- People
- Practices
- Antitrust/Competition
- International Practice
- Broker-Dealer and Market Regulation
- Labor and Employment
- Climate Change
- Litigation
- Corporate and Securities
- Private Client Services
- Educational Institutions
- Private Investment Funds
- Energy
- Public Finance
- Environmental Strategies
- Real Estate and Projects
- Finance
- Securities Regulation
- Financial Institutions
- Strategic Communications
- Financial Restructuring
- Tax
- Government
- Technology
- Intellectual Property
- White Collar Defense
- Internal Investigations
- News & Publications
- Rankings & Awards
- Events
- Blogs
Erin S. Hennessy
Partner
Assistant
Stephanie Blair206.204.6253
Erin Hennessy is an intellectual property partner in Bracewell & Giuliani's Technology Group. Her practice focuses on trademark law, copyright law, and internet and social media issues with an emphasis on the media and telecommunications industries. Having served as a former chief trademark counsel in-house, she brings an innate business sense and first-hand insights to her practice.
During her career, Erin has handled worldwide trademark matters including trademark counseling, clearance, registration, protection and enforcement; domain name and internet issues; litigation, licensing and transactional work. She has worked on various policy issues such as the imminent launch of the new gTLDs, trademark dilution, domain name tasting, cyber-squatting, keyword advertising and spyware. She has served as lead trademark counsel on major corporate transactions such as the $9.6 billion spin-off of Time Warner Cable from Time Warner Inc. and the $2.6 billion divestiture of Warner Music Group.
Prior to joining Bracewell, she was a partner at K&L Gates LLP in Seattle and is also the former Assistant General Counsel and Chief Trademark Counsel for Time Warner Inc.
She frequently speaks and publishes on topics such as the new gTLDs, trademarks in social media, and trademark prosecution best practices.
Publications and Speeches
"Babes in Toyland: Video Games for ‘Children’ of All Ages," 2012 International Trademark Association Leadership Meeting, November 2012
"Linsanity, Blue Ivy Carter, and Pretzel Crisps: What Brand Owners Can Learn From the Pages of The New York Times, Facebook, and Twitter," Intellectual Property Owners Association 40th Annual Meeting, September, 2012
"'Big Reveal' Roundup: 8 Tips for Reviewing The New gTLDs," Law360, June 2012
Moderator, "Navigating Diversity Issues in the Legal Profession," Seattle, May 2012
“Trademark Current Developments: Domain Names, Disputes and Generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLD),” 25th Annual Technology Law Conference, May 2012
“ICANN’s New Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Program – Should your Company Apply?” Law Seminars International, March 2012
"Internet 2.0: Jurisdictional Risks in Today's Cyber World," IP Strategist, March 2012
“We Have Lift-Off! What's Next for .XXX in a Post-Launch World?,” Intellectual Property Today, February 2012
“.XXX General Availability Period: A Green Light to Block Red Light Domain Names,” Intellectual Property Strategist, January 2012
“.XXX Domain Name Launches; Sunrise Period for Trademark Owners and Adult Industry Members Continues until October 28, 2011,” Bloomberg Law Reports, Technology Law, November 2011
"Trademark Law Update," Houston Intellectual Property Law Association 27th Annual Institute on Intellectual Property Law, October 2011
"ICANN's New Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Program," Law Seminars International, August 2011
"Customs and Border Protection Trademark Letter Rulings: A Valuable and Underused Tool?" The Intellectual Property Strategist, June 2011
"Trademark Prosecution Best Practices," American Bar Association 26th Annual Intellectual Property Conference, Arlington, VA, April 2011
"Special IP Issues for Social Media Applications in the Wireless Space," LSI Advanced Conference on New Developments in Wireless Telecommunications, November 2010
"A Long Voyage from the Runway to the Beltway, S. 3728 Paves a New Road to Combat Fashion Design Piracy," Intellectual Property Strategist, Volume 16, Number 12, September 2010 (co-authored)
"The Most Important Trademark Presentation of Your Career," ABA 25th Annual Intellectual Property Conference, April 2010
Moderator, "Internet Search Engines – Metatags and Initial Interest Confusion," INTA Table Topics, INTA Conference, May 2009
Moderator, "Metrics: How to Show the Value of Your Trademark Group to Your Company," INTA Table Topics, INTA Conference, May 2008
Speaker, "U.S. Study Tour for Middle Eastern Judges and Prosecutors," USPTO Global Intellectual Property Academy, April 2008
Speaker, INTA/USPTO Industry Training on the Entertainment Industry, USPTO, April 2008
Speaker, "From the Inside Out: Managing Your Company’s Licensing Program," INTA In-House Trademark Counsel’s Workshop, February 2008
Speaker, "Young Consumers and How They Meet the Brands," 21st Annual MARQUES Conference, September 2007
Speaker/Moderator, "Building a Brand from the Ground Up: The Real Simple Franchise," Business of Brands Forum, INTA, September 2007
Speaker, "U.S. Study Tour for Vietnamese Judges and Prosecutors," USPTO Global Intellectual Property Academy, May 2007
Education
J.D., Widener University Law School, 1996
B.A., Miami University, 1992
Bar Admissions
*Not licensed to practice in the District of Columbia
New York
Washington
Court Admissions
U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
Affiliations
International Trademark Association, Program Committee for 2013 Leadership Meeting (2012-present), Emerging Issues Committee (2012-present), Program Committee for 2012 Leadership Meeting (2011-2012), New gTLD Subcommittee of the Internet Committee, (2010-2012), Board of Directors (2008-2011)
Women in Technology International (2011-present)
American Bar Association Trademark Litigation Committee, Vice Chair (2009-2011)
Intellectual Property Owners Association, Vice Chair, Trademark Law Committee (2011-2013), Member, Trademark Law Committee (2009-2010)
The Intellectual Property Strategist, Board of Editors (2007-present)
Noteworthy
Recipient of the Commander’s Award for Public Service, Department of the Army, 2011
Recipient of the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, Department of the Army, 2010
Recipient of the Order of St. Joan D’Arc, US Armor Association, 2010
Recipient of Time Warner Annual Andrew Heiskell Community Service Award, 2005
World Trademark Review 1000: The World's Leading Trademark Professionals 2013
