Jeffrey A. Kobulnick
- Biography
- Representative Matters
- Memberships
- Awards
- Publications
- Speaking Engagements
Jeffrey A. Kobulnick is a Shareholder in our Intellectual Property and Business Litigation Practice Groups.
With extensive experience in copyright and trademark infringement, trade dress, unfair competition, false advertising, and related claims, Jeff litigates in multiple jurisdictions, including federal and state courts. He also has significant experience handling Internet-related intellectual property issues, such as domain name registration and dispute resolution, and the protection and enforcement of copyrights and trademarks online.
In addition, Jeff extensively counsels and represents clients on brand strategies, including the selection, clearance and registration of trademarks and service marks worldwide.
Jeff typically represents a wide variety of clients, including:
- Apparel and textile manufacturers
- Cosmetic and personal care product manufacturers
- Consumer product companies
- Fiduciary, escrow, legal and marketing professional service providers
- Filmmakers, production companies and photographers
- Franchise corporations
- Insurance companies
- International distributors
- Retailers and suppliers
- Restaurants
- Technology/electronic device manufacturers
As a frequent lecturer, speaker and writer in his field, Jeff has guest lectured at USC Gould School of Law, Loyola Law School, Southwestern University School of Law, and the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM). His articles have been published in Forbes, IP Watchdog, and the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal, as well as several trade magazines.
Jeff has also been a moderator and speaker at several conferences for the International Trademark Association (INTA), for which he has served as the National Chair for the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition, and is the founding and current Chair of the Competition’s Los Angeles region.
Jeff earned his Juris Doctor from Franklin Pierce Law Center, where he graduated magna cum laude. He was a senior editor of IDEA: The Journal of Law and Technology, an active participant in the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition, and served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Dean D. Pregerson in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Animal Physiology and Neuroscience from the University of California at San Diego, where he won the Ernest C. Mort Award for outstanding leadership excellence.
Named a Southern California Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters each year since 2014, and named to Super Lawyer Magazine‘s exclusive Top 100 list every year since 2017, Jeff has also been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for intellectual property litigation every year since 2018. He was also listed in the 2020 and 2021 editions of Who’s Who Legal: Trademarks, and is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, reflecting the highest rating for legal ability and ethics.
In addition to his professional accolades, Jeff is widely recognized for his ongoing commitment to pro bono legal service and extensive community service, including:
- Serving as a coordinator for Bet Tzedek Legal Services’ Holocaust Survivors Justice Network, assisting Holocaust survivors and their widows/widowers obtain reparation pension benefits for work performed while residing in German-controlled ghettos
- Being awarded Bet Tzedek’s Elyse S. Kline Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year Award in 2009
- Being awarded the California State Bar’s Wiley W. Manuel Award for distinguished pro bono services several times
- Serving as an active Board member for the David Labkovski Project (DLP), which advances knowledge of the Holocaust through the art of survivor David Labkovski and innovative educational programs to teach tolerance and acceptance
- Receiving DLP’s Legacy of Hope Award in 2020
- Serving as Executive Vice President and Chair of Programming for The Executives, which supports the Los Angeles Jewish Home
- Extensive fundraising and involvement for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, including its Light the Night Walk and Man of the Year campaigns
- Participating in the Lawyers for Literacy program for Everybody Wins! Los Angeles
Jeff is admitted to the State Bar of California, the U.S. District Courts for the Central, Northern and Southern Districts of California, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
- Primitive Company v. Private by Design, LLC, et al. (WIPO Case No. D2021-0612) (successfully obtained shut-downs and transfers of two infringing domain names through Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy (“UDRP”) proceeding before the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”))
- Fashion Avenue Sweater Knits LLC v. Poof Apparel Corp., et al. (obtained partial summary judgment in plaintiff’s favor in a copyright infringement case involving infringement of seven Christmas sweater designs. Case settled on confidential terms thereafter.)
- Jitrade Inc. v. Nordstrom, et. al. (18-cv-5009) (obtained summary judgment on behalf of defendants in a copyright infringement case, including an award of attorney fees)
- Bluprint Clothing Corp. v. Nygard International Partnership, et al. (represented plaintiff in amicable resolution of copyright infringement claims involving 18 allegedly infringing textile designs)
- Nolan Miller Incorporation v. Kevin Hees (17-cv-07355) (representing plaintiff in a copyright infringement case, obtained judgment in the amount of $187,200)
- Pereira v. Kendall Jenner Inc. (17-cv-06945) (represented defendants in copyright infringement case in which photographer Al Pereira sued the exclusive license of the Kendall + Kylie brand for copyright infringement, alleging that defendant made unauthorized use of his photo of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. on a t-shirt because the defendants superimposed Ms. Jenner’s face onto a vintage t-shirt already bearing the plaintiff’s photo)
- Kellytoy v. MSA Trading, et al (18-cv-3740) (represented defendants in trademark infringement case)
- Anhing Corp. v. Thuan Phong Co., Ltd. (13-05167) (obtained unanimous jury verdict in client’s favor finding that defendant willfully infringed client’s federally registered MY-THO trademark)
- Anhing Corp. v. Thuan Phong Co., Ltd. (13-05167) (summary judgment granted in client’s favor on defendant’s counterclaim that client obtained its federal trademark registration by committing fraud on U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)
- Borden Co. (PTE) Ltd. v. Grandway Enterprises, Inc. et al. (14-02858) (obtained permanent injunction against manufacturer and importer of counterfeit goods, as well as $1.2 million in statutory damages, plus attorney fees and interest in client’s favor)
- Meridian Textiles Inc. v. Topson Downs of California, et al., (12-57190) (obtained summary judgment for defendants accused of copyright infringement)
- Allergan, Inc. v. Mira Life Group, Inc., 72 USPQ2d 1756 (C.D. Cal. 2004) (finding willful trademark infringement and granting judgment in client’s favor of $1.5 million)
- mVisible Technologies, Inc. v. Navigation Catalyst Systems, Inc., WIPO Case No. D2007-1141 (ordering transfer of 35 domain names incorporating variants of client’s trademark to client)
- Myxer, Inc. v. Compsys Domain Solutions Private Ltd., WIPO Case No. 2008-1178 (ordering transfer of five domain names incorporating variants of client’s trademark to client)
- Myxer, Inc. v. Domain Park Ltd., WIPO Case No. 2008-0973 (ordering transfer of six domain names incorporating variants of client’s trademark to client)
- Myxer, Inc. v. Domain Drop S.A., et al., WIPO Case No. 2008-0169 (ordering transfer of six domain names incorporating variants of client’s trademark to client)
- State Bar of California
- San Fernando Valley Bar Association
- Beverly Hills Bar Association
- International Trademark Association (INTA)
- Best Lawyers: Trademark Law; Litigation - Intellectual Property by Best Lawyers Magazine, 2019 - present
- Los Angeles Times B2B Publishing Business of Law Magazine “Visionary” (2021)
- U.S. News & World Report, Best Lawyers Magazine: “The Best Lawyers in America” (2018-Present)
- Best Lawyers in America “Lawyer of the Year” for Trademark Law in Los Angeles, California (2020)
- Los Angeles Business Journal “Leaders of Influence: Litigators and Trial Attorneys” (2021)
- Who’s Who Legal: Trademarks (2020 and 2021)
- Los Angeles Business Journal “Leaders in Law” (2019-present)
- Thomson Reuters, Southern California Super Lawyers “Top 100: Southern California Super Lawyers” (2017-Present)
- Thomson Reuters, Southern California Super Lawyers “Super Lawyers” (2014-Present)
- Thomson Reuters, Southern California Super Lawyers “Super Lawyers – Rising Stars” (2013)
- David Labkovski Project Legacy of Hope Award Honoree (2020)
- Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Man of the Year Nominee (2013)
- Bet Tzedek Elyse S. Kline Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year Award (2009)
- Foley & Lardner LLP Lynford Lardner Community Service Award (2006)
- California State Bar Wiley W. Manuel Award (2009 and 2010)
- Co-Author, “Buyer Beware: Copyright Issues in the Fashion Industry,” The Routledge Companion to Copyright and Creativity in the 21st Century (November 2020)
- Author, “Led Zeppelin On Way Up After ‘Stairway To Heaven’ Copyright Win,” Forbes (March 9, 2020)
- Author, “Led Zeppelin ‘Stairway To Heaven’ Case To Be Heard In Appeals Court,” Forbes (June 12, 2019)
- Co-Author, “Parody Products: When Should Brand Owners ‘Smile or Laugh’ and When Should They Sue?” Landslide (July 2017)
- Co-Author, “Copyright Ownership (That’s What McCartney Wants),” Forbes (January 24, 2017)
- Author, “What’s In A Name? Ask The Kardashians,” Forbes (December 15, 2016)
- Co-Author, “Why The Court Threw Out Lindsay Lohan’s ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ Lawsuit,” Forbes (September 2, 2016)
- Co-Author, “A Trademark Lawsuit ‘Lager’ Than Life,” IP Watchdog (June 19, 2016)
- Co-Author, “In ‘Stairway To Heaven’ Case, A Rock Band On Trial,” Forbes (June 10, 2016)
- Co-Author, “The importance of using your brand: How the Naugles trademark got a new owner,” Nation’s Restaurant News (August 28, 2015)
- Author, “Copyright Infringement: Whose Design Is It Anyway,” California Apparel News (June 2015)
- Quote, “Q&A With BG Law’s Jeff Kobulnick,” Law360 (June 4, 2013)
- Quote, “Yankees: Baseball’s Only Evil Empire,” Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal (Mar. 2013)
- “Potential Brand Issues Resulting from Facebook Profile Names,” Cyberspace Lawyer (July 2009)
- Co-author, “What if the Most Famous Apple in the World Were a Fruit?” Client Times Online (July 2009)
- Moderator, “Untold Story of a Child Holocaust Survivor,” Executives of the Los Angeles Jewish Home (May 26, 2022, Woodland Hills Country Club)
- Moderator, “Recent Supreme Court Decisions” (October 1, 2020)
- Panelist, “Enforcement in the Court of Public Opinion: Brand Strategies in Unpredictable Times,” INTA Brands in Society Conference (June 22-23, 2020)
- Speaker, “Copyright Issues Relating to Textile Designs,” U.S. Copyright Office (March 16, 2018)
- Speaker, “The Evolution of Brands: How Innovation Is Changing the Retail Landscape,” INTA Brands and Innovation Conference (March 19-20, 2018)
- Table Topic Moderator, “Infringement or Parody? When Should U.S. Trademark Owners Sue?,” INTA 2018 Annual Meeting (2018)
- Guest Lecturer, Loyola Law School (September 14, 2017)
- Moderator and Panelist, “Navigating Design Challenges in the U.S. Apparel Industry,” International Trademark Association (INTA) (March 22-23, 2017)
- Table Topic Moderator, International Trademark Association (INTA) Annual Meeting (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016)
- Speaker, “Copyright Infringement Lawsuits: What You Need to Know,” The Fashion Business Incorporated (September 16, 2015)
- Panelist, “One Channel Does Not Fit All: The Fashion Law Implications of Omnichannel Marketing,” Loyola Law School Fashion Law Symposium (March 22, 2014)
- Panelist, “The Internet is Expanding: What You Need to Know about New Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs),” CLE for a Cure (2013)
- Panelist, INTA 2011 Annual Meeting (2011)
- Moderator and Panelist, “Protecting Your Brands and Content on New Media Applications” (2010)
- Guest Lecturer, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM)