Nancy Mertzel has nearly 30 years of experience protecting brand names, products, content and technology.
Nancy’s broad litigation experience includes numerous copyright, trademark, trade dress, unfair competition and trade secret disputes. She regularly litigates matters involving source code and technology, and has successfully handled cutting edge cases involving the scope of copyright protection in source code and data. For example, on behalf of a leading bank and big box retailer, she successfully defeated a claim of copyright in numbers. She also handles trademark infringement cases, “failed systems” disputes between developers and licensees, trade secret cases involving software, entertainment industry disputes, and recovery of domain names.
On the transactional side, Nancy handles trademark clearance, prosecution and portfolio management, and drafts a wide variety of agreements including copyright and trademark licenses, software licenses and software development agreements. She also advises clients on copyright issues including the scope of protection in data, fair use and infringement.
Congressional Testimony
On February 26, 2015, Nancy testified before the House Judiciary Committee at a hearing on “The U.S. Copyright Office: Its Functions and Resources” as a representative of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). Nancy emphasized the importance of copyright in today’s digital economy, and urged legislators to support a well-functioning Copyright Office.
Her full testimony and transcript are available at https://judiciary.house.gov/hearing/hearingthe-u-s-copyright-office-its-functions-and-resources/
Amicus Briefs
Nancy was the primary author of three amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs filed with the U.S. Supreme Court:
• Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which involved the defense of laches in copyright infringement cases,
• SCA Hygiene Products A.G. v. First Quality Baby Products, LLC, which involved laches in patent cases, and
• B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Industries, Inc., which involved the preclusive effect of decisions by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board on subsequent litigation.
Accolades
In 2016 and 2017, World Trademark Review named Nancy a leading lawyer for enforcement and litigation, calling her a “well-spoken and zealous advocate” who “handles the whole nine yards of brand development and enforcement.” Since 2009, Nancy has been named one of Thompson Reuters’ New York Super Lawyers for Intellectual Property Litigation, as well as one of the publication’s top 50 NY women attorneys (2013-2017).