Andrew S. Ehard

Assistant:

Annie Styles
astyles@merchantgould.com
612.336.4687

Education

Bar Admissions

Professional Affiliations

Recent Decisions

Publications

Recent Speaking Engagements 

Quoted

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Currently the Chair of Merchant & Gould's Trademark Practice Group, Andrew practices general intellectual property law with an emphasis on trademark and copyright matters. Andrew represents and counsels significant brand holders in the management of their global trademark portfolios and the selection, clearance and registration of new brands. Andrew also represents clients involved in domestic and foreign trademark oppositions and cancellation proceedings. Prior to joining Merchant & Gould, Andrew served as a member of the senior management team and Director of Intellectual Property Services with the trademark research and brand protection company, NameProtect Inc. and also previously practiced as a Trademark Examining Attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Andrew has been named one of the top 50 trademark attorneys in the nation in 2008. This is the second time he has been listed as a Top Trademark Attorney by CSC's Trademark Insider. Andrew was previously included among the top filers in 2007.

Education

University of Wisconsin Madison
B.A. Psychology, 1993

District of Columbia School of Law
J.D., 1997

Bar Admissions

Virginia, 1997
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1997
Minnesota, 2005

Professional Affiliations

International Trademark Association (INTA), 2000-present
INTA Trademark Office Practices Committee - Examination Guidelines Subcommittee, 2006-2007
INTA Trademark Office Practices Committee - Classification Subcommittee, 2004-2005
Wisconsin Intellectual Property Law Association, 2000-2004
Virginia State Bar, 1997-present
Intellectual Property Law Section - Virginia Bar, 1999-2000

The Valspar Company v. Gao Ping, Claim Number: FA0809001226468 (November 18, 2008).

Mason Companies, Inc. v. Leroy Chan, Claim No. FA0807001216166 (September 4, 2008).

International Theatres Corporation v. Whois ID Theft Protection c/o Domain Admin, Claim No. FA0704000967654 (NAF, June 18, 2007).

Ravensburger Aktiengellschaft v. delux befektetes c/o Lajos Kiss, Claim No. FA0703000933228 (NAF, April 24, 2007).

AMSOIL INC. v. Turvill Consultants, Claim No. FA0512000616726 (NAF, February 7, 2006), successfully arguing for the transfer of the domain name amsoiloil.com to AMSOIL INC.

Chester L. Krause v. Krause Publications, Inc., Cancellation No. 92041171 (T.T.A.B., Nov. 18, 2005), In one of the few citable decisions of 2005, the TTAB granted the petition for cancellation under Section 2 (c) of the Trademark Act.

Publications

Protecting Voss Water, Minnesota Law & Politics (August/September 2008)

Best Practices For Protection and Clearance of Works, IP Law360 (April 11, 2007)

How to do Due Diligence on an Idea, Upsize Magazine (April 2007)

Trademarks: Best Practice for Selecting and Protecting Brands, @Law Magazine (Spring 2007)

Best Ways to Select and Protect Your Brands, Upsize Magazine (February 2007)

Industry Standards, Private Label Magazine, co-authored, (January/February 2007)

IP and the Internet - A Growing Need to Police Online Content, CircleId.com (June 26, 2003)

The Trademark Insider, Co-editor (2002-2004)

NameProtect Trademark and Domain Name News, Chief Editor (2001-2004)

New International Classes to Arrive in 2002, NameProtect Trademark and Domain Name News (November 2001)

Trademark Considerations in Selecting Your Brands, The Best Ideas in Business - Edition 113 (October 2001)

Helpful Hints for Registering Trademarks Composed of Domain Names, NameProtect Trademark and Domain Name News (June 2001)

International Trademark Registration Developments: The United States Moves to Adopt the Madrid Protocol, NameProtect Trademark and Domain Name News (May 2001)

Bush's Proposed 2002 Budget Slashes USPTO Funding, NameProtect Trademark and Domain Name News (April 2001)

Recent Speaking Engagements

"Tips and Best Practices for USPTO TESS Searching" Roundtable, January 20, 2009.

"Fraud In the Prosecution of Trademark Cases Before the United States Patent and Trademark Office" -Wisconsin Intellectual Property Law Association, November 20th, 2008.

Product Configuration Registration and Enforcement Schemes - A Global Perspective. IPO Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, September 2008.

Trademark Basics, presented with Chris Schulte as webcast for 2007 Midwest Intellectual Property Institute, September 26, 2007.

Effective Trademark Search Strategies for Canada & the United States, presented at the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC), Spring Meeting, 2007 in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada.