John G.Froemming

Partner

Washington + 1.202.879.4693

John Froemming is an intellectual property and advertising trial lawyer and has been undefeated in his more than 60 trademark and design trials and district court cases over the past 15 years.

Corporate counsel have recognized John in multiple BTI Client Service surveys as one of the top 30 U.S. "All-Stars" in intellectual property (including once as one of only three as an "MVP"). In 2022, the World Trademark Review cited him as a Global Leader. He has been ranked as one of 25 "IP Trailblazers" by The National Law Journal, one of the top trademark litigators in the United States by The Legal 500, and as an "IP Star" by Managing IP Magazine.

John has won numerous jury and bench trials as well as preliminary injunction evidentiary hearings for clients against competitors in federal courts across the country. He also has resolved many cases short of trial, including a summary judgment dismissal of one of the highest stakes design patent cases in U.S. history. He also represents clients in high-stakes, competitor-versus-competitor advertising disputes, including $100 million district court litigation and complex technical disputes before the NAD/NARB (National Advertising Division/National Advertising Review Board).

John is also a registered patent attorney. He has published and spoken in Europe and the United States on a variety of topics involving intellectual property litigation before U.S. courts.

He is also chair of the Board of Potomac Conservancy, a 31,000 member charity dedicated to protecting and restoring the Potomac River.

Expérience

  • Laser science company wins jury verdict and attorney fees totaling more than $6.7 million, and permanent injunction against former employee for trade secret misappropriation and other claimsJones Day client Physics, Materials and Applied Mathematics Research LLC ("PM&AM"), a laser science government contractor, won a jury trial on all claims and $4.4 million in damages against its former employee and his company for trade secret misappropriation, breach of his employment agreement, fraud, unfair competition, breach of his duty of loyalty, and unjust enrichment.
  • National Association of REALTORS® files Supreme Court amicus brief in copyright caseJones Day filed an amici curiae brief in the Supreme Court on behalf of the National Association of REALTORS® and 17 other entities connected to the real estate industry in a copyright case involving floorplans.
  • eos Products establishes global protection for its unique trademarksJones Day represents eos Products, LLC, a personal care company that manufactures and sells a well-known line of egg-shaped lip balms, among other products, in connection with the management of its global trademark portfolio.
  • Kearney defeats jump code patent infringement allegationsJones Day successfully defended Kearney against accusations of infringing a patent purportedly relating to the use of jump codes on Twitter and similar on-line media.
  • SharkNinja cleans up in one of the largest U.S. design patent cases in U.S. historyAfter Jones Day client SharkNinja Operating LLC successfully defended against vacuum and appliance manufacturer Dyson's claim for infringement on three asserted design patents, Dyson voluntarily dismissed its appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on July 30, 2018, bringing to close a case that began more than four years ago.
  • BMW wins dismissal of claims that its car dealer's name infringes its motorcycle dealer's nameJones Day won dismissal for BMW of North America, LLC and its Denver car dealer of claims that its car dealer's name (BMW of Denver Downtown) infringes its motorcycle dealer's name (BMW of Denver).
  • Bose resolves trademark and unfair competition lawsuit against competitor over new productBose Corporation hired Jones Day to defend it against trademark infringement and unfair competition claims relating to Bose’s new conversation-enhancing product, Hearphones, and plaintiff Doppler Labs’ Here Buds product.
  • J.M. Smucker wins summary judgment in trademark infringement case over pet treatsJones Day client The J.M. Smucker Company, and its subsidiary Big Heart Pet, Inc., obtained summary judgment over claims for trademark infringement and unfair competition in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
  • SharkNinja resolves Lanham Act case against DysonSharkNina Operating LLC, the maker of class-leading Shark® vacuums and the innovative line of Ninja® kitchen appliances, hired Jones Day to take over--four months before the scheduled trial--a Lanham Act case against direct competitor Dyson regarding vacuum products of the respective parties.
  • eos Products and Kind Group get private label knockoff producer to surrender following pretrial rulings on trade dress and design patent issuesOn the eve of a two-week jury trial, the seller of the popular egg-shaped eos™ lip balm represented by Jones Day, eos Products LLC and its parent Kind Group LLC, obtained a settlement in which a private label manufacturer has agreed to stop offering knockoff egg-shaped lip balm.
  • Reynolds Consumer Products wins permanent injunction against competitorOn behalf of Reynolds Consumer Products LLC, Jones Day obtained a permanent injunction against a competitor's use of trade dress similar to that of Reynolds Wrap® trade dress.
  • Reynolds Consumer Products wins jury verdict of willful infringementOn behalf of Reynolds Consumer Products, LLC, Jones Day prevailed in a jury trial involving infringement of Reynolds Wrap® trade dress.
  • Deutsche Telekom wins preliminary injunction against new business of AT&TOn behalf of Deutsche Telekom AG, Jones Day won a preliminary injunction against new AT&T subsidiary Aio Wireless' use of color similar to the magenta color trademark licensed by Deutsche Telekom to T-Mobile.
  • Abercrombie & Fitch defeats claims by Jersey Shore's Mike "The Situation" SorrentinoJones Day won summary judgment on behalf of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. dismissing plaintiffs' claims that a "Fitchuation" shirt and a press release responding to his wearing A&F-branded product on the television show infringed his alleged trademark and right of publicity.
  • BMW obtains $1.5M default judgment in counterfeiting caseJones Day successfully obtained a $1.5 million default judgment for BMW in a trademark and counterfeiting case brought against a Chinese online platform in the Northern District of California.
  • H&R Block settles false advertising claimsJones Day defended H&R Block, Inc. against a plaintiff pursuing five counts of false advertising and seeking $100 million in damages.
  • BMW successfully enforces trademark infringement claims against US Auto Parts NetworkJones Day successfully represented BMW of North America, LLC in unauthorized use by US Auto Parts Network, Inc. of the BMW word mark, use of "BMW" in domain name and the use of Internet links to unauthorized BMW parts dealers. 
  • BMW wins trial and Ninth Circuit affirmance in trademark infringement caseJones Day won bench trial for BMW's MINI division on trademark infringement, unfair competition, and cybersquatting claims against defendants offering accessories and sportswear under the name Mini Works.
  • The following represents experience acquired prior to joining Jones Day.

    Evert Fresh Corp. v. Pactiv Corp. Won Texas jury trial against plaintiff represented by respected Texas trial lawyer Randy McClanahan. Plaintiff sought $11 million for alleged breach of a trademark settlement agreement and attorneys' fees under a Texas fee statute.

    Abercrombie & Fitch Co. v. Moose Creek, Inc. Won jury trial for plaintiff client on trademark, unfair competition, and contract claims, including a verdict for $5.7 million.

    BMW v. Mini Works LLC, et al. Won bench trial for BMW's MINI division on trademark infringement, unfair competition, and cybersquatting claims against defendants offering accessories and sportswear under the name Mini Works.

    Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. v. BMW (US) Holding Corp. Nissan filed a motion for preliminary injunction seeking to block BMW from manufacturing, advertising, introducing, and selling its Z4 roadster. As lead counsel for BMW, forced Nissan in effect to withdraw its motion for preliminary injunction.

    Cable & Wireless v. MCI WorldCom. Conducted a plurality of the direct examinations for plaintiff Cable & Wireless in internet contract arbitration against MCI Worldcom that resulted in recovery of $248 million.

    Abercrombie & Fitch Co. v. Knowles. Obtained confidential settlement of trademark claims against singer Beyoncé.

    Valentino USA Inc., et al. v. Abecassis, et al. Successfully tried preliminary injunction evidentiary hearings and won a rare asset freeze for plaintiff Valentino against trademark infringers.

    adidas-America, et al. v. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Defended Abercrombie & Fitch in trademark litigation brought by adidas.

    United Communications Group v. Data Transmission Network. Successfully tried preliminary injunction evidentiary hearing for plaintiff alleging false advertising of oil price information services product.

    BMW of North America, et al. v. Highlinewheels Corp. Successfully tried a contempt case and recovered attorneys' fees from a seller of non-genuine wheels.

    BMW v. Bekkers. Won injunctive and monetary settlement from major distributor of grey market goods.

    Gonzalez v. Amoco. Represented defendant in successful jury trial of dealer termination claims.

    Havassy v. Hollister Co., et al. Won dismissal of right of publicity claims and settled remaining copyright claim.

    MDL-150 Petroleum Products Antitrust Litigation. Represented Shell Oil in MDL-150 petroleum products antitrust litigation; responsible for government controls witnesses, including Paul McCracken, chairman of President Nixon's Council of Economic Advisers.

    Nippon Chemical Sales v. Texaco. Managed Texaco's successful defense of contract litigation brought by Japanese dealer seeking "lost profits" totaling $6 million.

    Northland Cranberries Inc., et al v. Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. Represented plaintiff manufacturers in substantial price-fixing and monopolization litigation against Ocean Spray and its grower members.

    Sherwood Brands v. Heritage Wafers. Defeated TRO motion brought by consumer products manufacturer alleging trade dress infringement.

    State of New York v. Microsoft Corp. Represented Gateway and its attorney/witness in the Microsoft states trial.

    Vitamins Antitrust Litigation. Represented opt-out plaintiff and advised other plaintiffs on European/extraterritorial discovery issues.

    • October 29, 2024
      USPTO-Gulf Cooperation Council Judges' Program on Intellectual Property: Trademark Practitioner Experience With Civil Cases and Seeking Damages
    • October 23, 2024
      USPTO Program on Enforcing Trademarks: Civil Enforcement
    • August 7, 2023
      USPTO Enforcement Consultations with the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property: Roundtable Discussion of Trademark Enforcement Issues
    • July 26, 2023
      USPTO Indo-Pacific Judicial Colloquium on IP, Innovation and Technology: Challenges and Issues In Trademark Litigation
    • January 24, 2023
      USPTO Intellectual Property Rights Judicial Exchange: Trademark Practitioner Experience with Civil Cases and Seeking Damages
    • May 24, 2022
      USPTO-ASEAN Connect Digital Economy Series: Developments in U.S. Copyright Law and Enforcement
    • August 18, 2021
      USPTO/ASEAN Workshop: Civil Actions in Trade Secret Misappropriation
    • August 17, 2021
      The Right of Publicity
    • March 17, 2021
      USPTO and ASEAN Webinar: Enforcement of Copyright in the Digital Environment
    • March 16, 2021
      USPTO/APEC Webinar: Enforcement Approaches and Strategies Against Illicit Streaming
    • December 9, 2020
      USPTO and ASEAN Judicial Colloquium: Provisional Remedies, Calculation of Damages, and Use of Expert Testimony in IP Civil Cases
    • October 9, 2020
      APEC USPTO: Organized Online Design Webinar: Enforcement of Industrial Designs
    • September 25, 2020
      Protecting The Appearance of Pharmaceutical Products and Packaging
    • October 24, 2018
      George Washington University: Design Law 2018
    • April 24, 2018
      New York City Bar Association Panel: The Law of Design and Consumer Products
    • February 26-27, 2018
      INTA Designs Conference Panel: 3D Printing: Just Because I Can, Should I?
    • January 18, 2018
      Litigating Intellectual Property Rights in the USA, US IP Workshop, Humboldt University
    • May 21, 2017
      INTA Annual Meeting: Discussion of Design Law as Applied to “Functional” Aspects of Designs
    • May 4, 2016
      Compliance in the Precision Medicine Era: Legal Considerations for the Contemporary Life Sciences Industry
    • December 11, 2015
      Litigating Intellectual Property Rights in the USA, US IP Workshop, Humboldt University
    • November 18, 2015
      Georgetown Law Center: Government and Its Regulation: "Soft" IP
    • October 27, 2015
      Federal Bar Association Litigation Conference: Cease and Desist Letters
    • July 22, 2015
      FDA Boot Camp: Advertising & Promotion
    • March 12, 2015
      Navigating the Lanham Act Litigation Frontier
    • March 11, 2015
      Competitor Challenges 101 - Introduction to the Lanham Act, National Advertising Division and Network Challenges
    • February 26, 2014
      Executive Roundtable Series: Protecting Your Business Against Online Counterfeiting and Patent Trolls
    • January 22-23, 2014
      Recent Developments in Trademark, Copyright, False Advertising and Right of Publicity Law
    • December 2013
      Litigating Intellectual Property Rights in the USA, Prof. Dr. Theo Bodewig's US IP Workshop, Humboldt University of Berlin
    • July 17, 2013
      Design and Utility Patent; Trade Dress and Copyright: How to Prosecute and Enforce Multiple Layers of IP Protection, Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)
    • January 31, 2013
      Trademarks, Social Media, Apps and Games, Jones Day University
    • April 27, 2012
      Executive Roundtable Series
      Hot Topics in Trademark, False Advertising, and Copyright Law
    • April 19, 2012
      Winning (And Managing Costs In) False Advertising and Other Lanham Act Litigation
    • March 2012
      Wie Sie Marken und Unternehmensnamen in den USA Schűtzen (How to Protect Marks and Company Names in the U.S.), Markensymposium, German Ministry for Economics and Technology, and the German Brands Association
    • December 2011
      Litigating Intellectual Property Rights in the USA, Prof. Dr. Theo Bodewig's US IP Workshop, Humboldt University of Berlin
    • October 2011
      The 2011 Patent Reform Act: Auswirkungen im Bereich Patent-Gerichtsverfahren (Implications to Patent Litigation)
    • October 2010
      Die Haftung von Internet-Verkaufsplattformen für Markenverletzungen nach Deutschem und US-Recht, (The Liability of Internet Sales Platforms for Trademark Infringements under German and US Law), Markenverband
    • June 2010
      Litigating Intellectual Property Rights in the USA, Prof. Dr. Theo Bodewig's US IP Workshop, Humboldt University of Berlin
    • November 2007
      Data Privacy and Security Litigation in the US, International Technology Law Association
    • June 2007
      Initial Experience Under the Amended U.S. Federal Rules Regarding E-Discovery, Computer Law Association
    • November 2006
      How the New E-Discovery Rules Will Change US Litigation and EMail Retention Policies, International Technology Law Association
    • June 2005, March 2005
      Die Prozessführung vor US-amerikanischen Gerichten im gewerblichen Rechtsschutz (Intellectual Property Litigation Before US Courts). Deutsche Vereinigung für gewerblichen Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht e.V. (German Union for Intellectual Property and Copyright)
    • June 2005
      Litigation of IP Issues in the United States, Prof. Dr. Theo Bodewig's US IP Workshop, Humboldt University of Berlin
    • March 2005
      Vereinigung für gewerblichen Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht e.V. (German Union For Intellectual Property and Copyright)
    • March 2005 & May 2004
      Rechtsmittel zum Schutz geistigen Eigentums vor US-amerikanischen Gerichten, Vereinigung von Fachleuten des gewerblichen Rechtsschutzes (GRUR, VPP)
    • Fall 2003
      Evidentiary Issues In Trademark and Unfair Competition Cases, American Intellectual Property Law Association