)
- “Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) Decisions and Developments” column, New Matter, the publication of the California Lawyers Association’s IP section, formerly California State Bar, IP Section (Quarterly, 2015-present)
- “Trademarks, free speech and cannabis,” Daily Journal (December 2017)
- “A Slanted View of Trademark Law,” Séquence, Entertainment, Larcier Group, France (2017)
- “Offensive Trademark Ban Going Down? It Probably Should Not,” Law360 (October 2016)
- “Stop The Press—Trademark Coverage's Mess,” Law360 (August 2016)
Speaking Engagements
- “AM General Loses Humvee Lawsuit Against 'Call of Duty' Video Game Developer,” a remote presentation for Media Law Research Center (July 1, 2020)
- “Top 10 Things to Know About Canada and U.S. Trademark Law,” a joint program by the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Section and International Law Section, and the Bar of Montreal (June 6, 2019)
- “Trademark Year in Review,” LAIPLA Spring Seminar, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA (April 26, 2019)
- “Non-Conventional Trademarks in the US & Abroad,” Beverly Hills Bar Association IP Section (November 8, 2018)
- “IP Year in Review,” LAIPLA Spring Seminar, Ojai, CA (May 4, 2018)
Professional Activities
- Editorial board member, IP Law360 (2016-2018)
- President, Century City Bar Association (2011)
- Adjunct professor in trademark law, University of California, Los Angeles Law School (2006-2007)
- Adjunct professor in trademark law, Southern California Law School (2003-2005)
- President, LA Copyright Society (2004-2005)
- AIPLA chair, International Trademarks and Treaties (1999-2001); AIPLA delegate to WIPO, “Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications,” Geneva, Switzerland (1999, 2001)
- Board of trustees, Copyright Society of the USA (1999)
Education
DePaul University, College of Law (J.D., 1976), cum laude
DePaul University, (B.A., Economics, 1973), magna cum laude
Admissions
- California
- New York
- U.S. District Court for the Central and Northern Districts of California
- U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit