Two Embarcadero Center Suite 1900, San Francisco, CA USA 94111
Sharon Smith helps clients practically and aggressively solve intellectual property issues including commercial disputes involving intellectual property. She is a well-known first chair trial lawyer with 24 trials to resolution or verdict and a litigator specializing in intellectual property disputes. Sharon has more than two decades of experience representing clients in hundreds of copyright, trade secret, right to publicity, and trademark matters. She has been recognized as "one of the “top IP pathfinders on the West Coast” who is known for making “decisive plays in IP and commercial cases." Sharon has also been recognized by third-party organizations as a leader in Copyright Enforcement and Litigation, Trade Secrets, and Trademark Enforcement and Litigation. She has developed specialties in scraping, the Computer Fraud and Abuse act, and AI and copyright matters.
Sharon is a leading attorney providing advice to clients pre-and post-litigation regarding intellectual property issues. She also counsels clients on matters involving trademarks, privacy, trade dress, trade secrets, domain names, copyrights, advertising, unfair competition, and rights of publicity, as well as trademark and copyright prosecution and strategy. Sharon also advises clients regarding advertising and promotional programs including comparative advertising, contests, and sweepstakes.
Prior to joining the firm, Sharon was a partner in the San Francisco, California office of a global law firm in its Intellectual Property Litigation practice where she focused on complex trials and business and intellectual property litigation. Previously, Sharon was an associate and then a partner at a global law firm in its Intellectual Property Litigation group.
Sharon was recommended in 2024 for Trade Secrets (Litigation and Non-Contentious Matters) and in 2022 for Intellectual Property: Copyright by Legal 500 US. She is listed in the World Trademark Review 1000 – The World's Leading Trademark Professionals (2020-2022, 2024, 2026). Sharon was recognized by Law360 as a member of the “Intellectual Property Practice Group of the Year” in 2019 and by The American Lawyer as a member of the “Intellectual Property Litigation Department of the Year” in 2019.
Experience
*Successful defense of copyright and trade secret claims for technology company.
*Successful claims for trademark infringement for technology company.
*Successful defense of fraud claims following trial before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board for an American multinational financial technology company, which operates an online payments system.
*Successful grant of contempt in copyright infringement case following contempt trial for a multinational technology company.
*Successful defense of trade dress claims involving fashion product following trial.
*Successful resolution of right to publicity litigation involving celebrity plaintiff.
*Successful defense of claims for more than $50 million against a medical device maker following arbitration.
*Successful jury verdict involving pharmaceutical development with an award to client for $547 million in compensatory damages and $30 million for punitive damages.
*Successful defense of artists by a retailer of online merchandise, licenses, and music-related products, in a claim for breach of a license agreement including a pursuit of counterclaims for copyright and trademark infringement.
*Successful defense of claim by a global trade association of the enterprise software industry against a major technology client.
*Successful prosecution of claims for pharmaceutical company in an arbitration, in favor of client for $91 million.
*Successful defense verdict motion for dismissal during trial for client in case involving a $450 million claim for misappropriation of corporate opportunity, among other claims.
*Successful defense of leading direct marketing company in multi-million dollar case alleging copyright infringement, trade dress infringement, and false advertising claims.
*Successful jury verdict in trade dress infringement claim.
*Successful grant of summary judgment in favor of client against trademark infringement claim.
*Successful grant of motion to dismiss in favor of client against Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), fraud, unfair business practices, and tortious interference claims.
*Successful defense of a defamation claim based on a novel Communications Decency Act defense.
*Successful prosecution of numerous ICANN proceedings on behalf of major technology clients for transfers of domain names.
*Counseling and advice regarding advertising and privacy law including to consumer-focused gaming company.
*Counseling and advice to several top-tier non-profits running competitions and providing grants and awards.
*Global trademark portfolio management for numerous clients in fields including technology, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology.
*Experience gained by attorney prior to joining Kilpatrick
University of California at Berkeley B.A. (1997)
University of California, Davis School of Law J.D. (2002) Order of the Coif
California (2002)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
Externship, United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands - Honorable Alex Munson (Summer 2000)
International Trademark Association, Member
Copyright Society, Member
American Bar Association, Member
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