Overview

Erik Pelton is the founder and lead attorney at Erik M. Pelton & Associates, PLLC. He is a former trademark examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and he has been practicing intellectual property law for over 20 years. He uses this experience and specialized knowledge to help businesses big and small protect their brands. 

Experience

Leadership & Community Involvement

• Board of Directors, Association of Intellectual Property Firms, 2012-2016
• Board of Directors, Falls Church Chamber of Commerce, 2011-2015
• Vice Chair, City of Falls Church Economic Development Activity, 2016-17, 2019
•  American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property
  • Past Chair, PTO Trademark Affairs, Inter Partes Committee
  • Member, PTO Trademark Affairs, Ex Parte Committee
  • Liason, Trademark Public Advisory Committee, 2017-Present
• International Trademark Association 
  • Trademark Office Practices Committee, USPTO Subcommittee, 2016-Present

Intellectual Property Experience

• Developed Apptorney®, an iPhone application for trademark and patient practitioners, 2010
• Attorney of record for more than 100 copyright registrations
• Attorney of record for more than 3,000 federal trademark applications and registrations since 1999
• Represented clients in all aspects of Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings
• Successfully stopped multiple trademark infringers
• Successfully represented parties in domain name arbitration disputes
• Assisted clients in drafting and reviewing intellectual property agreements
• Filed international trademark applications in numerous countries via Madrid Protocol
• Supervised development of sofTMware® proprietary cloud software for management of trademark files and tracking U.S.P.T.O. data (www.softmware.com)

Recognition

Awards

• Named a Top 20 Trademark Attorney by NameProtect's Trademark Insider®, 2007
• Named a Top 10 Trademark Attorney by NameProtect's Trademark Insider®, 2006
• Named a Top 10 Trademark Attorney by NameProtect's Trademark Insider®, 2005

Publications

VS Insights

• Author, "Trademarking Your New York Cannabis Industry Business and Brand," July 27, 2022

External Publications

• Author, IPelton® blog on trademark and social media topics
• Author, TTABulator® blog on Trademark Trial and Appeal Board matters

Events

• Speaker, Vicente Sederberg LLP, "Protect Your Brand! Cannabis Trademark Strategies and Benefits,” Webinar, September 23, 2020
• Speaker, Michigan Intellectual Property Law Institute , "Preparing to Go to Trial at the TTAB,” , October 01, 2019
• Speaker, North Carolina Bar Association, "The Intellectual Property Year in Review: Copyrights/Sports & Entertainment, Trade Secrets, Patents, & Trademarks,” , April 15, 2019
• Speaker, AIPF Annual Meeting, "Incorporating Pro Bono Work Into Your IP Practice ,” Chicago, September 26, 2018
• Speaker, Clear Law Institute Webinar , "USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board: Practical Guidance on Strategy and Tactics ,” , May 22, 2015
• Speaker, AIPF Annual Meeting, "Branding Your IP Firm ,” Fort Lee, September 01, 2014
• Moderator, American Bar Association Annual Meeting, "TTAB Hot Topics,” Boston, August 07, 2014
• Speaker, New York State Bar Association , "Trademark Bullying & The Streisand Effect ,” New York , September 24, 2012
• Speaker, National Veteran Small Business Conference , "Trademark Basics for Small Businesses ,” Detroit , June 26, 2012
• Speaker, ITechLaw 2012 World Technology Law Conference & Annual Meeting , "Online Advertising and Branding Issues on the Evolving Internet ,” San Francisco , May 12, 2012
• Speaker, AIPF WebIPHour, "Non-Traditional Trademark Protection in the U.S.,” , January 02, 2012
• Speaker, American Bar Association 26th Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference, "Trademark Prosecution Best Practices ,” , April 01, 2011
• Speaker, American Bar Association Annual Meeting, "Brand Ownership 2.0,” , April 01, 2011