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COATES IP
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About

At Coates IP, we strive to protect our client's creations through innovative, practical, and accurate advice.  With a successful track record of working with and for the most valuable brands in the world, both as in house and outside counsel, we are uniquely positioned to provide the results you deserve.

Coates IP is a boutique law firm with a strong focus on intellectual property, domain names, marketing, and launching new products and services with an international perspective, including the following legal practices:
  • Trademarks, Brand Protection, Anti-counterfeiting, Parallel Imports, Litigation
  • Domain Names, Domain Disputes, Domain Acquisitions, Security and DNS Risk Analysis
  • Copyright, Entertainment, Trade Dress
  • Trade Secret, Unfair Competition
  • Marketing, Social Media, Advertising, Media

Coates IP has worked with clients both large and small, multinational and local, across a wide variety of industries, including technology, social media, retail, entertainment, consumer products, manufacturing, hospitality, food, transport, pharmaceutical, and advertising.   
Stephen Jadie Coates
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Photo by Roger Wollenberg
Steve founded Coates IP to offer his 2+ decades of experience working at the most prestigious law firm practices and technology companies. 

Steve strives to educate his clients with expert legal advice, with a strong emphasis on providing practical perspective built upon working years in house.  He is an expert on areas surrounding trademarks, copyright, domain names, unfair competition, marketing, technology products, and litigation surrounding these topics.  

At Amazon.com, Steve and his team managed trademarks for a diverse array of industries, as well as the company's domain portfolio, including some of the most trafficked domains.   

As Twitter's first intellectual property counsel, he managed the trademark, marketing, domain and Internet governance practices, building a team from the ground up.  

He has also worked at the most prestigious intellectual property law practices, including Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, and Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, P.C.  

Steve is an influential legal voice, speaking frequently at conferences, and has actively participated on legal and policy organizations for many years, currently including:
  • International Trademark Association, Committee Member since 2007
  • NYU Engelberg Society on Innovation Law & Policy, Advisory Board Member
  • ICANN Intellectual Property Constituency

Steve used to sit on the ICANN Business Constituency, has been active on many working groups, and participated on the ICANN Nominating Committee for the Board of Directors.  

In his spare time, Steve is passionate about parenting, music, hiking, and old comic books.  
Education
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, New York, NY, J.D. 2006

Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, B.A. Art History 1997
Bar Admissions
New York State
Washington State
Active Professional Associations
ICANN Intellectual Property Constituency 
International Trademark Association 
NYU Engelberg Center for Innovation Law & Policy
​Washington State Bar Association
Leadership Positions
Current:
International Trademark Association, Anti-Counterfeiting Committee Member (2018-2019)
International Trademark Association, Internet Committee (2020-2021)
NYU Engelbert Center for Innovation Law & Policy, Advisory Board Member
Editorial Board, World Intellectual Property Review
​
Past:
International Trademark Association, Chair of the gTLD Subsequent Procedures Committee
​International Trademark Association, Committee Member (various) 2007-present
ICANN Nominating Committee for the Board of Directors
Intellectual Property Platform Networking Group, Founder
Awards
2021 World Trademark Review 1000 - World's Leading Trademark Professionals

2019 World Trademark Review 300 - World’s Leading Corporate Trademark Professionals

2018 World Trademark Review 300 - World’s Leading Corporate Trademark Professionals

2017 World Trademark Review Awards - North American Trademark Team of the Year

2017 Managing IP - Corporate IP Star

2017 World Trademark Review 300 - World's Leading Corporate Trademark Professionals

2016 World Trademark Review - Finalist for In House Counsel of the Year

2016 Managing IP, Corporate IP Star

2015 World Trademark Review – Software and Online Services Team of the Year

2015 Managing IP, Corporate IP Star

2012 World Trademark Review – Internet and Online Services Team of the Year

2011 Super Lawyers Rising Star
Speaking Engagements
What's New in the Trademark Law Landscape: Regulatory Trends and Challenges Explored, Knowledge Group Webinar, October 2020

Brand Protection at a Time of Hyper-Criticism,
World Trademark Review Webinar, September 2020

How Covid-19 is Changing Domain Strategies, World Trademark Review Webinar, May 2020

Hashtag Trademarks: Legal and Practical Implications by Use by Brand Owners or Third Parties, ​Strafford Webinars, March 2020

Hot Trademark, Copyright and Advertising Issues, ABA Entertainment and Sports Forum, Las Vegas, NV, November 2019

Working at Internet Speed: Perspectives from Amazon's Former Senior Trademark Counsel, 2019 Midwest IP Institute, Minneapolis, MN, September 2019

The Year in Trademark Law: Noteworthy Decisions and Their Impact on Your Practice, 2019 Midwest IP Institute, Minneapolis, MN, September 2019

IP Fundamentals for Artists: Guidance for Pro Bono Advice, Washington State Bar Association, Seattle Art Museum, August 2019
​
Combating Counterfeits and Piracy on the Internet Highway and in Digital Media, INTA Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, May 2019

Proving the Creative Contribution, NYU Engelbert Center on Innovation Law & Policy, New York, NY, May 2019


Domain Name Best Practices, MarkMonitor Symposium, London, UK, May 2019

Domain Management Strategies for an Effective Brand Protection Program, MarkMonitor Symposium, New York City, NY, May 2019

ABA-IPL Annual Meeting - Anti-Counterfeiting in Social Media, April 2019

Rocky Mountain IP Institute: Disparaging, Immoral & Scandalous Trademarks, May 2018

INTA Brands & Innovation - How Innovation is Changing the Retail Landscape, March 2018

Kilpatrick Townsend 2018 Advanced Trademark Law Seminar - I Was Told Math Was Not Involved - Surveys & Brand Tracking Studies, January 2018

INTA In House Idea Exchange: Managing Your Outside Counsel, May 2017

Trademark Disparagement and the First Amendment, McCarthy Institute Trademark Symposium, Seattle, WA, February 2017

Beyond Native Advertising, INTA Annual Meeting, Orlando, May 2016
(App)ealing to a Wired Audience: Trademarks and Mobile Advertising, INTA Leadership Meeting, Panama City, Panama, November 2015

The Social Network: Current Legal Issues in Social Media, Association for Corporate Counsel, Los Angeles, November 2015

Trademarks and New gTLDs: An International Policy Perspective, McCarthy Institute Trademark Law Symposium, San Francisco, September 2015

Is Fair Use Always Fair? International approaches to fair use issues in a mobile world, INTA Annual Meeting, San Diego, May 2015

How New Technologies are Changing Lanham Act & Copyright Act Analyses, USC Intellectual Property Institute, Los Angeles, March 2015

Schemers, Scammers and Swindlers, INTA Leadership Meeting, Phoenix, November 2014

Issues in Social Media, INTA: Internet, Innovation & ICANN, San Francisco, September 2014

Hashtags: Fair Use or Infringement? A Global Perspective, IP Bytes: Hot Topics in Trademark Law, Bar Association of
San Francisco
, San Francisco, July 2014

Connecting the Dots: Global Brand Insights for Surviving and Thriving in a New gTLD World, CSC Digital Brand Forum, April 2014

Strategies for Managing Domain Name Disputes and Litigation, IQPC Trademark Litigation Summit, San Francisco, April 2014

The Ethics of Trademark Bullying, INTA Annual Meeting, Dallas, May 2013

Best Practices in Trademark Selection, Association for Corporate Counsel, Anaheim, April 2013

Trademark Law and Social Media, Cardozo Law School, New York, March 2011
​Select Articles and Media
Why a pandemic is the perfect time to open a new law firm.  Managing IP.  November 19, 2020.  See here.

"PR risk is now part of the IP job" - the developing role of trademark practitioners in an age of hyper-criticism. 
World Trademark Review.  September 29, 2020.  See here.


"Darlie", "Aunt" and "Uncle": When brands should be retired.
  Managing IP.  June 24, 2020.  See here.  

Comment: Dropping of PepsiCo's Aunt Jemima is long overdue.  World Intellectual Property Review.  June 19, 2020.  See here.  

Why continued community engagement is critical alongside PepsiCo's removal of Aunt Jemima brand.  World Trademark Review.  June 19, 2020.  See here.  

Cost-Cutting: How client relationships can survive the COVID crunch.  World Trademark Review.  May 21, 2020.  See here.

Fleet Feet's court victory against Nike highlight changes in using and protecting slogan marks.  World Trademark Review.  December 6, 2019.  See here.  

The Rise of Competitive Advertising: Risk and Opportunity in Domain Names Using Competitor's Marks.  World Trademark Review.  October 24, 2019.  See here.  

Rethinking Law Firm Operations: Stephen Coates on why he left Amazon to build an IP boutique.  World Trademark Review.  September 11, 2019.  See here.  

Ex-Trademark Law Guru at Amazon Launches IP Boutique.  Law.com.  August 22, 2019.  See here.

Ex-Amazon Counsel Established Boutique IP Firm.  World Intellectual Property Review.  August 21, 2019.  See here.  

Meet Twitter's First Trademark Counsel.  Managing Intellectual Property.  May 5, 2015.  See here.  
​
Twitter, Fair Use, and a "Socialised Logo".  World Intellectual Property Review.  May 4, 2015.  See here.  

​Twitter's Stephen Coates.  Law.com.  September 8, 2014.  See here.  
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The material contained on this site is provided by Coates IP for informational purposes only, and is not legal advice. Transmission is not intended to create and does not establish an attorney-client relationship.
  • © 2019 Coates IP