321 North Clark Street Suite 2300
Chicago, Illinois
60654

312.464.3144

312.577.0828

Douglas N. Masters
Partner and Co-Chair, Intellectual Property Protection Practice Group

Douglas Masters litigates and counsels clients primarily in the areas of trademark, advertising and unfair competition law. He also helps sports leagues, athletes and advertisers protect and exploit their branding, marketing and other intellectual property assets.

Representative Experience

Obtained dismissal with prejudice of class action lawsuit against client NCAA claiming ticketing procedure for MARCH MADNESS tournament games constituted an illegal lottery and violated other consumer protection laws
Obtained summary judgment ruling allowing content owner to buy out license upon termination of distribution agreement
Successfully prevented registration of rival beer mark after the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board found our client's Michelob mark famous and credited its confusion survey at trial
Obtained judgment on the pleadings establishing immunity for ISP against spammer who sued to force ISP to deliver its bulk emails to ISP's customers
Successful representation of NCAA at trial and on appeal in domain name and infringement suit concerning March Madness
Preliminarily enjoined competitor from advertising using false establishment claims while defending its challenge to client's own advertising
Representation of leading folk artist in licensing dispute raising trademark, copyright, right of publicity, fraudulent inducement and breach of contract claims
Aggressive policing of trademark portfolios through litigation and negotiated agreements

Panelist, The Copyright Society of the USA 2010 Mid-Winter Meeting, Scottsdale, Arizona (February 4-6, 2010)
Presenter, Loeb & Loeb LLP Presents an Advanced Media and Technology Group Webinar: Fair Use and the Internet (December 9, 2009)
Author, March Madness On Demand: Legal Considerations when Structuring a Successful New Media Sports Promotion, Sports Litigation Alert, Vol. 5, Issue 12 and Legal Issues in Collegiate Athletics, Vol. 10, Issue 9 (July 2009)
Panelist, Chicago Bar Association Panel: Initial Considerations for IP Protection from Inside and Out, Chicago, Illinois (April 1, 2009)
Speaker, IICLE Intellectual Property Short Course, Chicago, Illinois (December 11-12, 2008)
Speaker, ACCA-SoCal Program: How Companies Which Advertise Can Protect Themselves Against Claims, Los Angeles, California (November 19, 2008)
Speaker, USPTO Boot Camp: Trademark Edition, 5000 Seminary Road, Virginia (September 24, 2008)
Speaker, 20th National Advanced Corporate Counsel Forum on Advertising Law, New York, New York (December 11-12, 2007)

Beyoncé Dodges Witness Stand as Copyright Case Settles By Lynne Marek, The National Law Journal
Beyonce and Father Seek Different Counsel in Copyright Defense By Lynne Marek, The National Law Journal
Names' Sake: Social Media Pose Trademark Threats for Companies By Steven Seidenberg, InsideCounsel
NCAA Tries To Limit Use Of 'March Madness' Interview on NPR's "All Things Considered"
NCAA Mounts Full-Court Press on Trademark Violations By Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times
For Villanova, Advantage Hits Close to Home By Mark Blaudschun, The Boston Globe
Bowl Games Trigger IP End Runs By Peter Page, The National Law Journal
Think Godzilla's Scary? Meet His Lawyers By David Kravets, Wired.com

Member, Board of Advisors - Chicago Chapter, National Sports Marketing Network
Member, Board of Directors, The Museum of Broadcast Communications
Member, Editorial Board, The Trademark Reporter
Member, Editorial Board, Newsletter of ABA Litigation Section, Intellectual Property Committee

Distinctions

Named "Best Lawyer" in Intellectual Property Law, The Best Lawyers in America, published by Woodward White, Inc. (2010)
Named in "Guide to the World's Leading Trade Mark Law Practitioners," published by Euromoney's Legal Media Group (2009)
Member, Editorial Advisory Board, IP Law360 (2009)
Named in The Legal 500 US in Media, Technology and Telecoms: Marketing and Advertising, published by Legalease Limited and John Pritchard (2008 and 2009 editions)
Recommended “Top Lawyers in Illinois” in Intellectual Property Law, Leading Lawyers Network, a division of Law Bulletin Publishing Company (2004-2009)
Lecturer, Advanced Topics in Intellectual Property Litigation, University of Chicago Law School
Adjunct Professor of Law, Trial Advocacy, Northwestern University School of Law
Illinois “40 Lawyers Under 40 to Watch”

Harvard Law School, J.D., 1988, cum laude

Editor, Women’s Law Journal

Cornell University, B.A., 1985, With Distinction

Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, 2007
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, 2006
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit, 2000
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 1999
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 1997

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Representative Experience

Publications/Speeches

Media Mentions

Affiliations

Distinctions