1001 West Fourth Street, Winston-Salem, NC USA 27101
George Little has been practicing law for over 40 years and has extensive experience counseling clients regarding branding, marketing, advertising and competition issues. Mr. Little's current practice emphasis includes brand creation and protection, design creation and protection and marketing and distribution of branded products.
Mr. Little has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Intellectual Property, Antitrust Law, and Commercial Litigation for 31 years and in 2012, he was named a "Lawyer of the Year" for the Greensboro region in the area of Trademark Law. Mr. Little was recognized as one of Business North Carolina's "Legal Elite" for Antitrust Law in 2021 and has been recognized every year since 2002. He was listed as a North Carolina "Super Lawyer" in Intellectual Property in 2009 and 2010 by Super Lawyers magazine. Mr. Little was listed in the 2009 and 2010 editions of Chambers USA: American's Leading Lawyers for Business in the Antitrust area and in 2011, he was listed as a "Senior Statesman" for Antitrust Law. Mr. Little was a recipient of the Davidson College Alumni Service Award in 2004. He is AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell.*
Experience
Represented an export company in a breach of contract claim and counterclaim for trade dress infringement which resulted in preliminary injunction against the plaintiff and a favorable opinion by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Represented a Fortune 200 consumer goods company in a suit for false and misleading advertising and successfully enjoined a print advertisement.
Represented Universal Furniture International Inc., a home furnishings manufacturer, in a suit against Collezione Europa USA, Inc., a furniture wholesaler, based on Collezione's infringing imitations of Universal's highly successful Grand Inheritance and English Manor furniture collections and Collezione's marketing of those imitations. The court found (1) that Collezione had infringed upon Universal’s valid copyrights in Universal’s Grand Inheritance collection and English Manor collection; (2) that Collezione had passed off Universal’s furniture as Collezione’s, in violation of the Lanham Act; and (3) that Collezione’s violation of the Lanham Act also constituted an unfair and deceptive trade practice in violation of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-1.1. After additional hearings related to monetary remedies the court awarded Universal Furniture International Inc. an amount that represented the entirety of Collezione's gross sales of the infringing furniture, as permitted by the Copyright Act.
Universal Furniture Int'l, Inc. v. Collezione Europa USA, Inc., No. 1:04CV00977, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31026, aff'd, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10880 (M.D.N.C. Feb. 12, 2009).
Represented the manufacturer of L’eggs® pantyhose in action to enjoin use of LEG LOOKS® mark on re-designed packaging. The Fourth Circuit reversed the judge of the District Court and remanded the case with instructions to enter an order permanently enjoining defendant from affixing its LEG LOOKS® trademark to any of its products placed in the same channels of distribution as those in which L’eggs® products are sold. Sara Lee Corp. v. Kayser-Roth Corp., 81 F.3d 455 (4th Cir. 1996).
Insights View All
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill J.D. (1967)
with honors
Davidson College A.B. (1964)
North Carolina (1967)
American Bar Association, Antitrust Section, Past Member and Past Committee Chair
Idealliance, Board Member
International Trademark Association, Distinguished Panel of Neutrals, Past Member
North Carolina Bar Association, Member
Augsburg Lutheran Church, Past Council Member
The Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, Past Chairman
Piedmont Opera Theatre, Past Board and Executive Committee Member
Piedmont Triad Partnership, Past Executive Committee and Board Member
Rotary Club, Past Board Member
St. Andrew’s Society of North Carolina, Past President
U.S. Army Missile Command, Staff Lawyer and Prosecutor (1967-1971)
Winston-Salem Business, Inc., Past Chairman
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities Commission, Planning and Operations Committee, Past Chair
Disclaimer
While we are pleased to have you contact us by telephone, surface mail, electronic mail, or by facsimile transmission, contacting Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP or any of its attorneys does not create an attorney-client relationship. The formation of an attorney-client relationship requires consideration of multiple factors, including possible conflicts of interest. An attorney-client relationship is formed only when both you and the Firm have agreed to proceed with a defined engagement.
DO NOT CONVEY TO US ANY INFORMATION YOU REGARD AS CONFIDENTIAL UNTIL A FORMAL CLIENT-ATTORNEY RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED.
If you do convey information, you recognize that we may review and disclose the information, and you agree that even if you regard the information as highly confidential and even if it is transmitted in a good faith effort to retain us, such a review does not preclude us from representing another client directly adverse to you, even in a matter where that information could be used against you.
