Overview
Evan is a nationally recognized partner in Dorsey’s Trademark, Copyright and Advertising Group. He provides counsel to a wide variety of trademark and copyright owners in many industries, from multinational food and beverage companies with large international trademark portfolios and enforcement regimes to local non-profit organizations, international musical acts, professional athletes, digital art creators, and startups.
Evan’s practice encompasses all aspects of the trademark and copyright lifecycle, including the creation and implementation of 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, DMCA and platform takedowns, UDRPs, and matters before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). He also advises clients on issues related to and AI (artificial intelligence), entertainment law (such as music royalties disputes, record label acquisitions, and film production agreements), cannabis brand protection and enforcement, licensing, due diligence, social media, Internet domain names, hotel/event fraud, and emerging technologies such as NFTs (non-fungible tokens), and cryptocurrency.
Evan is a co-manager of Dorsey’s critically acclaimed and award-winning IP blog, TheTMCA.com, which focuses on legal developments in the world of TradeMarks, Copyrights, and Advertising.
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.), summa cum laude
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (M.M., Classical Guitar Performance)
Gonzaga University (B.A.), 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
Technology, Internet, and Social Media Matters
- Counsel clients on various AI (artificial intelligence) issues, including drafting AI policies, considering copyright infringement and ownership issues (including federal complaints regarding the same), and filing removal requests with AI platforms, such as OpenAI
- Advise clients on domain name cybersquatters using trademarks and personal names
- File domain name disputes under various policies, including the 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
- Conduct trademark clearance searches
- Coordinate international trademark portfolios for market-leading clients
- Work with local counsel 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
- Successfully leverage new reexamination and expungement proceedings under the Trademark Modernization Act (TMA)
Copyright Matters
- Provide counsel on the creation and use of copyrighted works
- Prepare copyright applications for various types of works, including videogames and videogame maps, product packaging, secure tests, photographs, collections of unpublished works, units of publication, serials, software, artwork, books, magazines, etc.
- File and respond to takedowns under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), including counter notifications, on various platforms and online stores such as Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, Etsy, Facebook, Instagram, Redbubble, TikTok, and Walmart
- Protect copyrighted works and advise clients on defending claims of copyright infringement, including those from well-known copyright “trolls”
- Prepare copyright assignment and work-made-for-hire agreements
Entertainment Law Matters
- Assist record labels with IP registration and licensing issues, including related to strategic partnerships with some of the most well-known musicians in the world
- 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) merchandising 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
Advi
Ent
News & Resources
Articles
News & Press Mentions
Events & Speaking Engagements
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 practiceTrademark, Copyright + Advertising
Explore This Practice View client achievements related to this practice View resources related to this practice- Advertising & Marketing
- Artificial Intelligence
- Banking & Financial Institutions
- Cannabis
- Creative Industries
- Cybersecurity, Privacy & Social Media
- Food, Beverage & Agribusiness
- Healthcare & Life Sciences
- Intellectual Property
- Technology
- Technology Commerce
- Trademark, Copyright + Advertising
Professional & Civic
Professional Achievements
- International Trademark Association (INTA) – Member, Brands and Innovation Committee (2023 – Present)
Community Involvement
- Friends of the Minnesota Sinfonia – Board of Directors (2022 – Present)
- MacPhail Center for Music – Board of Directors (2023 – Present)
Accolades
- Recognized as an “IP Star” by Managing Intellectual Property Handbook, 2024
- Recognized as a Leading Practitioner in World Trademark Review 1000 – The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals, 2023-2024
- Named "Minneapolis Ones to Watch" in Intellectual Property Law and Banking and Finance Law by Best Lawyers®, 2021-2025
- Named a Rising Star in Minnesota and Nationally by Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars, 2019-2023
- Contributed more than 50 Challenge pro bono hours, 2020
- MSBA North Star Lawyer, 2014-2020, 2023