Fenwick Partners Sally Abel and David Hayes Named To National Law Journal List of Top 50 IP Trailblazers & Pioneers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Fenwick & West is pleased to announce that intellectual property partners Sally Abel and David Hayes have been named among the top 50 IP lawyers nationally in The National Law Journal's inaugural "Intellectual Property Trailblazers & Pioneers" supplement.

Those listed are "raising the bar" in intellectual property law in areas including copyright, patents, trademarks and licensing, The National Law Journal wrote in a statement, and exemplify "extraordinary leadership in a closely watched area critical to global innovation."

"As the preeminent Silicon Valley-based technology law firm for more than 40 years, it is in the firm's and our attorneys' DNA to forge new paths in creating the legal framework and protection for the revolutionary technologies and services our clients create," said Lawrence Granatelli, chair of the firm's intellectual property practice. "We are proud of Sally and David for exemplifying this commitment and for their trailblazer mentality on behalf of their clients and in support of the advancement of the technology sector more broadly."

Sally Abel

Fenwick's first trademark attorney, Abel created, built and spearheads the firm's world-class trademark group. For more than 25 years she has been at the forefront of international trademark policy and brand enforcement and enhancement, advocating on behalf of technology and life sciences clients, including many of the tech world's most recognizable, and emerging, brands such as Cisco, Facebook, NVIDIA, Symantec and Uber. 

A pioneer in the international debate over trademark rights on the Internet, Abel served as the International Trademark Association (INTA)'s representative on the 11-member International Ad Hoc Committee, the predecessor initiative to what is now ICANN, responsible for developing and enhancing the domain name system. She was an early consultant to WIPO on internet issues and serves as a neutral panelist in domain name disputes (UDRPs) for WIPO and for the National Arbitration Forum. She also teaches federal judges trademark law annually and teaches a course on trademark law at The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

David Hayes

Hayes is a globally-recognized expert on copyright issues related to the Internet and digital media, and is the author of a 720-page treatise on those topics. He is also a registered patent lawyer. He has trailblazed issues including software cleanroom protocols, shrinkwrap license agreements and GUI copyright protection. His multi-faceted practice includes intellectual property strategy, portfolio development, commercialization and dispute resolution for some of the world's most innovative brands such as Alibaba, Google, HTC, Nike, SAP and Synopsys.

He has served as counsel in several precedent-setting infringement cases that established the framework for modern digital copyright law, including Lotus v. Borland, Apple v. Microsoft and A & M Records v. Napster. More recently, he served as lead IP counsel to Alibaba in its $7.1B deal with Yahoo!.

Hayes has also testified before Congress and federal agencies concerning IP issues. He serves on the advisory board of The Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, the program committee for the USC Intellectual Property Law Institute and the editorial boards of several leading IP trade publications.

About Fenwick & West

Fenwick & West provides comprehensive legal services to ground-breaking technology and life sciences companies at every stage of their lifecycle. They craft innovative, cost-effective and practical solutions for established and emerging companies on issues ranging from venture capital, public offerings, joint ventures, M&A and strategic relationships, to intellectual property, litigation and dispute resolution, taxation, antitrust, and employment and labor law.

For more than four decades, Fenwick has helped some of the world's most recognized companies become and remain market leaders.

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