Hank Fasthoff has been litigating intellectual property infringement cases for more than 23 years. He has handled dozens of intellectual property cases in courtrooms throughout Texas and in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Nashville, among others across the nation.
Intellectual Property Litigation
He has extensive experience litigating and resolving cases involving:
- Copyright infringement
- Trademark infringement
- Cybersquatting cases
- Unfair competition
- Inter partes proceedings before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
- Domain name disputes
- Trade dress infringement
- Theft of trade secrets
- Rights of publicity
- Violations of noncompete and confidentiality agreements
Hank’s experience in the intellectual property litigation field spans a broad spectrum of industries including the energy, media and entertainment, software, eCommerce, equipment manufacturing, aviation, fashion, and construction industries. Through the pre-litigation counseling, litigation, trial and appellate stages, he has a successful track record in vigorously prosecuting and defending his clients’ interests. Some representative intellectual property litigation matters Hank has handled include:
- Won summary judgment for Beyoncé, her record label, publisher and co-writers of her Grammy Award-winning song “Baby Boy,” a case that was affirmed on appeal
- In a rare case involving the extraterritorial application of the Lanham Act, obtained a permanent injunction for a client in the aviation industry whose former president started competing domestic and foreign companies using the client’s trademarks, trade dress, and trade secrets
- Secured the transfer of hundreds of infringing domain names for celebrities, professional athletes, athletics coaches, Fortune 500 companies, small businesses and other trademark owners
- In 11 of the 476 Bridgeport Music cases, obtained the dismissal of music publisher client in a copyright infringement case filed in Tennessee involving claims of music sampling, a case which was affirmed on appeal. Hank persuaded the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to adopt the “stream of commerce plus” test for personal jurisdiction
- Pre-litigation resolution of rights of publicity issues for celebrity client whose name, image and likeness was used on marketing collateral without authorization
- Representation of world famous architectural firm based in New York in connection with licensing issues and copyright ownership in certain commercial architectural plans
- In a case under the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, forced the entry of a consent decree, judgment, and permanent injunction against a defendant who infringed the client’s rights in certain cast glass sculptures
- Representation of the world’s largest independent oil refinery and other trademark owners in the successful prosecution of numerous cybersquatting claims before the World Intellectual Property Organization
- Successful resolution of claims brought against internationally known church and pastor copyright infringement case
- Representation of architects, builders and home buyers in various matters involving copyright protection in architectural plans and architectural works
- Pre-litigation resolution of copyright infringement allegations made against client for utilizing software in which putative plaintiff claimed to own copyright interests. Hank was able to demonstrate that the subject source code was not protectable and in the public domain
- Resolved a $15 million lawsuit brought against a music industry client within weeks of the case being filed. The client paid nothing to settle the case, and the plaintiffs released all of their claims against the client
- Prosecution and defense of inter partes proceedings before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
Representative Clients
Some of the clients for whom Hank has provided representation and legal services include:
Contact the Fasthoff Law Firm Today
Intellectual property rights are mostly a matter of federal law, so the Fasthoff Law Firm is able to assist clients from around the country as well as foreign companies doing business in the United States. Contact the Fasthoff Law Firm, an intellectual property law firm with offices in Houston and The Woodlands, to learn more about how your intellectual property litigation rights can be protected and enforced so as to help maximize their value in your business.
Hank is AV-rated (highest) by Martindale-Hubbell, is a Top Rated Intellectual Property Attorney by Texas Super Lawyers®, was ranked for five consecutive years as a Texas Super Lawyers® Rising Star in the fields of Entertainment and Intellectual Property, and has been ranked from 2013-2018 by US News & World Reports’ Best Lawyers® Litigation – Intellectual Property Litigation.