Marcella Ballard’s practice covers a wide range of intellectual property matters, including brand protection, trademark, copyright, trade secret, privacy rights, licensing, unfair competition, contract and business tort claims. She has represented clients in the USPTO, TTAB, and in bench and jury trials as well as in arbitration hearings throughout the U.S. and in the UK. She counsels several famous brands in their trademark matters and brand management functions on a global basis.

Ms. Ballard’s client base spans a range of industries that includes fashion, media, consumer products, entertainment, financial services, insurance, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and IT. Her exposure to so many industries positions her to effectively meet her clients’ needs, no matter their business focus.

Ms. Ballard is a veteran in prosecuting and defending motions for emergency injunctive relief, and has acted as lead counsel in anti-counterfeiting actions around the country in which ex parte seizure and TRO relief was obtained. Her experience includes successfully managing the simultaneous seizure of counterfeited goods across 11 locations in a single day; an effort that involved coordinating with a large group of law enforcement, customs officials and Federal marshals.

She previously served as an Assistant District Attorney in New York, Bronx County where she tried over 15 jury trials to conclusion and had a near perfect record of obtaining convictions for the State. Ms. Ballard obtained her undergraduate degree at the Ohio State University on a full athletic scholarship and was an All American swimmer and academic All American scholar- athlete amassing 14 Big Ten titles while at OSU.

Significant Matters

Represents a Fortune 200 consumer products company in protecting its IP rights and managing its brand protection function globally.
Represents a US exclusive licensee in anti-counterfeiting matters including obtaining ex parte seizure order(s) in multiple district courts to raid infringer’s facilities.
Represents a global multimedia and product licensing company on its trademark portfolio (over 8,000 marks) and brand protection functions.
Counseling dozens of clients in obtaining, maintaining and enforcing their trademarks in the United States and around the globe.
Advise clients in consumer products and media industries on Internet, social media, domain name enforcement and takedown proceedings in multiple forums.
Represented a global software manufacturer in a licensing dispute with its South American distributor in a bench trial on an expedited schedule, prevailing at the trial court level and continued the successful representation through confirmation of the award on appeal.
Represented the US distributor of a variety of consumer goods in multiple anti-counterfeiting litigations in several jurisdictions, including moving for ex parte, emergency, injunctive and permanent relief through motions, trial practice and eventually the successful confirmation of a multimillion dollar contempt award on appeal.
Represented the owner of the intellectual property rights to various children’s books and characters in a copyright, trade dress and unfair competition action against an infringer selling goods through the Internet and franchise stores.
Represented a global film studio in an action brought by its licensees over the rights to licensed goods from a major motion picture and successfully resolved the case through mediation.
Represented a luxury retailer in a class action under the Song Beverly Credit Card Act.
Represented a hedge fund in a trademark infringement action against a computer hosting company that resulted in a favorable win for the hedge fund and recovery of the defendant’s infringing domain.
Represented a cigarette paper company in a trademark infringement/anti-counterfeiting lawsuit against 33 defendants in the Detroit metropolitan area resulting in permanent conjunctions against all defendants.
Represented an international furniture company in a trade dress infringement matter in the Southern District of New York relating to a popular line of furniture by an acclaimed designer that successfully settled and permanently enjoined the defendants from manufacturing and distributing knockoff products.