Liat Martinez focuses her practice on the development and protection of clients’ intellectual property, with an emphasis on trademark law. She has deep experience counseling companies on brand development and protection, both internationally and domestically. Liat advises clients across a broad range of industries on trademark clearance, application filing and prosecution, portfolio management, and enforcement.
Her practice involves:
- Trademark Searching and Clearance – Conducting and reviewing trademark clearance searches and advising on the selection, adoption, use, enforcement, and registration of trademarks.
- Trademark Filing, Prosecution, and Registration – Prosecuting trademark applications domestically and internationally, including filing applications; responding to substantive Office Actions; coordinating with international counsel on global portfolios; managing chain-of-title, assignments and post-registration maintenance; and proactive monitoring with targeted actions against infringement and counterfeiting across marketplaces and online platforms
- Trademark Protection and Enforcement – Performing legal research, drafting pleadings, and motions in complex proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB); monitoring for infringement; collaborating with litigation teams on IP- and brand-adjacent disputes in federal courts; advising on domain name strategy and brand protection online, including monitoring, takedowns, and enforcement against cybersquatting; preparing and prosecuting complaints under the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP); and drafting and negotiating trademark license, consent, coexistence and settlement agreements.
- IP Transactions – Advising on the structure, preparation and negotiation of IP rights and technology licenses in the context of mergers, dispositions, and other strategic business combinations or restructurings to protect clients’ IP assets.
Liat is Vice Chair of the Young Lawyers Action Group in the American Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Law Section.
As an active member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, Liat is passionate about helping nonprofits, small businesses and individuals with their legal needs through the firm’s pro bono initiatives.
Prior to joining Bass, Berry & Sims, Liat was an associate with a nationally recognized firm in Washington, D.C. During law school, she was a judicial extern for the Honorable Anna H. Demacopoulos of the Circuit Court of Cook County in Illinois and a teaching assistant.