John Crittenden, Partner

John W. Crittenden is a partner in the Cooley Litigation department. He is resident in the San Francisco office, and has been with the Firm since 1983.

A member of the Firm's Trademark, Copyright & Advertising practice group, Mr. Crittenden's practice includes litigation and trial work in the areas of trademark, false advertising, unfair competition, and copyright, domestic and international trademark counseling and prosecution, and advice and advocacy in other intellectual property fields such as rights of publicity and the Internet. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America, Guide to the World's Leading Trademark Practitioners and Legal 500.

Mr. Crittenden has been the lead lawyer on a number of notable intellectual property cases. He tried and successfully argued on appeal PerfumeBay.com, Inc. v. eBay Inc., 506 F.3d 1165, 84 U.S.P.Q.2d 1865 (9th Cir. 2007), in which the appellate court affirmed a lower court injunction against an online perfume seller's use of the name PerfumeBay and held that the PERFUMEBAY mark also diluted the famous eBay brand.

He led the successful defense of NCsoft Corporation in Marvel Enterprises v. NCsoft Corporation, 74 U.S.P.Q. 2d 1303 (C.D. Cal. 2005), which established that players' use of Marvel's trademarked names in the online game City of Heroes is not infringement. He litigated and successfully argued on appeal Cohn v. PETsMART, Inc., 281 F.3d 837 (9th Cir. 2002), in which the court affirmed summary judgment for the national pet supply chain, finding "no likelihood of confusion even though the parties use the same mark for similar goods and services." 

He is experienced in all forms of alternative dispute resolution, and regularly serves as a mediator and neutral evaluator in copyright and trademark cases for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

Mr. Crittenden has been active in the International Trademark Association, serving on its Board of Directors from 2006 to 2008, and has held a number of other leadership positions in the organization over the years. He serves on INTA's Amicus Brief Committee, is a member of its Panel of Neutrals, and previously chaired its Emerging Issues Committee and Courts and Tribunals Subcommittee. From 1999 to 2001, he was editor-in-chief of the INTA Bulletin, the association's twice-monthly report on trademark news to members worldwide.

A frequent speaker on intellectual property topics, Mr. Crittenden has lectured and participated in panel discussions for the American Bar Association, the Practising Law Institute, California Continuing Education of the Bar, the International Trademark Association and various industry and trade organizations.

From 1981 to 1983, Mr. Crittenden served as law clerk to the Honorable Joyce Hens Green of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  He attended the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, where he was a member of the UCLA Law Review, and received a J.D. degree in 1981. He completed his undergraduate work at UCLA, where he received an A.B. degree in English in 1978.

Education

  • University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
    JD, 1981
  • University of California, Los Angeles
    AB English, 1978

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court, District of Arizona
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of California

Admissions

  • California

Memberships

  • American Bar Association
  • Association of Trial Lawyers of America
  • Bar Association of San Francisco
  • International Trademark Association
San Francisco
101 California Street
5th Floor
San Francisco, California 94111-5800

Phone: 415/693-2090
Fax: 415/693-2222
jcrittenden@cooley.com
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