Robert L. Powley

Partner
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Rob founded Powley & Gibson in 2002 and has specialized in trademark, copyright and patent law for over 30 years. Frequently asked to advise on complicated intellectual property issues ranging from branding to litigation strategies. Rob’s extensive experience includes selecting, prosecuting, maintaining and enforcing trademarks, copyrights and patents worldwide.  Rob’s practice includes drafting and negotiating licenses and agreements involving trademarks, copyrights, patents, and domain names. He also litigates intellectual property rights in the Federal Courts throughout the United States, before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and in alternative dispute resolution proceedings. He has also negotiated and constructed art exhibition, loan and sales agreements throughout the world.

Rob is also active in the not-for-profit area and serves on the board of directors for several companies. Rob has been recognized as one of the top 1000 trademark attorneys throughout the world, and is recognized as a “Super Lawyer” in New York.

Rob’s clientele includes a variety of domestic and international corporations, start-up companies, individuals, and not-for-profit organizations. Most notably, Rob has worked for one of the most successful Broadway musicals in history; large retail operations; food and beverage clients; a leading publisher in the energy and petroleum fields; the pharmaceutical industry; leading fashion companies; a world famous sculptor, and various other successful corporations, entities and individuals offering a wide scope of products and services.

Rob is an active member in the International Trademark Association, serving on several committees, and is a member of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association.

Rob is licensed to practice law in the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second and Fifth Circuits, the District of Colorado, and New York State Court. Rob is also registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Rob received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Washington and Lee University and graduated from Washington and Lee School of Law.

James M. Gibson

Partner
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James M. Gibson has over twenty-five years of experience practicing in the areas of trademark and copyright law.  Jim has extensive experience representing trademark owners in the United States with trademark prosecution at the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in both federal court and the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board.  Jim has worked closely with brand owners to develop trademarks, search and clear trademarks, prosecute trademarks at the United States Patent and Trademark Office and protect brands.

Jim also works with a network of experienced and reasonably priced attorneys around the world to protect clients’ rights worldwide.  Jim also has extensive experience in all phases of litigating trademark and copyright matters in federal courts.  Jim has represented a wide variety of clients in diverse fields such as publishing, financial services, fashion and sports management.

Jim is licensed to practice law in the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second District, New York State courts, and the District Court of Colorado.  Jim is a member of the International Trademark Association and the New York Intellectual Property Law Association, having served on several committees for both organizations.

Jim received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University and graduated from Touro Law School.

Thomas H. Curtin

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Thomas Curtin has over 30 years of experience in handling a wide variety of intellectual property issues, particularly in trademark, unfair competition and copyright matters.  Tom has represented Fortune 500 companies in federal courts and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office protecting their intellectual property portfolios.  He has litigated cases involving claims of trademark infringement, unfair competition, false advertising, dilution, cybersquatting, trade dress infringement, counterfeiting and copyright infringement.  Tom’s practice also includes counseling clients on trademark matters from the search and clearance of marks to prosecuting applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and litigating opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board through to decision.  He is also involved in licensing, internet-related issues including UDRP proceedings and has supervised trademark registration, maintenance and litigation matters worldwide.

Tom has been admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, The Second, Ninth and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, the U.S. Southern and Eastern Districts of New York as well as New York State courts.  Tom is a member of the International Trademark Association, the New York Intellectual Property Law Association and the Copyright Society.  Tom was selected among The Best Lawyers in America® 2013-2023.

Tom received a Bachelor of Arts from Franklin & Marshall College and graduated Fordham University School of Law.

William R. Hansen

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Bill has been practicing IP law since 1978. In those over 40 years, Bill has been one of the leading IP litigators in the U.S. regularly representing large U.S. and International companies in IP matters including trademark and trade dress infringement, false advertising, copyright infringement, patent and trade secret cases.

In addition to his intellectual property litigation work, Bill regularly provides counsel on all aspects of trademarks and copyrights, including proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, trademark clearance and protection of copyrighted works.

Bill has been named as one of the leading intellectual property attorneys in New York by Chambers USA (2012, 2013), selected to Super Lawyers (2007-2011) in New York IP litigation, named among the world’s top trademark attorneys by Euromoney International Investor, recognized in the Guide to the World’s Leading Trademark Law Practitioners (2008, 2012), featured in Expert Guides (2020, 2021), and as one of the “World’s Leading Trademark Law Practitioners” by Managing Intellectual Property magazine.

Prior to joining Powley & Gibson, P.C., Bill had been a Senior partner at the firm Nims, Howes, Collison, Hansen & Lackert, a highly respected law firm that has been involved in much of the case law that provides the framework of today’s trademark law, and where many of us began the practice of IP law. Since 2002, Bill has been a partner at large general practice AMLAW top 150 law firms often in leadership positions.  Bill made the decision to return to an IP specialty firm to better serve his clients.  Admitted to practice law in the State of New York in 1978, Bill is admitted in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit, and U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Bill graduated with an A.B. degree, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Dartmouth College in 1974, and received his J.D. degree from The Washington & Lee University School of Law in 1977.

Stephen M. Ankrom

Partner
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Steve M. Ankrom focuses his practice in the areas of copyright and trademark litigation.  Steve has represented clients in federal and state courts and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and has experience at all stages of litigation, including discovery, motion practice, and trial.  He has represented clients in a variety of industries and fields such as music, art, retail, publishing, financial services, apparel, insurance, and footwear.

Steve is a member of the International Trademark Association, the New York Intellectual Property Law Association and the Copyright Society of the U.S..  Steve is licensed to practice law in New York State and is admitted to practice in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.  Prior to coming to Powley & Gibson, Steve was an associate with Dewey & LeBoeuf.

Steve graduated magna cum laude from the Ohio State University in 2001 and received his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 2006.

Rylan S. Brook

Rylan S. Brook focuses his practice on intellectual property law, including managing trademark and copyright portfolios. His practice covers domestic and international trademark clearance, prosecution of domestic and foreign applications including responding to office actions before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, maintenance, and enforcement efforts including negotiating co-existence and settlement agreements. Rylan also has experience in handling opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board as well as enforcing clients’ copyright claims, including through litigation. Rylan has worked with clients across a wide variety of industries, including fashion, art, beauty, retail, publishing, and financial services.

Before joining Powley & Gibson, Rylan provided creative and legal input at a fashion law start-up, where he assisted in the research and drafting of Sneaker Law: All You Need to Know About the Sneaker Business (Anand & Goldstein, 2020), an educational resource for the sneaker industry, now taught at law and design schools.

Rylan is an active member of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association and the International Trademark Association, where he participates in the Designs Committee. Rylan is licensed to practice law in New York State and is admitted to practice in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

Rylan earned his undergraduate degree cum laude from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2016 and received his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 2020, where he concentrated in intellectual property, media and information law.

Mike A. Ortega

Mike A. Ortega focuses his practice on intellectual property law and has extensive experience in domestic and international trademark clearance, prosecution of applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, trademark maintenance, trademark rights enforcement, and the managing of trademark portfolios. Mike has worked for clients in a wide variety of industries, including financial services, fashion, retail, music, and software industries.

Prior to joining Powley & Gibson, Mike began his career in intellectual property law as an in-house trademark consultant at a global branding firm. During his time there, Mike advised clients and creative consultants on various intellectual property matters and trained other consultants on a number of different intellectual property law topics. Mike then went on to practice as a trademark attorney at a law firm that specializes in the search and clearance of marks and preparing and prosecuting of US trademark applications. Mike also assisted domestic and foreign clients with securing and maintaining their federal trademark registrations.

Mike is an active member of the International Trademark Association, the New York Intellectual Property Law Association, and The Copyright Society.

Mike graduated cum laude from Rutgers University – New Brunswick in 2012 as a double major in Linguistics and Italian. Mike then earned his Juris Doctorate from the Rutgers School of Law – Newark in 2015, where he concentrated on intellectual property law and civil litigation. During his time in law school, Mike served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Michael A. Shipp of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and as a legal intern at The Harry Fox Agency. Mike also served as a clinical student in the Rutgers Intellectual Property Law Clinic, which is a part of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Law School Clinical Program.

Mike is licensed to practice law in New York State and the State of New Jersey and speaks Spanish fluently.

Debbie C. Yang

Debbie C. Yang focuses her practice on protecting brand identities and designs of our clients. She has experience with the management of domestic and international trademark and copyright portfolios, which includes trademark clearance, prosecution of domestic trademark applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including the coordination of filing international trademark applications, responding to office actions before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and handling litigation enforcement efforts to protect our clients’ intellectual property rights. Debbie has advised and collaborated with clients from diverse industries, such as technology, life science, blockchain, real estate, finance, fashion, art, esports, and entertainment.

Prior to joining Powley & Gibson, Debbie designed fashion collections and branding strategies for Marc Jacobs, Elie Tahari, Oscar De La Renta, Alice + Olivia, The Children’s Place, and Aeropostale. With ten years of industry experience, Debbie has a deep understanding of the dynamics between the client’s business needs and protecting its intellectual property rights in the field of fashion, arts, media, and entertainment.

Debbie is an active member of the International Trademark Association, the New York Intellectual Property Association, and the Copyright Association. In addition, she is fluent in spoken Mandarin Chinese, and has basic proficiency in Spanish and Taiwanese Hokkien.

Debbie received her bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design in 2014 and her juris doctor degree from Cardozo School of Law in 2023. Debbie is licensed to practice law in New York State, and has a pending application to practice in the State of Texas.