Brand Activation Legal Committee: September 15, 2022

For September’s meeting, presenters from Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Tamara Carmichael, Sarah Robertson, Fara Sunderji and Austin Chambers will provide an update on FTC developments, NAD decisions and privacy.

Tamara Carmichael, Partner, focuses on counseling clients, including brand owners and advertisers, in the creation, commercialization, exploitation and strategic protection of their branding, marketing, advertising, intellectual property and merchandising assets and initiatives through enforcement of intellectual property and related proprietary rights.

She handles all stages of trademark and copyright enforcement, prosecution, clearance, due diligence, and licensing strategies, counseling clients in the areas of trademark, advertising and unfair competition law, including compliance with FTC and other regulatory agencies, and representing clients in disputes before the U.S. Trademark and Trial Appeal Board, U.S. Federal Courts and private tribunals.

Sarah Robertson, Partner, has over twenty years’ experience helping clients protect, enforce and exploit their intellectual property assets and overseeing clients’ general business needs, with particular depth in the creative industries, tech, financial and consumer product sectors.

Sarah has extensive experience in a wide scope of corporate and commercial agreements and transactions involving intellectual property, and assisting with the day-to-day needs of clients. She clears, registers and enforces brand names in the U.S. and internationally. She handles sales and distribution issues, as well as complex licensing matters. She represents clients in Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings and in disputes involving intellectual property, including mobile app and domain name conflicts. She also counsels’ clients on marketing, advertising, contest and online reputation management issues. Sarah also services clients operating in the creative and entertainment industries, including in areas involving rights exploitation, including U.S.-China film, TV and music related transactions, as well as in the newly-developing cannabis branding area.

Fara Sunderji, Partner, her practice involves working with clients to navigate complex legal issues on social media that implicate federal and state laws in the areas of intellectual property and advertising. She is particularly known for her deep knowledge of promotions law, and regularly helps clients develop sweepstakes, complex contests of skill and user-generated content promotions on social media. Fara also works with clients to review their advertising and marketing materials both in print and online to ensure their ad claims are fair and substantiated. In the area of influencer advertising, Fara frequently counsels clients on the Federal Trade Commission’s guidelines on endorsements and testimonials, conducts training for social media and marketing teams and drafts influencer contracts.

In addition, Fara’s expertise extends to all stages of the brand management process, including trademark selection, clearance, prosecution, maintenance, enforcement and litigation. In the World Trademark Review 1000 rankings for 2022, Fara was heralded by clients and her peers as “a fantastic and thoughtful lawyer when it comes to trademark portfolio management. She is proactive, creative and an expert in wide-ranging matters that impact brands.” Fara also regularly represents clients in opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “TTAB”) and in federal court.

Austin Chambers, Associate, Austin’s practice is focused primarily on data privacy and security compliance, and related technology and information issues. He works with clients to develop privacy and security programs, privacy policies, and understand the legal/business risks related to the processing of personal and proprietary information, and other commercial and technology transactions. Austin leverages experience in both legal and business roles to create client-focused solutions, and has client and work experience across diverse industry verticals, and ranging from startups to multinationals, nonprofits, and government.

Austin regularly advises clients on compliance with GDPR, ePrivacy, CPRA/CCPA, FERPA, CAN-SPAM, TCPA, HIPAA, COPPA, and other state, federal and international privacy/security laws. He has advised on and negotiated data protection, information security, and data transfer/standard contractual clause agreements, as well as media/advertising issues, product development, privacy-by-design, and data licensing.