
Overview
EVAN HELPS CLIENTS PROTECT AND EXPAND THEIR IP ASSETS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
Evan is a partner in Dorsey’s Trademark, Copyright and Advertising Group. He provides counsel to a wide variety of trademark and copyright owners in many industries, including multinational corporations with large international trademark portfolios, local non-profit organizations, international musical acts, digital art creators, and startups.
Evan’s areas of practice include implementing trademark and copyright prosecution and enforcement programs in the United States and internationally, trade dress and product configuration issues, trademark dilution, trademark priority disputes, trademark abandonment issues, trade secret, false advertising, genericness claims, and matters before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. His practice also includes matters relating to entertainment law (such as music royalties disputes and film production agreements), cannabis brand protection and enforcement, software and technology licensing, due diligence, social media, Internet domain names, dealing with event “housing pirates,” and issues related to emerging technologies such NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and cryptocurrency.
Evan is a co-manager of Dorsey’s critically-acclaimed IP Blog, TheTMCA.com, which focuses on legal developments in the world of TradeMarks, Copyrights, and Advertising. TheTMCA.com and the Firm’s Trademark Practice Group have been recognized in JD Supra’s 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards.
Before joining Dorsey, Evan was a law clerk for Judge Matthew E. Johnson in the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Education & Admissions
University of St. Thomas School of Law (J.D., 2013), summa cum laude
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (M.M., Classical Guitar Performance, 2009)
Gonzaga University (B.A., 2006), cum laude
Admissions
- Minnesota
- U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
Clerkships
- Minnesota Court of Appeals, Honorable Matthew E. Johnson, 2013-2014
Experience
Representative Work
Entertainment Law Matters
- Advise world-famous musicians on various aspects of intellectual property protection, including developing trademark and copyright filing strategies
- Advise clients on rights-clearance issues
- Prepare and negotiate publishing, recording, and music licensing contracts
- Assist clients with navigating performing-rights organizations such as BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC
- Prepare and negotiate film production agreements
- Represent musicians in royalties disputes with record labels and former bands
- Negotiate name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals on behalf of professional athletes and their estates
Cannabis Intellectual Property
- Conduct intellectual property due diligence for cannabis company mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs, including for cross-border matters
- Develop and deploy federal, state, and international trademark prosecution strategies for cannabis-related trademarks and successfully argue against refusals based on unlawful use in commerce
- Develop alternative protection strategies for cannabis brands and creative collateral, including seeking copyright registrations and design patents
- Respond to and send cease and desist letters leveraging the nuance of geographic trademark rights in the cannabis context
Technology, Internet, and Social Media Matters
- Advise clients on addressing domain name cybersquatters using trademarks and personal names
- Prepare pleadings for domain name disputes under Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP)
- Prepare and negotiate software license agreements and end-user license agreements
- Advise clients on intellectual property issues relating to emerging technologies, such as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and cryptocurrency, including advise related to infringing “meme coins”
- Devise and implement strategies to deal with and prevent “housing pirates” that attempt to defraud attendees of large conferences and events that require hotel bookings
Trademark Clearance, Prosecution, and Maintenance
- Provide counsel on the development, availability, registrability, and strength of proposed trademarks
- Coordinate international trademark portfolios for market-leading clients
- Work with foreign associates to prosecute and maintain international trademark portfolios
- Prepare and negotiate trademark license agreements
Trademark and Intellectual Property Enforcement
- Protect world-famous brands and develop international trademark enforcement strategies for institutional clients
- Advise clients on enforcement measures for misappropriation of trademarks, including demand letters, litigation, and trademark coexistence agreements
- Represent clients before Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings
Copyright Matters
- Provide counsel on the creation and use of copyrighted works
- Prepare and maintain copyright applications and registrations
- Protect copyrighted works and advise clients on defending claims of copyright infringement, including those from well-known copyright “trolls”
- Prepare copyright assignment agreements and work-made-for-hire agreements
News & Resources
Articles
News & Press Mentions
Events & Speaking Engagements
Select Presentations
- “Top Tips on Writing Trademark Cease-and-Desist Letters,” Midwest IP Institute, September 26, 2019
Industries & Practices
Banking & Financial Institutions
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practiceFood, Beverage & Agribusiness
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practiceHealthcare & Life Sciences
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practiceCybersecurity, Privacy & Social Media
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practice- Advertising & Marketing
- Banking & Financial Institutions
- Cannabis
- Creative Industries
- Cybersecurity, Privacy & Social Media
- Food, Beverage & Agribusiness
- Healthcare & Life Sciences
- Intellectual Property
- Technology
- Technology Commerce
- Trademark & Copyright
Accolades
- Recognized as a Leading Practitioner in World Trademark Review 1000 – The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals, 2023
- Named "Minneapolis Ones to Watch" in Intellectual Property Law and Banking and Finance Law by Best Lawyers®, 2021-2023
- Named a Rising Star in Minnesota and Nationally by Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars, 2019-2022
- Contributed more than 50 Challenge pro bono hours, 2020
- MSBA North Star Lawyer, 2014-2020
