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Nicholas G. de la Torre

Practice Summary

Nick de la Torre joined Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione in 1999. Mr. de la Torre's worldwide practice focuses on all aspects of trademark, unfair competition, trade dress, counterfeiting, dilution, false advertising, copyright, trade secret and patent litigation and licensing matters. Mr. de la Torre's practice also focuses extensively on matters before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, trademark prosecution matters, both in the U.S. and abroad, and in ICANN domain name dispute proceedings.

Mr. de la Torre has represented a wide variety of trademark clients across many industries. Representative clients include: American Airlines, Inc.; Progressive Casualty Insurance Company; Herman Miller, Inc.; National Association of Realtors; Kohl's Department Stores, Inc.; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; Avon Products, Inc.; The City of Chicago; Alpine Electronics, Inc.; the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; and Seven Towns Ltd., among others.

Honors/Distinctions
  • Leading Intellectual Property Lawyer, Leading Lawyers Network, 2011
Representative Matters
Federal District and Appellate Court
View All
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. American Assist Travel Services, Inc., and Gerardo Villafane, No. 08 23476 (S.D. Fla. 2008)
  • Progressive Casualty Insurance Company v. Donald Clark, et al., No. 08 CV 2213 (N.D. Oh. 2008)
  • L. Cohen Group d/b/a Luxurychair.com v. Herman Miller, Inc., No. C 05 4476 (N.D. Cal. 2005)
  • Herman Miller, Inc. v. L. Cohen Group d/b/a Luxurychair.com, et al., No. 05 C 4760 (N.D. Ill. 2005)
  • Röder Zeltsysteme Und Service AG v. Heinz Röder and Röder HTS Hocker America, LLC., No. 04 CV 0193 (S.D. Ind. 2004)
  • Drive Financial Services, LP, v. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, No. 04 cv 558 (E.D. Tex. 2004)
  • Mark Thatcher v. Kohl’s Department Stores, Inc., No. 97 CV 04746 (N.D. Ill. 2004)
  • Zila Swab Technologies, Inc. v. Darrell W. Van Dyke and GMP Prods., LLC, No. 01 C 8729 (N.D. Ill. 2003)
  • Herman Miller, Inc. v. Nightingale Corp., No. 03 C 3981 (N.D. Ill. 2003)
  • Sargent & Greenleaf, Inc. v. Sentry Group, No. 5:03 139 (E.D. Ky. 2003)
  • Sage Prods., Inc. v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., No. 02 C 0126 (N.D. Ill. 2002)
  • National Association of Realtors v. Gregory Tyll, No. 02 CV 08261 (N.D. Ill. 2002)
  • S-B Power Tool Corp. v. Ryobi Technologies, Inc., No. 02 C 1056 (N.D. Ill. 2002)
  • Archer Daniels Midland Co. v. Acharan Singh Narula, No. 99 C 6997, 2001 WL 804025 (N.D. Ill. July 12, 2001)
  • Hershy The Tin Man v. Avon Products, Inc., 59 U.S.P.Q.2d 1520 (D. Mont. 2001)
  • HOS Development Corp. v. Rawlings Sporting Goods Co., Inc., No. 01 3369 (C.D. Ill. 2001)
  • Thomas & Betts Corp. v. Panduit Corp., 55 U.S.P.Q.2d 1698 (N.D. Ill. 2000)
  • Maxine Perry v. City of Chicago, No. 00 CV 03827 (N.D. Ill. 2000)
  • Coolballs.com-DDS, Co. and Self Reliant Systems, Inc. v. Wally Balls, L.L.C., Jason Wall, and In-Concept, Inc., No. C 00-2121 CAL (N.D. Cal. 2000)
  • Alpinesys and Internet Holding Group, v. Alpine Electronics, Inc., No. CV-00-20853-JF/PVT (N.D. Cal. 2000)
  • Quixtar Investments, Inc. v. Brian Seifert individually and d/b/a Information Technologies, No. 99 CV 614 (W.D. Mich. 1999)
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) Cases
View All
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. Applied Card Systems, Inc., Opp. No. 91188811 (pending before the TTAB)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. Consumer Benefit Services, Inc., Opp. No. 91188607 (TTAB 2009)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. Holiday Systems Int'l of Nevada, Opp. No. 91188056 (TTAB 2009)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. Youbet.com, Inc., Opp. No. 91187983 (pending before the TTAB)
  • National Association of Realtors v. Tomas Korpa, Opp. No. 91187313 (TTAB 2008)
  • National Association of Realtors v. Jillian Gathe, Opp. No. 91186034 (TTAB 2008)
  • Integrated Business Analysis, Inc. v. International Institute of Business Analysis, Opp. Nos. 91185061 and 91185062 (TTAB 2008)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. American Apparel, Inc., Opp. Nos. 91184480 and 91184941 (TTAB 2008)
  • Roy D. Cortes v. Batteries Not Included, Inc., Opp. No. 91184303 (pending before the TTAB)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. FIA Card Services, Opp. No. 91183943 (TTAB 2008)
  • National Association of Realtors v. The Realteers LLC, Opp. No. 91183346 (TTAB 2008)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. Kirkpatrick Bank, Opp. No. 91177970 (TTAB 2007)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. Affinion Publishing, Inc., Canc. No. 92047076 (TTAB 2007)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. Visual Data Systems Inc., Opp. No. 91171635 (TTAB 2006)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. Reno Air Racing Association, Inc., Canc. No. 92045922 (TTAB 2006)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. DVS Shoe Co., Inc., Opp. No. 91170862 (TTAB 2006)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. Affinion Publishing, Inc., Opp. No. 91170154 (TTAB 2006)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. Motivation Advantage, Inc., Opp. No. 91170098 (TTAB 2006)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. Motivation Advantage, Inc., Canc. No. 92045355 (TTAB 2006)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. American Media Operations, Inc., Opp. Nos. 91167582 and 91167924 (TTAB 2005)
  • Lockheed Martin v. Raytheon Company, Opp. No. 91167189 (pending before the TTAB)
  • American Airlines, Inc. v. Affinitas Corporation, Opp. No. 91165978 (TTAB 2005)
  • Royal Paper Converting, Inc. v. Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc., Canc. No. 42,514 (TTAB 2003)
  • Jacob Zimmerman v. National Association of Realtors, Canc. Nos. 32,360 and 40,141, 70 U.S.P.Q.2d 1425 (TTAB 2004)
  • Arleen Freeman v. National Association of Realtors, Canc. Nos. 27,885 and 28,047, 64 U.S.P.Q.2d 1700 (TTAB 2002)
  • Alps. Electric Co., Ltd. v. Innoverse, Inc., Opp. No. 91151459 (TTAB 2002)
  • HOS Development Corporation v. Tomkraft Industries, Inc., Opp. No. 91125479 (TTAB 2002)
  • Yamaha Corporation of America v. Wrightwood Enterprises, Inc., Opp. No. 91108787 (TTAB 2002)
  • National Association of Realtors v. Realtorcountry.com, Inc., Opp. No. 91125020 (TTAB 2001)
  • National Association of Realtors v. Patricia A. Solio, Opp. No. 91118735 (TTAB 2000)
ICANN Matters
  • Federal Reserve Banks v. Chris Hoffman, Case No. D2004-0918 (WIPO Jan. 18, 2005)
  • Diageo North America, Inc. v. Carolina Audio Visual, Case No. D2005-0555 (WIPO)
  • United Airlines, Inc. v. United Airline Dot Com, Case No. D2002-0835 (WIPO Nov. 9, 2002)
Publications
Presentations
  • “Markman Hearing - Claim Construction,” ITAG Conference, New Delhi, India, January 6, 2012
  • "Using U.S. Trade and Competition Laws to Protect the Value of Brand Names and Other Trademarks in a Global Economy,” Chicago International Trade Commissioners Association, Chicago, October 4, 2011
  • "Counterfeit and Gray Market Goods," 3rd International Intellectual Property Rights Conference, Global IP Convention, Bangalore, India, April 29, 2011
Memberships & Affiliations
  • International Trademark Association
  • American Bar Association Intellectual Property Section
  • Illinois State Bar Association
Legal Experience

Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, Chicago, Illinois
Shareholder, 2006-Present
Associate, 1999-2005
Summer Associate, 1998

Barend, Heartquist & Hurley, Waltham, Massachusetts
Legal Intern, Summer 1997

Missouri Secretary of State, Jefferson City, Missouri
Legal Assistant, Summer 1995