Ronald D. Coleman
Partner, Dhillon Law Group - Commercial and Constitutional Law
I am a commercial litigator specializing in federal litigation, including trials. I work extensively with online businesses, specifically in connection with the use of intellectual property on the Internet in both litigation and non-litigation roles. My firm is also recognized for its strength in civil rights, employment and free speech law. I am known for my work as the lead attorney for Simon Tam in the U.S. Supreme Court case Matal v. Tam, which held that the disparagement clause of the trademark statute violated the First Amendment's free speech clause.
I have successfully represented clients of every size in state and federal courts, arbitrations and mediations in a variety of litigation matters, including contract disputes, distributorship litigation, trademark and unfair competition cases, business tort claims, toxic tort and insurance coverage litigation, discrimination and wrongful discharge cases, copyright infringement claims, and cases involving trade secrets, restrictive covenants and real estate. My litigation experience runs from pretrial investigation and early dispute resolution through every aspect of bench and jury trials as well as appeals.
My blog about copyright, trademark and related issues, LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION®, was recognized by the ABA Journal as one of the top 100 law-related blogs in the country in its first-ever listing in 2007.
- Business Law
- Business Litigation, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes
- Appeals & Appellate
- Civil Appeals, Federal Appeals
- Arbitration & Mediation
- Business - Arbitration/Mediation, Consumer - Arbitration/Mediation, Family - Arbitration/Mediation
- Trademarks
- Trademark Litigation, Trademark Registration
- Communications & Internet Law
- Internet Law, Media & Advertising, Telecommunications Law
- Antitrust Law
- Employment Law
- Employee Benefits, Employment Contracts, Employment Discrimination, ERISA, Overtime & Unpaid Wages, Sexual Harassment, Whistleblower, Wrongful Termination
- Defamation Law
- Free Consultation
- Credit Cards Accepted
- New Jersey
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- New York
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- 2nd Circuit
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- 3rd Circuit
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- 4th Circuit
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- 5th Circuit
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- 6th Circuit
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- 9th Circuit
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- 11th Circuit
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- Federal Circuit
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- U.S. Supreme Court
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- English: Spoken, Written
- Hebrew: Spoken, Written
- Spanish: Spoken, Written
- Yiddish: Spoken, Written
- Partner
- Dhillon Law Group
- - Current
- Partner
- Mandelbaum Salsburg PC
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- Partner
- Archer & Greiner, PC
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- Partner
- Goetz Fitzpatrick LLP
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- Princeton University
- B.A. (1985) | Economics, Politics
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- Honors: Certificate in Political Economy
- Activities: Princeton Tower Club, Glee Club, Triangle Club, Theatre Intime, WPRB (manager of commercial radio sales), Princeton-Lawyers
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- Northwestern University School of Law
- J.D.
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- Mark T. Banner Award for Impact on IP Law
- American Bar Association - Intellectual Property Law Section
- From the ABA IP web page: Early in 2017, Simon Tam's legal team Ronald Coleman, John Connell, and Joel MacMull argued pro bono at the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Mr. Tam in Matal v. Tam., resulting resulting in the invalidation, on constitutional grounds, of a federal intellectual property statute for only the second time in U.S. history.
- WTR 1000 - World's Leading Trademark Practitioners, New York
- World Trademark Review
- "Archer & Greiner is home to Ronald Coleman, noted for his shrewd handling of disputes concerning freedom of expression – such as his representation of The Slants in a widely publicised case involving the constitutionality of disparaging marks. He is additionally well versed in online commercial issues and a fierce defender of small and medium-sized enterprises against illegitimate unfair competition claims."
- WIPR Leaders
- World Intellectual Property Review
- WIPR Leaders is a one-stop guide to the leading IP practitioners in the world. The handbook lists over 1,700 lawyers across two volumes: over 900 individuals in the both the patent and the trademarks section (some individuals are in both). Stemming from a four month nomination period in which we sought views from 12,000 IP professionals, our research team vetted every nominated lawyer for suitability by exploring their work. This meant looking at practice history, industry expertise and notable cases, as well as any additional activities, such as writing and teaching responsibilities, which have allowed the lawyers to shape and influence other and future IP practitioners.
- Distinguished Leader
- New Jersey Law Journal
- Ronald D. Coleman, a Partner in the firm’s Hackensack and New York offices, was selected as a Distinguished Leader by the New Jersey Law Journal. Marking a year of notable achievements, Mr. Coleman was chosen by the Law Journal in recognition of his accomplishments and demonstrated leadership skills within the legal industry and business community. He will be honored at the NJLJ New Jersey Legal Awards for Professional Excellence Awards on June 20th at Brooklake Country Club in Florham Park, NJ. Mr. Coleman has been a leader in the field of intellectual property law for the last 20 years. He has had the distinct honor of being named a Global Intellectual Property Leader by World IP Review and named one of the world’s leading national and international trademark practitioners by WTR 1000. He has successfully represented both the most famous luxury brands in the world, as well as startup “disrupters” seeking legal clarity and freedom of action concerning the protection and use of intellectual property on the Internet
- Top Attorneys - Internet Law
- South Jersey Magazine
- Federal Bar Association
- Member
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- Intellectual Property Section, New York State Bar Association
- Member
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- New York Intellectual Property Law Association
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- Republican National Lawyers Association
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- New York City Bar Association
- Trademarks & Unfair Competition Committee
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- Activities: Committee membership 2005-2007; 2017-present
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- Copyright Society of the USA
- Member
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- Activities: Participated in panel at annual meeting on the topic of mass copyright enforcement programs such as that employed by Righthaven
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- Association of the Bar of the City of New York
- Trademarks & Unfair Competition Committee
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- New Jersey State Bar Association
- Internet and Computer Law Committee
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- International Trademark Association
- Firm representative
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- Activities: Internet Committee -- 2005-2007, 20016-17
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- Fashion Dos: Acknowledging Social Media Evidence as Relevant to Proving Secondary Meaning
- International Trademark Association
- Slants, Redskins and Other “Disparaging” Trademarks
- Media Law Resource Center
- The Policy and Constitutional Challenges to Contemporary Application of Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act
- Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation
- Bloggers, Journalists, Reporting and Privilege
- NYSBA Journal
- (A Short History of) The Misuse of Trademarks to Control Free Expression
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- The Slants, Scandal and Speech: Do the First Amendment and Trademark Law Collide?, 42nd Annual IP Institute, Newport Beach, CA
- State Bar of California IP Law Section
- The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Matal v. Tam struck the Lanham Act’s prohibition on the registration of disparaging marks as an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. This panel evaluates the decision and contemplates its wider implications, including its applicability to the separate ban on registration of immoral and scandalous marks, anti-dilution protection and the broader intersection of intellectual property rights and free speech.
- A Supreme Court Victory - Untold Stories, IP, Internet & New Media Section Presentation, Beverly Hills, CA
- Beverly Hills Bar Association
- Attorney Ronald D. Coleman will join attorney Victoria Burke for a discussion on his road to Supreme Court victory. You may be familiar with the facts of the Slants case (Matal v. Tam), now hear the untold stories from the man who took the case pro bono asserting his clients had a First Amendment Right to use the name Slants for their music group and appeared in front of the United States Supreme Court, which ultimately lead to the change in trademark law regarding the right to register disparaging marks.
- Disparaging Trademarks: Arguing the SLANTS Case at SCOTUS, Program in Law and Technology Annual Seminar, Dayton, OH
- University of Dayton School of Law
- What’s the Use? Exploring Recent Challenges and Changes to Common Law Unfair Competition and Trademark Use Requirements in the U.S. and Canada, Annual Meeting, Barcelona, Spain
- International Trademark Association
- 2016 saw an assault on the age-old axiom that for a markholder to have rights in the U.S., that same mark must actually be used in the U.S. And, while what constitutes “use” has long been debated in U.S. courts and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), use in the U.S. as a precondition to an unfair competition claim under the Lanham Act is no longer the law in the Fourth Circuit. In Belmora LLC v. Bayer Consumer Case AG et al., the Fourth Circuit concluded that a false advertising or false association claim under Lanham Act Section 43(a) (15 U.S.C. §1125(a)) need not be premised upon the ownership of a U.S. trademark registration or even use of a mark in the U.S. Rather, a §43(a) claim is available to “[a]ny person who believes that he is or will be damaged” as a result of a defendant’s conduct. Thus, reasoned the Fourth Circuit, the question to be resolved under §43(a) is not whether the defendant’s activities infringe the plaintiff’s registered mark; but rather, whether the defendant has used in commerce a word, term, name, or symbol that plaintiff believes is likely to cause it damage. The Federal Circuit also abandoned this bedrock use requirement in Christian Faith Fellowship v. Adidas AG, where it reversed the TTAB’s cancellation of two marks on grounds that the registrant’s trivial out-of-state sales were nevertheless enough “use in commerce” to invoke protection under the Lanham Act. But this sea change in the standards of use are not merely confined to the U.S. Canada too is scheduled to abandon its long time reliance on use as a precondition to obtaining a Canadian trademark registration. Canada’s recently amended Trade-marks Act is scheduled to be implemented in 2019 and looks to eliminate several filing bases, including proposed use. The panellists will address relevant decisions and legislation and will explain how these developments contribute to an ever evolving trademark litigation and prosecution landscape in the U.S. and Canada.
- Keynote Speech - Trademark law developments, 11th Annual Intellectual Property Institute, Philadelphia, PA
- Pennsylvania Bar Institute
- STRAIGHT FROM THE HEADLINES We are thrilled to welcome Ronald D. Coleman, Esq., as this year’s keynote speaker. Most recently recognized for his work on the widely publicized The Slants litigation (In re Simon Shiao Tam, 808 F.3d 1321, Fed. Cir. 2015), Mr. Coleman has helped to shape the law relating to the use and abuse of intellectual property as a tool of competition. His blog about copyright, trademark and free speech, Likelihood of Confusion®, is considered one of the most influential publications in IP law today.
Rock 'n Roll, Redskins & Free Speech: Trademark/Copyright Goes to the Supreme Court
Can a racial slur be trademarked? A fashion design copyrighted? Two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court will tell us much about the bounds of the First Amendment as it relates to intellectual property.
This Week in Law 340: Emily Litella Says "Never Mind"
Published on Mar 25, 2016 Host: Denise Howell Guests: Kashmir Hill, J. Michael Keyes, Ron Coleman What does privacy mean to you? Free speech and artificial intelligence, the FBI may have help unlocking an encrypted iPhone, Hulk Hogan vs Gawker Media, Naruto and the monkey selfie rides again and more!
13-55666 Nadia Naffe v. John Frey
Nadia Naffe appeals from the district court's dismissal of her action alleging that Los Angeles County district attorney John Frey used social media to harass and intimidate her in retaliation for her exercising her First Amendment rights. Frey's lawyer, Ronald Coleman, represents him on the appeal.
Defending the Trademark Infringement Defendant | Attorney Ron Coleman
Defending the trademark infringement defendant - excerpts from a LawLine seminar
Media Blogger Association counsel Ronald Coleman on Gizmodo / Apple controversy
Are bloggers entitled to the same protections under the law as journalists? A question in the context of the iPhone / Gizmodo controversy.
Social Media & the Legal Community
This October 16, 2009 seminar at Court Plaza in Hackensack, NJ, featured a panel of experts who discussed the use of social media. Topics included best practices for legal blogging, pros and cons of social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook, the business development value of social media, and other techniques and perspectives of lawyers and media professionals.
Lawline.com Legal Tip Of The Day: How to Handle Blog Defamation
In this Lawline.com course, attorney Ron Coleman describes the best thing an attorney can do if a clients come into the office claiming they're the victim of defamation on a blog--stay calm. Perhaps the worst thing an attorney can do is attract unneccessary attention on a blog that otherwise has little traffic. An example involving the major law firm, Jones Day, is highlighted in order to demonstrate a counter-productive response.
Ron Coleman on Fox and Friends
Trademark law comments regarding a Google claim that certain political ads could not be run due to trademark concerns.
Ron Coleman - Commercial and Free Speech Litigation
If you represent clients involved in online commerce, the line between commercial and free speech litigation often gets blurry. Rivals improperly use litigation under the cover of intellectual property and other claims as a form of competition. That's where we come in.
Ron Coleman - COVID Lockdown Litigation
The abuse of power by state governors under the rubric of COVID safety regulations is only beginning to be acknowledged by the courts
Ron Coleman on Intellectual Property Litigation
Dhillon Law Group partner Ron Coleman talks about where intellectual property and torts of competition stand now
