WILLIAM SCOTT GOLDMAN

Personal Details

Bio

William Scott Goldman is the founding member of Goldman Law Group, representing creative business clients throughout the U.S. and internationally. One of the world's most prolific trademark filers, he's perennially ranked 'Top-10' at the USPTO with almost 20,000 successful filings. Having written the book on Branding Law, he is also a frequent lecturer, guest speaker, author on various legal subjects, and media commentator, with recent coverage on Yahoo Finance, Forbes.com, Washington Lawyer Magazine, and Bloomberg.com.

Current position (1)

MANAGING ATTORNEY/FOUNDER

GOLDMAN LAW GROUP, PLLC

Degrees (3)

LL.M., PATENT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

1991 to 1992

J.D., INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW; ENTERTAINMENT LAW

DICKINSON SCHOOL OF LAW

1988 to 1991

B.A., ENGLISH; HISTORY; GOVERNMENT

OBERLIN COLLEGE

1984 to 1988

Presentations

Presentations (3)

What's in a Name? The Ins and Outs of Branding Law.

One common misconception among even practitioners and jurists is that trademarks and brands are synonymous. Albeit an over-simplification, perhaps: not all trademarks are brands, but most brands are trademarks. Brands are essential to the consumer experience, and protectable slogans, names, logos are just component parts or subsets of the whole, amplified through marketing, creating an evolution from brands to branding.

Make Your Mark: Trademark Basics for Startups and Entrepreneurs.

Given the critical importance of branding in the modern global economy, the study of Branding Law as a separate discipline requiring an integrated approach is long overdue. Subdivided into two distinct categories, corporate branding relies extensively on intellectual property regimes and trade regulation, while personal branding is grounded in economic and dignitary interest tort law. Naturally, trademark law is critical to corporate branding as names, logos, slogans and even product design/packaging are all relevant.

Keeping Your Client's Good Name From Going Bad: Practical Advice for Marketers and Branding Agencies

Traditionally relying on intellectual property lawyers for their legal counsel, brand managers often receive myopic advice. As such, branding lawyers are much better able to understand the strategy necessary for maximizing protection. For instance, an intellectual property attorney applying for utility patent protection could later preempt successful trade dress registration by inadvertently establishing functionality. Likewise, protection of names, logos, slogans and other branding indicia can be maximized by avoiding several common pitfalls.