Michael S. Palmisciano

Mike’s practice focuses on the clearance, prosecution, enforcement and licensing of trademarks and copyrights. Mike regularly advises clients on domestic and international trademark portfolio management, copyright protection and fair use and domain name acquisitions and disputes. He has significant experience advising digital media and entertainment clients, including on pre-publication clearance of editorial and branded video content and the use of trademarks and titles in creative works and advertising campaigns. Mike’s experience also includes drafting and negotiating software, data and merchandise license agreements and conducting intellectual property diligence for transactional matters.

Representative Client Work

• Represents clients in U.S. and international trademark clearance and prosecution, including in the media, consumer products, apparel, software, consulting and professional services fields
• Enforces trademark and copyright rights against infringers worldwide, including through cease and desist letters, trademark opposition and cancellation actions and UDRP proceedings
• Advises Vice Media and other publishers on clearance of news and documentary video content for television and digital broadcast, including copyright fair use, trademark, publicity, privacy and First Amendment issues
• Provides title clearance opinions and copyright fair use opinions to media and entertainment clients for E&O insurance purposes
• Provides pre-publication review of advertising and white label content for brands including Google, IBM, Nike, Adidas, Vans, Geico, L’Oréal, Harley Davidson and Callaway
• Prosecuted over 1,500 copyright applications for video, literary and visual arts works with the U.S. Copyright Office
• Represented A.T. Cross Company, a writing instrument company, in its sale of a global trademark portfolio of over 850 marks in 100 countries
• Represented Challengeme Esports GmbH in its acquisition of an esports tournament platform and associated technology
• Represented a global media company as intellectual property counsel in connection with the negotiation and documentation of a $250 million credit facility
• Represented filmmaker Ian McFarland in copyright fair use, license and release review for the Showtime feature-length music documentary, The Godfathers of Hardcore

Bar & Court Admissions

• Massachusetts
• New York
• U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts

Education

• J.D., cum laude, Boston College Law School
• B.A., Boston College

Community Engagement

• International Trademark Association
• Copyright Society of the USA
• Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
• New York City Bar Association

Awards & Honors

• "Ones to Watch," Best Lawyers in America®, Intellectual Property Law (2021)
• "Rising Star" Massachusetts Super Lawyers, (2018-2019)
• First Place, 2012 Association of SEC Alumni Writing Competition

• How to Handle Endorser Outrage – Lessons From Kanye’s Twitter Dispute
  World Trademark Review, Quoted
  September 18, 2020
• Intellectual Property Right Assignments Q&A: U.S.
  Thomson Reuters Practical Law
  May 31, 2020
• Supreme Court Rules Willfulness Not Required for Profits Awards in Trademark Infringement Cases
  Client Alert
  April 28, 2020
• USPTO Extends Certain Trademark and Patent Filing Deadlines in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
  Client Alert
  April 2, 2020
• Beware of Trademark Scams: Warning Signs for Trademark Owners
  Client Alert
  December 10, 2019
• Sullivan Attorneys Named 2019 Massachusetts Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
  New England Super Lawyers Magazine
  October 17, 2019
• Sullivan Attorneys Named 2018 Massachusetts Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
  New England Super Lawyers Magazine
  October 18, 2018
• Sullivan Represents Challengeme Esports GmbH in Multiple Deals
  March 9, 2017
• Is the Door to Scandalous Trademarks About to Open?
  Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
  June 4, 2015
• Want a Smutty Trademark? You Might Be in Luck
  Corporate Counsel
  May 4, 2015
• Wrong To Be Forgotten? European Court’s Privacy Ruling a Blow to Google, U.S. Tech Companies
  Client Advisory
  June 13, 2014
• "Going Dutch: The Effects of Domestic Restriction and Foreign Acceptance of Class Litigation on American Securities Fraud Plaintiffs," 53 B.C. L. REV. 1847 (2012)
• "Resurrecting the Spirit of the Law: Copyright Preemption and Idea Protection in Montz v. Pilgrim Films," 53 B.C. L. REV. E. SUPP. 209 (2012)

Seminars & Presentations

• International Trademark Association's 2019 Annual Meeting
  International Trademark Association (INTA) (May 21, 2019)
• Fair is Fair - An Exploration of Copyright Fair Use Principles
  Northeastern University, School of Journalism (November 27, 2018)