Using Trademarks & Trade Dress to Fight Counterfeits & Copycats

This week my conversation is with Leo White, who is Chief IP Counsel and Associate General Counsel for The Duracell Company. Leo is a patent professional by training, first starting out as an engineer, then like so many in the patent field have done he became a patent agent, then went to law school, and thanks to hard work, good mentoring and being in the right place at the right time he became an IP attorney for The Duracell Company, ultimately rising to become the top IP attorney for this American Manufacturer with one of the more iconic brands in the world.

During our conversation we begin by briefly talking about patent strategy, but then move quickly to brand protection, trademarks, trade dress and effectively working with customs agencies around the world. While Duracell does patent its various battery technologies, and while White is responsible for maintaining a worldwide patent portfolio for the company, the company’s trademark and trade dress portfolio are the IP tools of choice used most often when working to fight the never-ending battle against counterfeiters and copycats, and to also protect against gray market imports.

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