Gregory J. Chinlund specializes in the areas of trademarks, copyright, design patents, trade secrets and the Internet, including counseling, prosecution, transactions, and litigation.
As a trademark specialist, Mr. Chinlund counsels and assists the firm’s clients with protecting goodwill that has been developed over many years and helps newer companies develop and protect brands that can become the most valuable assets of the business. During his years of trademark practice, Mr. Chinlund has provided hundreds of opinions to and prosecuted hundreds of applications on behalf of clients as well as represented clients in inter partes proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Trial and Appeal Board and trademark infringement cases. With many of the firm’s clients conducting business internationally, Mr. Chinlund also assists with registering and enforcing trademark rights worldwide.
Mr. Chinlund also practices extensively in the area of design patents/industrial designs, both domestically and internationally. Whether dealing with the aesthetic of writing instruments, furniture, office products, personal electronic devices, sporting goods, or a wide array of other products, Mr. Chinlund works with clients proactively to anticipate the universe of potential applications of a client’s design, and guidance encompassing possible infringement, design-arounds, and potential conflicts with the designs of others.
In the area of copyright law, Mr. Chinlund works with marketing professionals, artists, musicians, movie producers, photographers, programmers and software developers, writers and others before, during and after the creative process in order to protect, enforce and derive economic benefit from the rights resulting from clients’ artistic endeavors. Mr. Chinlund occasionally works with Lawyers for the Creative Arts, a not-for-profit organization, on a pro bono basis for starving artists in need of legal assistance but without the financial means to pay for it.
The ability to bring to the table expertise in several substantive areas uniquely positions Mr. Chinlund to counsel clients regarding the best ways to protect valuable intellectual property assets.
Mr. Chinlund’s skill set is the result of diverse work experiences including presentation of cases in the state Appellate and Illinois Supreme Court, which resulted in wins for clients in non-IP related cases. His education in Marketing, as well as years of working with marketing professionals, has provided him with an understanding of the business mind set. As a result, Mr. Chinlund understands the necessity of avoiding unnecessary legal posturing when a conflict arises so that the parties can resolve the matter and return to business as usual. Mr. Chinlund received his J.D., cum laude, from Northern Illinois University and his Bachelor's degree in Marketing from Iowa State University.
