Brian McGraw

Brian McGraw is an intellectual property and commercial litigator that helps clients resolve high stakes, “bet the company” litigation. Brian enforces and defends the rights of clients in intellectual property disputes, including primarily in patent, trademark, and copyright infringement litigation.  Brian has worked with a variety of technologies within his patent infringement cases and has handled a number of matters in a multitude of industries involving trade dress, false advertising, unfair competition, trade secret misappropriation, violations of the publicity and privacy rights, and disputes over the bad faith use and registration of domain names. In addition, he advises business clients on contract disputes and other complex commercial litigation.

Brian’s clients include a broad range of businesses, from Fortune 10 companies to medium-sized companies to individual business owners. He also works with artists, musicians, professional athletes, and other creators, aggressively protecting their interests in both the courtroom and at the negotiation table. He brings a practical, business-centered perspective to solving his clients’ disputes, helping them reach successful resolutions while balancing the significant costs of high stakes litigation.

Corporate and individual clients alike appreciate Brian’s ability to distill complex legal and business issues into clear and simple concepts that juries (and clients) can understand and process. Clients depend on him to design – and execute – winning strategies that help them achieve their objectives in and out of the court room. Brian’s work spans across the country, as he has argued and tried cases in federal courts throughout the country.  Recent trial victories include the successful defense of trademark infringement and unfair competition claims for over $90 million brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware related to the U.S. inland river cruising industry; the successful prosecution of a patent infringement case involving farming equipment technology in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (obtaining a jury verdict of just over $11 million); and the successful prosecution of a patent infringement case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware involving electric hydrofoil surfboard technology (obtaining a jury verdict of just over $1.3 million).

Before devoting most of his work time in intellectual property and commercial litigation, Brian worked in trademark and copyright prosecution and commercial transactions involving IP rights, helping intellectual property rights holders with brand development and clearance, trademark registration in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the licensing and sale of intellectual property rights. He has worked on number of high value commercial transactions.  His prior experience on the business side of things gives him a unique, business and creative-oriented perspective and approach to his litigation matters.  Brian also currently sits on the Board of Directors of Kentucky to the World, an organization dedicated to enhancing the intellectual reputation of Kentucky, its people, and its culture.