Claire F. Hawkins

Overview

Claire has practiced intellectual property law since 2001, helping businesses and artists build, manage and leverage their intellectual property assets.

Claire advises clients on all aspects of intellectual property protection, including trademark and copyright prosecution, trade secret strategies, NIL and publicity rights agreements, domain name management and IP licensing and enforcement, as well as the related privacy and AI issues. With deep experience handling complex IP portfolios, regulatory compliance and dispute resolution, Claire helps businesses and individuals safeguard and maximize their intellectual assets both domestically and abroad.

Claire provides pro bono intellectual property and other legal services to local non-profit organizations such as the Seattle Symphony, the Washington Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Shunpike – a Seattle organization dedicated to promoting local art by providing assistance to local artists. She was also on the board of the King County Washington Women Lawyers for several years, and president of that organization in 2005.

Professional Activities

• King County Bar Association, Member
• The Shunpike Arts Collective, Board Member, 2003-2009
• Washington State Bar Association, Member
• Washington Women Lawyers, Board Member, 2014
  • King County Chapter, President, 2005

Experience

• Representing one of the largest craft breweries in the Pacific Northwest in the management and protection of its over 100 various trademark and copyright filings and assets. Our team also represents the client in a variety of legal needs pertinent to its business and alcoholic beverages matters, including regulatory work and dispute resolutions.
• Representing one of the largest law firms in the United States in negotiating and securing several technology licenses for AI-augmented software services. Our team reviews and negotiates numerous vendor agreements as the client updates its infrastructure and back-end integrated systems to provide high-end legal services. Several of these agreements involve interfaces with AI technology, including confidentiality, IP and insurance ramifications.
• Representing a world-renowned art studio in a variety of its intellectual property matters. Our team’s work includes managing, maintaining and expanding the studio’s trademark filings worldwide; monitoring domain name issues for the distinctive mark; managing the necessary branding and artwork standards and registrations, and preparing and updating internal branding materials and guides for the strength of the various trademarks. Foster Garvey also helps the studio maintain the best protections, standards and protocols with respect to the commission, installation, display and use of its artwork, whether it is being sent to museums, individual collectors, international airports or urban skyrise developers, for example.
• Representing the manufacturer of well-known collectibles with many of their intellectual property needs, including the management of certain IP assets (trademarks, copyrights and domain names). Our team also coordinates with associates worldwide to enforce the client’s IP rights, stop unauthorized shipments of counterfeit products and stop third-party trademark filings and applications.
• Representing an international luxury jewelry retailer in managing its worldwide intellectual property portfolio of trademarks and brands. We continue to work to not only manage and protect IP assets, but also to clear and expand the client’s international registrations for the unique luxury goods with which it is now expanding its product line.
• Representing a leading nonprofit dedicated to government transparency in the registration and management of its trademarks and logos, updates to its DMCA Agent listing, and the protection of its trademark rights internationally. Through international monitoring, we are able to protect the client from infringement by copycat or similarly named entities around the globe. Our team also prepares updated web terms and privacy policy documents for the client to protect their valuable research, data and distribution model, as well as address the improper use of the proprietary content by AI models.
• Representing a leading specialty apparel and sporting equipment retailer and its subsidiary in ongoing prosecution, agreements and enforcement of its intellectual property portfolio. Along with international counsel, we have advised the client in opposing third-party marks filed in the EU, UK and Canada by entities with similar products and/or branding.
• Successfully navigated close trademark registration issues, including likelihood of confusion, merely descriptive, and primarily merely a surname initial rejections from the US Trademark Office for a variety of clients.
• Successfully dismissed or resolved trademark infringement claims and patent infringement claims against apparel industry client.
• Successfully resolved by settlement agreement disputes regarding ownership of product design rights and royalties for furniture designer.
• Successfully negotiated a trademark co-existence agreement between two Washington State Indian tribes.
• Successfully resolved cease and desist demands against airport parking client for trademark issues.
• Obtained worldwide festival license for right to use musical recording in an independent movie.
• Counseled client regarding patent rights ownership and license rights for evaluation software and tool for environmental building evaluations.
• Strategized with education client to build up family of trademarks and strengthen brand and trademark rights.
• Prepared online contest/giveaway rules for apparel industry company and website terms of use and privacy policies for analytical software and a variety of other companies.

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