Lori S. Kozak

Lori S. Kozak began her career with an internship at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office during law school, which later led to a role as a trademark examining attorney.

"I was drawn to this profession because I have a deep appreciation and respect for art, technology and the creative process," she said. "I love working with entrepreneurs, companies, artists and creatives to help them develop, protect and monetize their ideas. I also love to help them maintain and increase their brand value and reputations as they grow their businesses."

Today, Kozak is chair the national trademark practice at Fox Rothschild.

She represents high-profile clients across various sectors, including entertainment, technology and food & beverage. Despite the success of these clients, they prefer to keep a low profile, which speaks to the sensitive nature of Kozak's work.

"I can say that I never have a dull day," Kozak said. "Among other things, I manage trademark clearance and registration for an entertainment-based company that is a household name. I also negotiate, draft and enforce a multitude of IP agreements while managing an international trademark portfolio for a prominent video game developer. Millions of dollars are at stake in this work and I take that very seriously."

She quipped that she often feels there is nothing certain in this world except death, taxes and trademark infringement.

"Every day, I battle an army of trademark infringers who either don't know or don't care they aren't allowed to reproduce everything they see on the internet," Kozak said. "Global trademark enforcement is its own challenge, as I often see foreign nationals trying to register and use my clients' longstanding trademarks in their home countries. It doesn't work that way."

She said her 40-plus attorney trademark practice is seeing steady work in most sectors and an uptick in litigation and enforcement activities.

"Other attorneys, however, report fewer enforcement actions and more prosecution and transaction activity," Kozak said. "Artificial intelligence, globalization and online brand protection on social media platforms and online marketplaces are also hot topics. We also see more companies focusing on issues of social responsibility, diversity and environmental considerations as part of their business models. In turn, that triggers companies to put increased thought into who they hire to handle their legal work and how they launch their brands and marketing campaigns."