Derek A. Newman

Practice Areas:

Derek is an internationally recognized domain name and trademark lawyer. He represents clients in a variety of Internet and intellectual property litigation, and has substantial experience with First Amendment issues.

Litigation:

Derek represents clients in copyright, trademark, patent, publicity rights, trade secret, and marketing disputes. He has appeared in federal courts throughout the country, and has handled appeals in several federal circuit and state appellate courts. Derek represents clients in litigation against the Federal Trade Commission and in trademark cancellation and opposition proceedings before the federal Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). Derek has negotiated several multi-million dollar settlements for plaintiffs. For defendants, Derek has won numerous dismissals and settled dozens of cases for nominal value.

Internet Disputes:

Derek has counseled clients in hundreds of domain name disputes, and has represented parties both in federal court and before Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) panelists. He also represents domain name registrars and registries in policy development and dispute resolution. Derek has been lead counsel in novel and groundbreaking cases in the arena of Internet policy. For example, he successfully represented the plaintiffs in the class action case of Smiley v. ICANN, alleging that the launch of the <.biz> top-level domain was an illegal lottery. The case resolved in an unprecedented multi-million dollar settlement providing most consumers with a full refund for money spent.

Appeals:

Derek has won appeals before several courts, including the United States Courts of Appeal for the Sixth and Ninth Circuits. He argued and won a case before the Utah Supreme Court that resulted in a unanimous opinion in favor of Derek's client based upon the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Under the First Amendment, Derek won an appeal before the Sixth Circuit overturning a federal district court injunction that would have blocked the Internet distribution of a video of public concern. Earlier this year, Derek won an appeal before the Ninth Circuit resulting in a landmark decision. The court partially struck down a state law and limited private litigants from bringing frivolous claims against email marketers.

Transactions:

Derek has represented clients in various corporate transactions, from business formation and enterprise organization to strategic alliances, joint ventures, and licensing. Derek also counsels clients in the acquisition, protection and management of intellectual property.

Media and Public Relations:

Derek has represented clients appearing before Congress and other legislative bodies regarding policies involving the Internet, intellectual property and domain name issues, including issues of privacy, censorship, the First Amendment, and general governance of the Internet and the Domain Name System. He has been a frequent speaker over the years to the Internet and domain name trade and on programs on ABC News, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, Court TV, as well as on other national and local news shows, about Internet law and the First Amendment. Derek is also the host of the First Amendment Minute, a weekly 60 second radio entertainment feature.

Bar/Court Admissions:

Education: