Evan Gourvitz
Counsel
As both outside and in-house counsel, Evan Gourvitz has successfully litigated and counseled clients on intellectual property disputes for almost 25 years.
He has handled every type of intellectual property matter, including copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, false advertising, and right of publicity, as well as First Amendment and general commercial litigation matters, for clients in the consumer products, entertainment, alcoholic beverage, pharmaceutical, financial, technology, publishing, and fashion industries, among others.
Evan is especially familiar with Internet and social media issues, having been involved both personally and professionally for almost 30 years. He regularly advises clients on cutting-edge digital issues, including cryptocurrency, NFTs, the Metaverse, and Web3; the removal of infringing, libelous, and offensive materials from websites and social media; the use of celebrity and brand names on social media; blockchain domain names, cybersquatting, and UDRP proceedings; social media reputation management; doxing; and how to prevent disputes and demand letters from “going viral.”
Experience
- Healing on the Fly v. Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. Successfully defended a charity providing rehabilitative services to wounded veterans against a disgruntled former employee who opposed its attempt to register the mark HEALING ON THE FLY for charitable fundraising services.
- RLP Ventures v. All Hands Instruction. Successfully moved to dismiss trademark infringement action and petition to cancel client’s registration with prejudice on the basis of issue preclusion and lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
- Michael Grecco Productions v. Netease Information Technology. Successfully moved to dismiss copyright infringement claim brought against client based on improper venue.
- Bureau National Interprofessionnel Du Cognac v. Prowood Wine & Spirits, Inc. Successfully represented our client in a federal district court case involving the sale of a third-party product, described as “Arman Cognac,” that was not genuine Cognac.
- Invista North America S.a. R.I. v. Hanwha Corporation. Successfully defended our client in an opposition proceeding, permitting Hanwha
to register its word-and-design mark for renewable energy services. - Regularly represents and advises the Harvard Law Review Association in copyright and trademark disputes relating to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation.
- Hogarth v. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Successfully defended the owner of all existing rights in the Tarzan character, in the trial court and on appeal, against claims that two Tarzan books published in 1972 and 1976 were owned by artist Burne Hogarth, rather than works for hire owned by Burroughs.
- Creative Arts by Calloway, LLC v. Brooks. Successfully defended Cab Calloway's grandson, in the trial court and on appeal, against multiple attempts by his grandfather’s widow, her family, and their company to prevent him from performing his grandfather's music as "The Cab Calloway Orchestra."
- Overbeck Corp. v. Overbeck GmbH. After a full trial on trademark infringement and dilution claims, prevailed on motion to strike a jury verdict against German company, its parent, and its U.S. affiliate.
- Walker v. DC Comics. Successfully defended comics publisher from claim that its comic “Superman: Last Son of Earth” infringed plaintiff’s purported rights in an unsolicited story idea submitted to DC.
- Sapon v. DC Comics. Successfully defended comics publisher from claim that its “Batman Beyond” character design infringed plaintiff’s purported rights in an unsolicited design submitted to DC.
- Brooks v. Creative Arts by Calloway, LLC. Successfully opposed application to register the trademark CAB CALLOWAY based on prior common law use of the mark THE CAB CALLOWAY ORCHESTRA by Cab Calloway's grandson, Christopher Brooks.
- Lacoste Alligator, S.A. v. Maxoly, Inc. Successfully opposed application to register alligator design mark based on prior registrations for and common law use of Lacoste alligator design marks.
- PepsiCo, Inc. v. “The Holy See.” In administrative proceeding before the World Intellectual Property Organization, acquired various PEPSI-formative domain names from an anonymous squatter who purportedly registered those domain names as political speech.
Publications
- Co-author, “Legal Implications of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations,” Bloomberg Law (April 14, 2022)
- Co-author, “NCAA NIL interim policy: a win for student-athletes, but challenges remain ahead,” Westlaw Today (July 13, 2021)
- Co-author, “NCAA Slates “NIL” Proposal for Vote,” Licensing Journal (November-December 2020)
- Co-author, “NCAA Moves Closer to “NIL” Policy for Student-Athletes,” Licensing Journal (August 2020)
- Co-author, “Annotated State Codes Are Unprotectable by Copyright,” IP Litigator (July-August 2020)
- Co-author, “Court Rejects Willfulness Requirement for Recovery of Defendant’s Profits in Trademark Cases,” IP Litigator (July-August 2020)
- Co-author, “INSIGHT: The Supreme Court Can Bring Trademark Law into the .Com Age,” Bloomberg Law (June 3, 2020)
- Co-author, “Unpacking Fed. Circ. Multicolor Trade Dress Ruling,” Law360 (May 11, 2020)
- Author, “INSIGHT: Student-Athletes on Cusp of Compensation With ‘Right of Publicity’ Changes,” Bloomberg Law (December 20, 2019)
- Quoted, “Want to Win a Social Media Defamation Case? Don't Start One,” Legaltech News (December 18, 2019)
- Co-author, “Supreme Court Holds that Ban on Registration of Immoral and Scandalous Trademarks Is Unconstitutional,” IP Litigator (September-October 2019)
- Quoted, “AI and Copyright Come Together in “Absurd” U.S. Complaint,” Managing Intellectual Property (August 29, 2019)
- Quoted, “How to Crush an Outlaw Biker Club: Seize Its … Logo?,” The New York Times (November 21, 2018)
- Quoted, “Avoiding Copyright Issues and Other Legal Pitfalls on Social Media,” Association of National Advertisers ANA Magazine (May 9, 2018)
- Quoted, “3 Rules for Brands Sharing Memes,” Association of National Advertisers’ ANA Magazine (January 24, 2017)
- Quoted, “Unclear What Gov’t Could Do With Biker Gang Trademarks,” Bloomberg BNA Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal (August 4, 2016)
- Co-author, “USA,” The International Comparative Legal Guide to Trade Marks 2016 (5th Ed. May 2016)
- Co-author, “Michael Jordan: Court Champion,” Intellectual Property Magazine (October 2015) (Subscription required)
- Quoted, “Jordan Verdict A Warning For Advertisers On Image Use,” Law360 (Aug. 24, 2015)
- Quoted, “Jordan wins $8m in publicity wrangle,” Intellectual Property Magazine (August 24, 2015)
- Quoted, “5 High Court IP Cases Last Term; None This Term?,” Bloomberg BNA Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal (July 17, 2015 online; July 23, 2015 in print)
- Quoted, “REACTION: B&B Hardware is trademark litigation ‘game-changer,’” Intellectual Property Magazine (March 25, 2015)
- Quoted, “SCOTUS’s ruling in B&B could shift more resources to TTAB cases, lawyers say,” World Intellectual Property Review (March 25, 2015)
- Quoted, “Attorneys React To Supreme Court's TTAB Preclusion Ruling,” Law360 (March 24, 2015)
- Quoted, “US Supreme Court: trademark tacking is a question for jury,” World Trademark Review (April/May 2015 issue)
- Quoted, “Update: US Supreme Court favours jury in ‘tacking’ case,” World Intellectual Property Review (December 4, 2014)
- Quoted, “Lindsay Lohan's `Grand Theft Auto' Suit Must Overcome Tough New York Law,” Forbes (Aug. 27, 2014)
Presentations
- Panelist, "Believe the Hype, or Old Wine in New Bottles? Understanding and Using New Internet Technologies," INTA Annual Meeting (April 30, 2022)
- Panelist, “Name/Image/Likeness Primer for Colleges and Universities: Part Two,” Ropes & Gray CLE Webinar series (December 2, 2020)
- Panelist, “Name/Image/Likeness Primer for Colleges and Universities: Part One,” Ropes & Gray CLE Webinar Series (November 11, 2020)
- Speaker, “Copyright Trolls: A Practical Guide to First Steps,” American Intellectual Property Law Association Annual Conference (October 28, 2020)
- Speaker, “Right of Publicity: The Basics,” Boston Bar Association (October 15, 2019)
- Guest Lecturer, “Digital Technology and the Law: Social Media,” MIT Sloan School of Management (April 22, 2019)
- Speaker, “Assessing the Risk and Benefits of Social Media Influencers and Paid Promoters of Cosmetics and Personal Care Products,” American Conference Institute’s Cosmetics & Personal Care Products Legal Forum (March 28, 2019)
- Speaker, “Hot Topics: Hashtags and Augmented Reality,” Bloomberg BNA Webinar (April 18, 2017)
- Speaker, “Copyrights, Copycats, and the DMCA,” 2016 Association of National Advertisers Advertising Law & Public Policy Conference (April 6, 2016)
- Speaker, “Ethics in Social Media Controversies,” Intellectual Property Owners Association 43rd Annual Meeting (September 29, 2015)
- Speaker, “Demand Letters and Diplomacy in the Social Media Age,” International Trademark Association Annual Meeting (May 6, 2015)
- Speaker, “Current Social Media Issues: Stolen Selfies, Celebrities, and Shopping Bags,” Intellectual Property Master Class (November 18, 2014)
- Speaker, “Current Social Media Issues: Stolen Selfies, Celebrities, and Shopping Bags,” Ropes & Gray NY CLE Ethics Series (October 28, 2014)
- Panelist, “Fundamentals to Fansites: New Frontiers in Copyrights for Traditional and Social Media,” Association of Corporate Counsel, Westchester/Southern Connecticut Chapter (September 25, 2013)
- Panelist, “Generation, Ownership, and Protection of Virtual Property in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games,” American Intellectual Property Law Association Mid-Winter Institute (February 1, 2006)
Education
- JD, New York University School of Law, 1998
- MA (Politics), New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science, 1994
- BA (Political Science and English), with high honors, Rutgers College, 1990
Admissions / Qualifications
Qualifications
- New York
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Awards
- The Best Lawyers in America (2021-2023)
- Lawdragon.com’s 500 New Stars, New Worlds (2006)