Ron Coleman

Ron Coleman – New York Lawyer

Ron Coleman is a Partner at the Dhillon Law Group and resident in its New York office. Ron is a commercial litigator with extensive first-seat trial and appellate experience who focuses on torts of competition such as trademark infringement, unfair competition and consumer law.

He is known for his First Amendment advocacy, regarding both religious and free speech rights, including his representation of Simon Tam and “The Slants” in the watershed free speech case, Matal v. Tam, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the prohibition against registration of “disparaging” trademarks was unconstitutional.

History

An alumnus of a number of major commercial firms in New York and New Jersey, the states in which he is admitted, Ron maintains a leading-edge media practice representing political and new media figures in defamation and intellectual property claims, challenges to social media “cancel culture” or “deplatforming” cases as well as traditional intellectual property litigation on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in federal and state courts throughout the country.

Ron has been perennially listed in the World Trademark Review’s “WTR 1000 Top Practitioners” guide for his trademark litigation work in New York and the World Intellectual Property’s Review’s “WIPR Leaders” directory, as well as Super Lawyers; he is AV rated in Martindale Hubbell. 

He received the American Bar Association IP Section’s 2018 Mark T. Banner Award for Impact on IP Law for his work on Matal v. Tam, and his blog, Likelihood of Confusion, is one of the longest-running and most widely read intellectual property blogs on the Internet. 

Ron is very active on social media, notably Twitter, and has published, written and presented extensively on IP, social media and free speech issues around the country.  He is a member of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association, the Federalist Society and the state bar associations of New York and New Jersey.

Ron has successfully represented clients of every size in state and federal courts, arbitrations and mediations in a variety of litigation matters, including contract disputes, distributorship litigation, trademark and unfair competition cases, business tort claims, toxic tort and insurance coverage litigation, discrimination and wrongful discharge cases, copyright infringement claims, and cases involving trade secrets, restrictive covenants and real estate.

His litigation experience runs from pretrial investigation and early dispute resolution through every aspect of bench and jury trials as well as appeals.

Ron received his AB from Princeton University and graduated from Northwestern University School of Law.

Experience:

  • Partner Dhillon Law Group 2020 – Present
  • Partner Mandelbaum Salsburg PC 2017 – 2020
  • Partner Archer Law 2015 – 2017
  • Partner Goetz Fitzpatrick LLP 2008 – 2015
  • Partner Hoffman Polland & Furman, PLLC 2007 – 2008
  • Partner Bragar Wexler & Eagel, PC 2006 – 2007
  • Partner Coleman Law Firm, a Professional Corporation 2003 – 2006
  • Partner Gibney, Anthony & Flaherty, LLP 2000 – 2003
  • Associate Pitney, Hardin, Kipp & Szuch, LLP 1996 – 2000
  • Associate Lowenstein, Sandler, Kohl, Fisher & Boylan, a Professional Corporation 1992 – 1994
  • Associate Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler 1990 – 1992

Education:

  • Northwestern University School of Law JD – Juris Doctor 1988
  • Princeton University AB 1985

Practice Areas:

Court Admissions:

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • Federal Circuit
  • 9th Circuit
  • 4th Circuit
  • 3rd Circuit
  • 2nd Circuit
  • New York since 1989
  • New Jersey since 1989

Publications:

Likelihood of Confusion blog Weblog 2020
HeinOnline Fashion Dos: Acknowledging Social Media Evidence as Relevant to Proving Secondary Meaning 2016
Media Law Resource Center – Media Law Letter Slants, Redskins and other “Disparaging” Trademarks 2015
Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation The Policy and Constitutional Challenges to Contemporary Application of Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act 2015
New York State Bar Association Journal Bloggers, Journalists, Reporting and Privilege 2013
In the Arena: A Sports Law Handbook How Trademark Protection Intersects with the Athlete’s Right of Publicity 2013
American Intellectual Property Law Association (A Short History of) The Misuse of Trademarks to Control Free Expression 2013
Federalist Society Trademark, Copyright, and the Internet: Time to Return Balance to Civil Litigation 2010
Copyright and New Media Law Newsletter Copyright Rules of the Road for Bloggers 2009
NJ Law Journal Hands off Blogs: Mandatory disclosure of payment to bloggers runs counter to free expression 2007
Advertising Compliance Service Prudential Standing: Who is “any person” under the Lanham Act? 2006
NJSBA Business Law Symposium (ICLE) Managing Risk: Litigation Prophylaxis in High-Tech Agreements 2003
Journal of Internet Law De Minimis Confusion on the Internet: Compounding the Error of Initial Interest 2003
Record of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York Online Auction Sites and Trademark Infringement Liability 2003
Mondaq.com Depositions and Wrongful Profits in Infringement Cases: Cornering Your Prey with Rule 30(b)(6) 2002
Mealey’s Cyber Tech Litigation Hacker with a White Hat 2001
CorporateIntelligence.com New York’s Declaratory Judgment Insurance Trap 2001
Corporateintelligence.com Courts Run Hot and Cold on Liquidated Damages 2000
CorporateIntelligence.com The Common Interest Privilege’s Evolving Nomenclature and Jurisprudence 2000
The ABA Legal Guide for Small Business Primary author, trade paperback 2000
Business and Commercial Litigation in the Federal Courts (West) Chapter 6, “Responses to Complaints” (with Clyde A. Szuch) 1998
The ABA Guide to Consumer Law Trade paperback 1998
National Law Journal IP Express Contracting on the Internet 1997
National Law Journal Court Nixes Fees for Fact Witnesses 1997
Mealey’s Litigation Report New York’s Choice of Law Doctrine in Coverage Cases 1997
ABA Journal Civil Disclosures: Skepticism runs rampant as the federal courts’ experiment with discovery reform hits the two-year mark 1995
ABA Journal Copycats on the Superhighway 1995

 

Speaking Engagements:

Practical legal ethics in the modern media environment Ethics in the Media 2019
One-Day Patent CLE Seminar New York’s New Social Media Guidelines 2019
NYIPLA President’s Forum Online Platform Liability 2019
Hot Topics in Intellectual Property Genericness Ab Initio and Trademark Registration 2019
CIPLA Meeting Disparaging, Immoral and Scandalous Trademarks and the First Amendment 2019
NYIPLA Annual Meeting Predictability and the Standard of Review in IP Cases 2018
PBI’s 11th Annual Intellectual Property Institute Keynote Speech – Trademark law developments 2017
Panel Discussion about Trademarks as Speech and Property Trademarks as Speech and Property in a World of Brands 2017
McCarthy Symposium on Trademark Law and Its Challenges 2017 Trademark Disparagement and the First Amendment 2017
Internet Law Symposium: Controversies & Issues in Internet Law Free Speech and the Internet: Balancing Protections 2017
INTA Annual Meeting – Barcelona, Spain What’s the Use? Exploring Recent Challenges and Changes to Common Law Unfair Competition and Trademark Use Requirements in the U.S. and Canada 2017
Fashion Law Seminar – FBA, New York City Litigating a Brand: The Dual Perspective of In-House and Outside Counsel 2017
Los Angeles Copyright Society Registering Offense: Disparaging Trademarks, The First Amendment, and In Re Simon Shiao Tam 2016
Intellectual Property Law Section Annual Meeting On the (Un)Constitutionality of Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act 2016
All-Ohio Annual Institute on Intellectual Property Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act: Trademark’s Law of Unintended Consequences 2016
Advanced Trademark Law Seminar Mastering Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act: Strategies for Overcoming Deceptiveness, False Suggestion, Scandalous, and Disparaging Refusals 2016
Webinar Deposing Rule 30(b)(6) Corporate Witnesses 2015
MLRC Forum “Hate Speech, Threats, and Terror: In the News and On Your Site” 2015
GIBSON DUNN Federal Registration of Disparaging, Immoral and Scandalous Trademarks 2019
Trademark Talk: Hot Topics and Recent Developments in Trademark Law Trademark Year in Review: Notable Decisions 2014
Green Paper Roundtable Statutory Damages in Copyright 2016
CIPLA March Meeting The SLANTS Appeal and Examining Attorney Independent Research 2014
Annual Federal Circuit Symposium Addressing the Efficacy of Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act 2014
AIPLA Annual Meeting Trademarks, Goodwill and Free Speech 2013
Annual Meeting Righthaven and Mass Copyright Infringement Campaigns 2011
Table Talk (Facilitator) Policing Trademarks on the Internet and the Web 2.0 2010
Annual Spring Meeting Keying Up Keywords: The Role of IP in Keyword Searching 2010
Advanced Trademark Law A Focus on Initial Interest Confusion, Post-Sale Confusion and Related Strategies 2010
Legal Aspects of Blogging Legal Aspects of Blogging 2008
Halacha Conference of Agudath Israel Jewish law issues in legal practice 2007
Advanced Internet Strategies for the New Jersey Legal Professional Legal research on the Internet for non-lawyers 2006
Seminar on Advanced Trademark Law (ABCNY) Advanced trademark law 2005
Table Talk (Facilitator) Issues in Trademark Dilution 2004
Electronic Data Management and Discovery I ssues: Where is the Tipping Point? (Del. Bar Assoc.) Electronic discovery 2003
Annual Business Law Institute (NJSBA) Managing Risks and Costs of Acquiring IT Solutions 2003
Faith Under Democracy (Fed. Soc.) Constitutional law – First Amendment 2002
Branding Strategies and Issues IP issues in branding 2002
Attacking Counterfeiting in the 21st Century (NYIPA) Trademark counterfeiting 2002
Annual Meeting (IACC) Legislation / lobbying report to members 2002
2001 Wireless Conference (Conf. Bd.) Protecting Intellectual Property Rights Where Wireless is Ubiquitous 2001
Trademarks in Cyberspace (INTA) Trademark rights vs. free speech 2000

Awards:

  • WTR 1000, “World’s Leading Trademark Professionals” World Trademark Review 2019
  • Top Attorney – Internet Law SJ Magazine 2018
  • Global Intellectual Property Leader World IP Review 2018
  • Super Lawyer – Intellectual Property Litigation, New York City Super Lawyers 2020
  • Super Lawyer – Intellectual Property Litigation, New York City Super Lawyers 2019
  • Super Lawyer – Intellectual Property Litigation, New York City Super Lawyers 2018
  • WTR 1000, “World’s Leading Trademark Professionals” World Trademark Review 2018
  • Mark T. Banner Award for Impact on IP Law American Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section 2018
  • Global Intellectual Property Leader World IP Review 2017
  • WTR 1000, “World’s Leading Trademark Professionals” World Trademark Review 2017
  • Top Attorney – Internet Law South Jersey Magazine 2017
  • Super Lawyer – Intellectual Property Litigation, New York City Super Lawyers 2017
  • Distinguished Leaders Award New Jersey Law Journal 2017
  • Super Lawyer – Intellectual Property Litigation, New York City Super Lawyers 2016
  • Top Attorney – Internet Law South Jersey Magazine 2016
  • The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals (WTR 1000) World Trademark Review 2016
  • Super Lawyer – Intellectual Property Litigation, New York City Super Lawyers 2015
  • Super Lawyer – Intellectual Property Litigation, New York City Super Lawyers 2014
  • Super Lawyer – Intellectual Property Litigation, New York City Super Lawyers 2013
  • Super Lawyer – Intellectual Property Litigation, New York City Super Lawyers 2012
  • Who’s Who in America Marquis Who’s Who 2006
  • Rated “AV’ Martindale-Hubbell 1999
  • Who’s Who in American Law Marquis Who’s Who 1998

Videos

 

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