About
Alex Butterman is a trademark attorney with Staas & Halsey LLP, a Washington, D.C. IP boutique law firm. Alex is admitted to the bars of Washington, D.C., New York and New Jersey.
• Practicing public and private sector, domestic and international trademark lawyer since 1995 in each of the major intellectual property work environments – the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, private law firms and the legal department of a major, multi-national hospitality corporation.
• Independently operated and substantially managed the trademark prosecution practices for two separate Washington, D.C. area intellectual property boutique law firms since 2000 and continue to do so.
• Searched, prosecuted, enforced, managed, maintained, transacted and counseled on thousands of marks involving hundreds of different businesses ranging from sole proprietorships to multi-national, multi-billion dollar corporations; annually render dozens of trademark registrability and use opinions.
• Superior legal research, writing, analysis and investigative skills combined with a solid foundation of intellectual property legal knowledge and nearly two decades of legal practice, client relations and client development experience.
Specialties: While legal ethics rules in my jurisdiction disfavor claims of specialization, my practice and experience has focused on the following areas:
- Trademark prosecution, clearance and counseling;
- Trademark enforcement
- All facets of trademark practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Copyright prosecution
- Trademark and copyright transactions
- Intellectual Property research
**ANSWERS DISCLAIMER:
Unless otherwise specified, all answers to questions posted on this site are intended to be general enough to apply to any U.S. state and based primarily upon my knowledge and experience with applicable federal laws. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of my firm, this site or other attorneys. This answer is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice. No attorney-client relationship or obligations are established herein, although consulting an attorney to discuss your specific situation is strongly recommended. This is especially true of trademark law because TM law is so fact-specific and full of esoteric nuances and exceptions that could easily result in a critical legal error without proper advice from experienced trademark counsel.
Work history
STAAS & HALSEY LLP, Trademark Attorney
June 2005 – Present
ALEXANDER BUTTERMAN, ESQ., Trademark Consultant, 2003 – 2005
Worked with:
* MiIlen White Zelano & Branigan
* Marriott International
EDELL SHAPIRO & FINNAN, Associate, 2000 – 2003
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE,
Trademark Examining Attorney [Attorney Advisor], 1997 – 2000
Examined applications for registration of trademarks primarily in International Classes 3, 16 and 28 (cosmetics, cleaning preparations, paper products and publications, toys and sporting goods) and service marks in all Classes pursuant to the Lanham Act and related Federal Regulations, case law, examination guides and Office policy including thoroughly searching an electronic database of existing trademark applications and registrations to determine the registrability of said marks.
WEINGRAM & ASSOCIATES, P.C., Associate
1995 – 1997
Education and qualifications
ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
J.D., September 1992 – May 1995
Activities and Societies: N.Y. International Law Review
LEHIGH UNIVERSITY
B.A., Psychology, 1988
Publications
* THE LEGAL VIEW : An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
Use and protection of a company’s trademarks and service marks
- IGAL Newsletter 2007, with David Pitcher
* Has Bose "Blown Away" The Trademark Fraud Cancellation Crusade at the USPTO?
- Intellectual Property Today, June 2010
* Baseball's Antitrust Exemption and an Owner-Imposed Salary Cap: Can They Coexist?
- ABA's Entertainment and Sports Lawyer Vol. 12, No. 3 (1994-1995)
* “‘Trademark Bullying’ – Time To Get Some Clear Definitions”(Link)
- World Trademark Review / The IP Media Group, July 2, 2013
WTR_Issue 44 LR (August/September 2013)
with 4 other authors, including: Lara Pearson; Leah Chan Grinvald; Natalie Sulimani;
* Tips for Effectively Searching the USPTO Database Using TESS – Part 2: Design
- Presentation for the State Bar of California, Intellectual Property Law Section
Client Recommendations
