Susan E. Hollander

Venable LLP

San Francisco

Trademark infringement

Hollander's client roster ranges from a company with a famous mermaid logo to a winery associated with none other than film legend Francis Ford Coppola.

The partner at Venable in San Francisco, works to protect her clients' brands on a global basis while also advising them on strategy.

Numerous companies ranging from technology to health care have sought out Hollander's expertise on trademarks, copyrights, trade dress and false advertising. Her legal skills have resulted in major trademark decisions.

The challenge with trademark infringement is that unlike copyright or patents, "there's an objective test, [but] trademark infringement is subjective," Hollander explained. "What is the state of mind of the consuming public? There's a lot of room for creativity."

Trademark protection isn't just for brand owners, it also matters to consumers to avoid confusion and let them buy the products they want, Hollander said.

The San Francisco native earned her law degree from UC Berkeley School of Law; she also has a bachelor's degree from Pitzer College. Her pathway to intellectual property began while she was a doctoral candidate in philosophy at Stanford University.

"I decided I didn't want to teach, and decided to go to law school at Berkeley," Hollander said. She became a summer associate at the now defunct Brown & Bain, which was litigating whether microcode was copyrightable.

After that, "I was hooked" on intellectual property, Hollander said. "I've done IP litigation ever since."

The case that cemented Hollander's interest in trademark law was one of her first: As a fifth-year associate, she became lead counsel in a jury trial representing the city of Valencia in a trademark infringement case.

"I won, and I believe it's still one of the only cases where a city's name was protected as a trademark," Hollander said.

Since 2017, Hollander has been representing Chicken of the Sea in a trademark infringement case involving the brand's well-known mermaid logo. Hollander could not discuss the case, which is ongoing before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White in Oakland. Tri-Union Seafoods LLC v. McAllister, 17-CV06646 (N.D. Cal., filed Nov. 17, 2017).

Over the past year, she has also represented the Coppola Winery -- started by the Oscar-winning director in California -- over a trademark registration and use case in Europe. Her work on behalf of the winery took her to Italy and Spain for strategy meetings.

"We've already received a favorable decision over the use and registration of the Coppola name," she said.

Hollander enjoys spending time with her husband, a Sonoma State University English professor and their two dogs. She's also an avid horseback rider, and has a 5-year-old gelding named Elmo.

-- Karen Weil