Full Name
Margaret Esquenet
Job Title
Partner
Organization
Finnegan, LLP
Speaker Bio
Margaret A. Esquenet, a partner in Finnegan’s Washington, DC, office, focuses on contemporary issues in U.S. and global copyright, advertising, and trademark law. She leads litigation teams that are defining the scope of copyright protection, trademark infringement, and advertising substantiation on traditional and emerging platforms, and she provides legal counsel across all facets of branding, advertising, and marketing, across all media. Margaret is experienced in First Amendment and media rights and has been tapped as an intellectual property legal expert for National Public Radio and Bloomberg BNA stories.
Copyright
As a leader of Finnegan’s copyright practice, Margaret is responsible for creating, maintaining, and enforcing all aspects of various copyright portfolios. She has prosecuted numerous copyright applications for a variety of works, including source code, user interfaces, video games, databases, logos, labels, photographs, books, training materials, newspapers, films, board games, and translations. Margaret advises clients regarding copyright use and enforcement issues, including drafting demand letters, negotiating licenses, distribution agreements, and technology agreements, conducting copyright availability searches and preparing opinion letters, and litigating copyright infringement claims. She routinely assists clients with Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)-related issues, including issuing, responding to, and counseling clients regarding DMCA notices and subpoenas, and related litigation. Margaret is also experienced with recording and enforcing copyrights via U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Advertising and Marketing
As a leader of Finnegan’s advertising group, Margaret protects clients against competitors who make false allegations, and regulators who challenge product performance, manufacturing and other claims. On the flip side, she assists clients in calling out false or deceptive claims made by competitors that can lead to harm in product marketing.
She counsels clients regarding best practices, regulatory compliance and rules for popular and emerging social media platforms, mobile applications and other digital marketing technologies. She also conducts advertising review and prepublication vetting, including reviewing materials for leveraging earned media, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulatory and National Advertising Division (NAD) compliance, copyright and trademarks rights-clearance, right of publicity/privacy risk, and issues related to defamation. Margaret is an experienced transactional attorney, negotiating and drafting advertising agency, endorsement, appearance, sponsorship, model release, and other marketing agreements.
Trademark
As partner in Finnegan’s trademark practice, Margaret is responsible for creating, maintaining, and enforcing all aspects of numerous trademark portfolios. She has prosecuted numerous applications for traditional and non-traditional marks. Margaret advises clients regarding international prosecution and portfolio maintenance strategies, and regarding trademark use and enforcement issues, including conducting trademark availability searches, negotiating licenses and distribution agreements, preparing opinion letters, and litigating trademark infringement claims. She serves as lead counsel in connection with numerous Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) proceedings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Margaret is experienced with recording and enforcing trademark rights via U.S. Customs and Border Protection and litigating Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) complaints and other domain name issues.
Litigation
Recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. for copyright litigation, Margaret has participated in numerous successful federal district court actions and subsequent appeals. She has orchestrated settlement negotiations—including mediation and arbitration proceedings—for clients representing multiple industries: news media, consumer goods, automotive, sports, insurance, real estate, financial services, and software.
Margaret represents clients in high-profile litigation, including cases that have resulted in the establishment of new law. Exemplary representations include the following:
• ConnectU LLC v. The Facebook/Zuckerberg (1st Cir): Counsel for the Winklevoss twins and Divya Narendra in a closely watched trade secret and copyright case against Facebook. Among other things, the case established that an amended complaint forms the basis of a jurisdiction claim in federal court.
• Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (“MRIS”) v. American Home Realty Network, Inc. (4th Cir.): Counsel for MRIS in connection with the Fourth Circuit’s ruling that an electronic agreement may affect a valid transfer of copyright interests under Section 204 of the Copyright Act, which was the first of its kind and has significant implications for the validity of electronic transfers in other areas.
• Under Armour v. Skechers (D. Md.): Counsel for Under Amour in a copyright and trade dress case brought against Skecher’s television/internet commercials. The case settled favorably for client Under Armour.
• Choose Energy v. API (N.D. Cal.): Defended client API in connection with trademark allegations brought by Choose Energy relating to an API voter education campaign. Finnegan successfully defended API’s political speech and First Amendment rights.
• Matrix Motors v. Toyota Motor Sales (9th Cir): Counsel for Toyota in a case brought by Matrix Motor Company, Inc., alleging that the Toyota Matrix passenger car infringed the Matrix trademark allegedly used for race cars and related components and parts. The court granted a summary judgement in favor of Toyota Motor Sales, affirming that Matrix Motors had not engaged in sufficient use of the mark on automobiles to establish trademark rights.
• MontaVista v. Lineo (D. Utah): Counsel for Monta Vista in a case of first impression in the open source software space. Monta Vista alleged that Lineo distributed open source computer programs copyrighted by MontaVista, and removed all references to MontaVista, including MontaVista's copyright notice and contact information. The case settled favorably for client Monta Vista.
Professional Interests and Education:
• In addition to overseeing numerous firm IP portfolios and performing and supervising casework, Margaret frequently presents to organizations and associations around the United States on such topics as how to develop, protect and commercialize IP assets, emerging IP issues in social media, and the use of IP on the campaign trail.
• Margaret manages the firm’s copyright and trademark pro bono program, identifying and vetting potential pro bono clients, mentoring firm attorneys in connection with pro bono work and representing pro bono clients.
• Editor, Incontestable® Blog
• Contributor, Copyright Chapter, Global Business Law
• Member, Copyright Society of the United States of America
• Member, American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Member, International Trademark Association
J.D., American University, Washington College of Law; B.A., University of California, Berkeley
Copyright
As a leader of Finnegan’s copyright practice, Margaret is responsible for creating, maintaining, and enforcing all aspects of various copyright portfolios. She has prosecuted numerous copyright applications for a variety of works, including source code, user interfaces, video games, databases, logos, labels, photographs, books, training materials, newspapers, films, board games, and translations. Margaret advises clients regarding copyright use and enforcement issues, including drafting demand letters, negotiating licenses, distribution agreements, and technology agreements, conducting copyright availability searches and preparing opinion letters, and litigating copyright infringement claims. She routinely assists clients with Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)-related issues, including issuing, responding to, and counseling clients regarding DMCA notices and subpoenas, and related litigation. Margaret is also experienced with recording and enforcing copyrights via U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Advertising and Marketing
As a leader of Finnegan’s advertising group, Margaret protects clients against competitors who make false allegations, and regulators who challenge product performance, manufacturing and other claims. On the flip side, she assists clients in calling out false or deceptive claims made by competitors that can lead to harm in product marketing.
She counsels clients regarding best practices, regulatory compliance and rules for popular and emerging social media platforms, mobile applications and other digital marketing technologies. She also conducts advertising review and prepublication vetting, including reviewing materials for leveraging earned media, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulatory and National Advertising Division (NAD) compliance, copyright and trademarks rights-clearance, right of publicity/privacy risk, and issues related to defamation. Margaret is an experienced transactional attorney, negotiating and drafting advertising agency, endorsement, appearance, sponsorship, model release, and other marketing agreements.
Trademark
As partner in Finnegan’s trademark practice, Margaret is responsible for creating, maintaining, and enforcing all aspects of numerous trademark portfolios. She has prosecuted numerous applications for traditional and non-traditional marks. Margaret advises clients regarding international prosecution and portfolio maintenance strategies, and regarding trademark use and enforcement issues, including conducting trademark availability searches, negotiating licenses and distribution agreements, preparing opinion letters, and litigating trademark infringement claims. She serves as lead counsel in connection with numerous Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) proceedings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Margaret is experienced with recording and enforcing trademark rights via U.S. Customs and Border Protection and litigating Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) complaints and other domain name issues.
Litigation
Recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. for copyright litigation, Margaret has participated in numerous successful federal district court actions and subsequent appeals. She has orchestrated settlement negotiations—including mediation and arbitration proceedings—for clients representing multiple industries: news media, consumer goods, automotive, sports, insurance, real estate, financial services, and software.
Margaret represents clients in high-profile litigation, including cases that have resulted in the establishment of new law. Exemplary representations include the following:
• ConnectU LLC v. The Facebook/Zuckerberg (1st Cir): Counsel for the Winklevoss twins and Divya Narendra in a closely watched trade secret and copyright case against Facebook. Among other things, the case established that an amended complaint forms the basis of a jurisdiction claim in federal court.
• Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (“MRIS”) v. American Home Realty Network, Inc. (4th Cir.): Counsel for MRIS in connection with the Fourth Circuit’s ruling that an electronic agreement may affect a valid transfer of copyright interests under Section 204 of the Copyright Act, which was the first of its kind and has significant implications for the validity of electronic transfers in other areas.
• Under Armour v. Skechers (D. Md.): Counsel for Under Amour in a copyright and trade dress case brought against Skecher’s television/internet commercials. The case settled favorably for client Under Armour.
• Choose Energy v. API (N.D. Cal.): Defended client API in connection with trademark allegations brought by Choose Energy relating to an API voter education campaign. Finnegan successfully defended API’s political speech and First Amendment rights.
• Matrix Motors v. Toyota Motor Sales (9th Cir): Counsel for Toyota in a case brought by Matrix Motor Company, Inc., alleging that the Toyota Matrix passenger car infringed the Matrix trademark allegedly used for race cars and related components and parts. The court granted a summary judgement in favor of Toyota Motor Sales, affirming that Matrix Motors had not engaged in sufficient use of the mark on automobiles to establish trademark rights.
• MontaVista v. Lineo (D. Utah): Counsel for Monta Vista in a case of first impression in the open source software space. Monta Vista alleged that Lineo distributed open source computer programs copyrighted by MontaVista, and removed all references to MontaVista, including MontaVista's copyright notice and contact information. The case settled favorably for client Monta Vista.
Professional Interests and Education:
• In addition to overseeing numerous firm IP portfolios and performing and supervising casework, Margaret frequently presents to organizations and associations around the United States on such topics as how to develop, protect and commercialize IP assets, emerging IP issues in social media, and the use of IP on the campaign trail.
• Margaret manages the firm’s copyright and trademark pro bono program, identifying and vetting potential pro bono clients, mentoring firm attorneys in connection with pro bono work and representing pro bono clients.
• Editor, Incontestable® Blog
• Contributor, Copyright Chapter, Global Business Law
• Member, Copyright Society of the United States of America
• Member, American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Member, International Trademark Association
J.D., American University, Washington College of Law; B.A., University of California, Berkeley