Our People

Cliff Kuehn

ckuehn@pirkeybarber.comDirect: (415) 613-0274download vcard

Cliff Kuehn focuses his practice on global trademark prosecution and enforcement. The most significant part of his practice is assisting multinational companies with evolving, implementing, and managing global enforcement strategies, with a particular focus on clients in the technology and luxury consumer goods industries. Cliff has extensive intellectual property experience and education abroad in Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Sweden, and India, including 3 years as an attorney and policymaker at the European Union Intellectual Property Office.

Outside of the law, Cliff enjoys improving his baking skills in French patisserie, learning German, and hiking with Runa, his Siberian husky.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

  • 2015 LL.M., Stockholm University, Sweden
    • European Intellectual Property Law
  • 2010 J.D., University of San Francisco School of Law
  • Intellectual Property & Technology Certification
  • 2006 B.A., University of California, Irvine

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND MEMBERSHIPS

  • International Trademark Association
  • Young Practitioners Committee (2016-2019)
  • Leadership Development Committee (2020-2023)
  • University of San Francisco
    • Adjunct Faculty, Internet & Intellectual Property Justice Law Clinic (2018-Present)

SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS

  • Guest Lecturer, “EU and US Copyright Law,” Masters Program in Intellectual Property and Digital Innovation (“Magister Lvcentinvs”) at the University of Alicante, Spain (2023)
  • “Making Cents: A Survey on Legal Billing Practices” Leadership Link, International Trademark Association, November 2022
  • Panelist, “Composite Trademarks: How Different is Different?”  AIPPI World Congress (San Francisco), September 2022
  • “Understanding and Instilling Allyship Principles in the Workplace,” Leadership Link, International Trademark Association, August 2020
  • Presenter, Bilder Meetup, “Strategically Legal – IP & GDPR in Germany and the USA,” San Francisco, California, October 2018
  • “Craft Beer vs. Big Beer Trademark Suit May Test 9th Circuit’s ‘Irreparable Harm’ Standard,” IPWatchdog, March 2018
  • “Can the name of a fictional, intergalactic game evolve into a trademark protectable in the world of mere groundlings?,” IPWatchdog, January 2018
  • “President Barack Obama – Analysis of the 2012 US elections and the power of brand image,” Intellectual Property Magazine, January 2013
  • “Change as quick as a bullet,” Intellectual Property Magazine, April 2013