Alex Butterman

Alexander Butterman has been an attorney with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Staas & Halsey LLP since 2005 specializing in trademark and copyright law. Mr. Butterman has been representing a diverse group of businesses in a variety of industries and commercial sectors since 1995 while working in several intellectual property boutique law firms; consulting with the in-house trademark group of a major international hospitality industry corporation; and as an Attorney Advisor in the trademark examining operations of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The extensive intellectual property law experience of Mr. Butterman consists of counseling hundreds of different businesses and assessing thousands of marks in the areas of trademark prosecution, opinion rendering, enforcement and all facets of trademark practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Butterman’s IP practice also covers internet domain name IP issues; anti-counterfeiting matters; copyright prosecution; intellectual property licensing and transactional matters; and intellectual property research and due diligence investigations.

While Mr. Butterman enjoys the challenges of managing large trademark portfolios and recommending trademark protection strategies to large multi-national corporations around the world, Mr. Butterman also appreciates the rewarding experience of working with entrepreneurs and small businesses in the development of their branding programs and trademark protection efforts. Mr. Butterman maintains a broad network of trademark associates in other countries in order to represent clients in international trademark matters and also assists these associates with the representation of their clients in U.S. cases and proceedings at the USPTO.

Mr. Butterman was a trademark examining attorney at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from 1997 to 2000. He examined trademark applications in Law Office 106, which specialized in applications for goods in the fields of cosmetics, toiletries and cleaning preparations, publications and office supplies, toys and sporting goods, and all types of services. Other industries which Mr. Butterman has predominantly served include computer hardware, software and services; telecommunications; medical devices and equipment; chemicals; various high tech industry and business to business providers; business and finance services; travel and entertainment services; sporting goods; food and beverages; toys, apparel and similar fashion or trendy goods.

Professionally, Mr. Butterman has been an active member of the International Trademark Association, participating in its Online Reference Materials and Law Firm Membership committees for the past four committee terms (eight years), as well as a trademark committee member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. In addition, Mr. Butterman frequently participates in online question/answer forums featuring trademark law and has been collaborating with colleagues to address issues involving overly aggressive trademark enforcement tactics. Mr. Butterman's latest publication was an article in the June 2010 issue of Intellectual Property Today entitled, "Has Bose Blown Away the Trademark Fraud Cancellation Crusade at the USPTO?" He frequently contributes and edits trademark articles for Staas & Halsey LLP client newsletters.

During law school, Mr. Butterman interned in the copyright administration department of EMI Music Publishing (New York City). Mr. Butterman's law school endeavors featured an appointment as the Executive Notes and Comments editor of the New York International Law Review and the publication of an article entitled, "Baseball's Anti-trust Exemption and an Owner-Imposed Salary Cap: Can They Coexist?" in an entertainment and sports law journal of the American Bar Association.

Mr. Butterman has a degree in psychology (B.A.) from Lehigh University and a law degree (J.D.) from St. John's University School of Law in New York City. He is admitted to the bars of the States of New York, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia.