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Ronald Coleman, Geotz Fitzpatrick LLP

Ronald D. Coleman, a commercial litigator focusing on copyright, trademark and unfair competition, is at the leading edge of the developing law relating to the use and abuse of intellectual property on the Internet. One of the best-known lawyers in the “blogging” world, he is the general counsel of the Media Bloggers Association and his blog about copyright, trademark, free speech 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 of law blogs in 2007. Ron wrote the first article on Internet law in that magazine (1995) as well as numerous scholarly articles and book contributions on law and litigation, and co-authored the chapter entitled “Responses to Complaints” in the first edition of Business and Commercial Litigation in the Federal Courts published by the American Bar Association and the West Group.  He is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in American Law. Ron heads the firm’s intellectual property and new media practice.

An AV-rated commercial litigator, Ron has successfully represented clients of every size in state and federal courts in bench and jury trials as well as in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and in arbitrations and mediations throughout the country in a wide variety of litigation matters.  These include contract disputes, distributorship terminations, trademark and unfair competition, trademark counterfeiting, business tort claims, toxic tort and insurance coverage litigation, discrimination and wrongful discharge cases, copyright infringement, trade secret, restrictive covenant and real estate litigation.  He is named as lead attorney in numerous published decisions.  

Ron is admitted to the state and federal courts in the states of New York and New Jersey and is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (the “City Bar”), and has served actively on the Internet Committee (Online Use Subcommittee) of the International Trademark Association (“INTA”), the Trademark and Unfair Competition Committee of the City Bar, and as part of numerous other committees, sections and professional associations.  He is interviewed frequently by the media and has been quoted in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press and interviewed by ABC News, National Public Radio and Fox News on topics relating to his work. Ron is also a frequent speaker on litigation, trademark and Internet-related topics, having presented or moderated programs at INTA, the City Bar, the New York County Bar Association, the N.J. State Bar Association’s Business Law Symposium, the New York Intellectual Property Association and Agudath Israel of America.  

Ron received his AB in Economics from Princeton University and is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and has been active since the beginning of his career as an advisor, board member or pro bono counsel to a host of non-law-related non-profit, religious and educational organizations.