Jennifer chairs the firm’s Intellectual Property, Technology & Privacy team and her practice focuses on the business and transactional aspects of intellectual property protection. Jennifer has extensive experience counseling clients on domestic and international trademark registration, enforcement and licensing. She regularly assists clients with brand development and provides strategic advice in selecting and protecting trademarks domestically and internationally, including developing global filing strategies to maximize brand protection in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Jennifer advises clients on a wide range of issues related to intellectual property, including e-commerce, software licensing, emerging technologies, internet-related issues, social media, copyright, trade secrets, advertising and promotions, and technology licensing. Jennifer works with clients of all sizes, from entrepreneurial start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, with particular expertise in the needs of food companies, franchisors and nonprofit organizations.
Experience
- Manage an international trademark portfolio for a Fortune 500 company with more than 4000 trademarks in over 160 countries
- Assist in the selection, clearance, and registration of trademarks for franchisors, businesses, and nonprofit organizations
- Obtain trademark protection for unconventional marks, including trade dress and product configurations
- Provide advice to clients regarding internet, e-commerce, and social media issues
- Negotiate software and technology license agreements on behalf of licensors and licensees, including the negotiation of a multi-year software and services agreement valued at $50 million
- Draft and negotiate a wide range of commercial contracts for clients, including professional services and consulting agreements, distribution agreements, terms and conditions, licensing agreements, and nondisclosure agreements
- Counsel clients on compliance with advertising laws, including contests and sweepstakes
- Advise on data privacy and information security, including serving as U.S. privacy counsel for an international children’s virtual world Web site
- Provide due diligence research and advice related to intellectual property assets in connection with mergers and acquisitions
Publications
- “Watch Your Tweets,” coauthor, Employee Benefits Planner, First Quarter 2010, Volume 17, No. 1
- “Browse Wrap Agreements: Validity of Implied Assent in Electronic Form Agreements,” coauthor, 59 Bus. Law 277, 2003
- “Web Site Risk Management for the Growing Franchise,” coauthor, Franchising World, January 2003
- “Click-Through Agreements: Strategies for Avoiding Disputes on Validity of Assent,” coauthor, 57 Bus. Law 401, American Bar Association, 2001
Presentations
- “U.S. and Canadian Trademark Registration Differences,” Table Topic Moderator, 2012 International Trademark Association (INTA) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, May 2012
- “Trademarks in Virtual Worlds,” Table Topic Moderator, 2012 International Trademark Association (INTA) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, May 2012
- “Understanding Intellectual Property Issues & Opportunities in Virtual Worlds,” ExecSense Webinar, September 2009
- “Social Media and the Medical Practice,” 13th Annual GPM Health Law Conference, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, July 2009
- “Arr, Matey! Digital Piracy on Campus and New Federal Requirements to Address Peer-to-Peer File Sharing,” GPM Higher Ed Breakfast Briefing, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 2009
- “Children’s Virtual Worlds,” Online Games Seminar, William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, April 2009
- “Fundamentals of Franchising: Intellectual Property Issues,” American Bar Association Forum on Franchising, Austin, Texas, October 2008
- “Copyright, Trademark & Licensing for Social Service Organizations,” Mission Wise webinar, September 2007
- “Fundamentals of Franchising: Intellectual Property Issues,” American Bar Association Forum on Franchising, Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 2007
- “Data Protection Issues in International Franchising,” International Franchise Association/International Bar Association Joint Conference, Washington, DC, May 2007
- “Turning Ideas into Money: Legal and Tax Issues for Commercializing (and Protecting) Intellectual Property,” 8th Gathering of the Social Enterprise Alliance, Long Beach, California, April 2007
- “Intellectual Property,” International Franchise Association Legal Symposium, Washington DC, May 2006
- “Don’t Get Caught in the ‘Net: Legal Issues for Nonprofit Web Sites,” Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, 2004 Nonprofits and Technology Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 2004
- “Mastering Section 2(f) of the Lanham Act: Strategies for Proving Acquired Distinctiveness,” Mastering Trademark Registration Practice, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 2004
- “Browse Wrap Contracts: Implied Assent to Electronic Form Contracts,” coauthored with C. Kunz, J. Ottaviani, E. Ziff, J. Moringiello, and K. Porter, Cyberspace Committee Forum, American Bar Association Business Law Section Spring Meeting, Los Angeles, California, April 2003
- “Standing Out in a Crowd: Choosing and Protecting Trademarks,” coauthored with Lori Wiese-Parks, All District Legal Education IP Basics Continuing Legal Education, St. Paul, Minnesota, March 2002
- “Intellectual Property in Mergers and Acquisitions,” Minnesota Paralegal Association, Intellectual Property Section, January 2002
- “E-Commerce Expansion Issues,” Keys to Explosive Franchise Growth Clinic, St. Thomas University, November 2001
- “Electronic Contracting Strategies,” Cyberspace Committee Forum, American Bar Association Annual Meeting, August 2001
- “The Internet: Privacy, Property and Regulation,” The Sedona Conference, Santa Fe, New Mexico, May 2001
- “E-Commerce and the Law,” National Association of Educational Buyers (NAEB) Annual Meeting, Nashville, Tennessee, May 2001
Education
- University of Wisconsin Law School, J.D. and M.A., cum laude, 1997
Wisconsin Law Review, senior note and comment editor - University of Wisconsin, B.A., with distinction, 1992
Bar Admissions
Professional Activities
- International Trademark Association (INTA), Online Reference Committee
- American Bar Association, Cyberspace Law Committee
- American Bar Association, Intellectual Property Law section, Special Committee on Computer Gaming & Virtual Worlds
- Law clerk for Justice Edward C. Stringer
Minnesota Supreme Court
Honors and Distinctions
- “Legal Eagle,” Franchise Times, 2013
- “Minnesota Rising Star,” Thomson Reuters, 2001-2002, 2005, 2007-2012
- “Leading Trademark Lawyer,” World Trademark Review 1000, 2012