Michael M. Ratoza

Of Counsel, Portland Office

Direct Dial: 503.499.4695
Fax: 503.295.0915
michael.ratoza@bullivant.com



Practice Areas

Industries

Bar/Court Admissions

Admitted to Oregon State Bar, 1976
Admitted to U.S. District Court, District of Oregon, 1976
Admitted to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1977
Admitted to U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, 2006
Admitted to U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin, 2006

Education

  • University of Oregon, School of Law - J.D., 1976
  • University of Oregon - B.S., 1973

Featured Downloads

Experience

Mike Ratoza practices Copyright and Trademark law, both transactional and litigation, from Bullivant's Portland office. Mike's objective is to assist each client to grow its business and protect its IP assets.

IP Practice

Mike focuses his IP practice on:

  • Prosecution of copyright and trademark applications in the U.S. and in foreign countries
  • Litigation of claims in copyright, trademark, trade secret, false advertising and unfair competition
  • Litigation of Internet domain name cybersquatting claims
  • Administrative proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
  • IP transactional work
  • Advising Internet-based businesses concerning IP related issues, including DMCA enforcement
  • Advising on brand-protection strategies

Litigation

Mike believes in a value-added approach to litigation. Mike believes that a client's reasonable business objectives should define common sense litigation goals. Mike has successfully represented clients in both bringing and defending claims in copyright and trademark infringement cases brought in federal trial and appellate courts, and trade secret and domain name cases. Mike advises on and litigates IP claims of all types, including copyright, trademark and domain name cybersquatting claims, in federal court as well as trademark claims before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Anti-Piracy

Mike is an IP attorney focusing on anti-piracy of Intellectual Property, participating in civil seizures and infringement litigation for a variety of well-known national and international brands.

Brand Awareness

Mike analyzes and consults on brand and trademark strategy, including trademark and trade dress due diligence analysis and protection.

Border Protection

Mike advises and devises enforcement strategy for protection of IP from cross-border anti-piracy action. Mike consults on U.S. Boarder Protection enforcement of IP rights, including exclusion from the U.S. of products infringing IP.

Mike represents:

  • Merchandise-based businesses, concerning IP identification and protection, with the goal of protecting specialty designed and branded goods
  • Authors and publishers, concerning authorship and publication rights, disputes and obligations
  • Performers and composers, regarding representation and rights protection
  • Food manufacturers and processors, regarding IP issues associated with branded food products
  • Motion picture rights owners, concerning anti-piracy aspects of copyright and trademark protection
  • Advertisers and designers, concerning relevant industry IP issues
  • Internet-based businesses
  • Public service entities, with the goal of improving the human experience by guiding the protection of IP

Professional Development

In addition to his active practice, Mike serves as an Adjunct Law Instructor at the University of Oregon School of Law, where he teaches copyright law. He is a featured published writer on numerous topical IP issues. He is a speaker at many bar and legal association meetings. Mike is an active member of several IP organizations, including The Copyright Society of the U.S.A, the International Trademark Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and the Intellectual Property Section of the American Bar Association.

Blog

Mike frequently blogs on U.S. intellectual property law and policy. To read his blog, please visit http://us-ip-law.blogspot.com/.

Professional/Civic Involvement

  • American Bar Association (Section on Intellectual Property)
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
  • The Copyright Society of the U.S.A. (Member)
  • International Trademark Association (INTA) (appointed to Anti-Counterfeiting Committee and East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee 2010-2011)
  • Oregon Media Production Association (Member, Board of Directors, 2010 to present)
  • University of Oregon, School of Law (Adjunct Professor, Copyrights, 2007-present)
  • U.S. District Court of Oregon Local Rules Committee (Member)

Awards and Honors

  • AV®, Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Awarded Am Jur Book Award (Conflict of Laws) 1976

Publications & Presentations

  • Presenter, "Use of an Image or Personal Identifier Without Permission," Oregon Law Institute's Entertainment Media and Marketing Law MCLE (Spring 2009)
  • Presenter, "Intellectual Property for Practitioners: Foundational Course in Copyrights," University of Oregon School of Law, (Spring 2009)
  • Presenter, "Intellectual Property and Its Due Diligence," Keiretsu Forum (January 2009)
  • Program Chair and Speaker, "Enlightened Foreign Trademark Searching," INTA 2008 Roundtable Series (Fall 2008)
  • Author, "Open source software: It's free - but it comes with strings attached," Bullivant eAlert (Summer 2008)
  • Author, "Of mice and heirs," Bullivant eAlert (Summer 2008)
  • Co-author, "Follow the green brick road: Where does this path LEED?," Portland Business Journal (2008)
  • Speaker, "Spring CLE presentation on electronic filing," Oregon State Bar, Corporate Counsel Section (May 2008)
  • Author, "Can't we talk anymore? Why talking to a user of your patented art may end up getting you sued," Oregon State Bar Bulletin (2007)
  • Author, "Fraud in trademark filings can spell sudden disaster," Portland Business Journal (2007)
  • Author, "Why register your trademark?," Brainstorm NW (2007)
  • Co-author, "Compilation of recent case law pertaining to 3-D protection under U.S. law of useful articles," ABA Section on Intellectual Property (2005)

Articles

Firm News

Press Coverage