Biography

Repeatedly recognized as “Go-To” lawyer for intellectual property law in the annual survey of the FORTUNE 500 by Corporate Counsel magazine, Chris Graff specializes in the areas of trademarks, false advertising, unfair competition, domain name piracy, copyrights, and trade secrets.  Chris advises clients on all aspects of trademark selection, prosecution, enforcement, licensing, and global portfolio management. He has represented clients in over a hundred cases before a wide variety of tribunals including Federal Court, State Court, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Chris received his J.D. with honors from The University of Texas School of Law in 1993. Prior to law school, he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with highest honors in Electrical Engineering Management from The University of Texas at Austin. 

Professional Activities and Memberships

• State Bar of Texas
  • Litigation and Intellectual Property Law Sections
• Admitted to the U.S. District Courts for the Northern (1996), Southern (1997), Eastern (1997) and Western (1997) Districts of Texas
• American Bar Association
• American Intellectual Property Law Association
• International Trademark Association
• Intellectual Property Owners Association
• Travis County Bar Association
• Austin Intellectual Property Law Association

Honors

• WTR 1000 The World's Leading Trademark Professionals, World Trademark Review (2013)
• Best Lawyers in America, Trademark Law (2013)
• Texas Rising Legal Star, Texas Monthly Magazine (2004)

Educational Background

• 1993 J.D., with Honors, The University of Texas School of Law
• 1989 B.B.A., with Highest Honors, Electrical Engineering Management, The University of Texas at Austin

Publications and Speeches

• Lecturer, "Trademark Bullying:  Catchy Phrase or Valid Concern?"  Austin Intellectual Property Law Association (June 2011)
• Author, "Nominative Use and Fair Use of Trademarks on the Internet," State Bar of Texas, Intellectual Property Law Section CLE (Houston, 2003)
• Author, "Insurance Coverage of Trademark Infringement Claims: The Contradiction Among the Courts, and the Ramifications for Trademark Attorneys," The Trademark Reporter, Vol. 89, No. 6 (November-December 1999)
• Author, "Trademark Law and Gray Market Goods: An Overview," 11th Annual Advanced International Law Institute (UT Law CLE, 1999)
• Lecturer, "Intellectual Property," University of Texas at Austin, Executive MBA Program (Summer 2003)
• Speaker, "IP Issues Regarding the Internet," State Bar of Texas, Intellectual Property Law Section Annual Meeting (Spring 2003)
• Speaker, "How to Deal with Pirates, Counterfeiters and Gray Marketeers," 11th Annual Advanced International Law Institute, Dallas (UT Law CLE, 1999)

Reported Cases

• Texas Dept. of Transportation v. Tucker, 95 USPQ2d 1241 (TTAB 2010)
• Sefton v. Interactive Classifieds Network Corp., 201 F.Supp.2d 730 (W.D. Tex. 2001)
• Quicksilver, Inc. v. Academy Corp., 1998 WL 874929 (N.D. Tex. 1998)
• Mazandarani v. American Express Travel Related Services Co., Inc., 1996 WL 608483 (N.D. Tex. 1996)