Joel D. Leviton

Trademark and Advertising Counseling and Representation

Joel works closely with clients to develop global brand protection strategies and advises on selecting, clearing, registering, and enforcing trademarks in the U.S. and abroad. He manages global trademark portfolios for Fortune 500 companies and serves as outside trademark counsel to a variety of domestic and global companies, including in the fields of medical devices, consumer products, interactive entertainment, and apparel. Joel has considerable experience advising clients on identifying, developing, and protecting non-traditional trademarks such as trade dress to further build brand awareness and value. Joel also works with clients as they create and roll out advertising campaigns, providing counsel on advertising law issues, comparative advertising, false advertising, and social media issues.

Joel stands out for his combination of counseling and litigation know-how. He handles disputes involving trademarks, copyrights, and domain names, including litigation in federal courts and proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Joel has been listed in the World Trademark Review 1000 where clients commented that he “understands our situation intimately and has been very generous with his time. Frankness and hard work describe him to a tee. His communication is top-notch: he kept us updated throughout the loops and hoops of the legal processes and led us through thousands of pages of documents during discovery.” A former adjunct professor of trademark law at William Mitchell College of Law (now Mitchell Hamline School of Law), Joel also has been a guest lecturer on copyright and trademark law at the University of Minnesota Walter Mondale School of Law.

Licensing Creative Content and Technology Transactions

With roots in the arts and as a performing musician, Joel also helps clients protect and license creative content and technology. Joel has significant experience licensing and exploiting intellectual property, including negotiating and preparing trademark licenses, ingredient-branding licensing, co-branding arrangements, copyright-related agreements, technology licenses and services agreements, and name and likeness licenses. He routinely serves as lead attorney negotiating technology transactions involving software, information technology services, data privacy, and security issues. Joel balances incorporating security and appropriate vendor controls into each transaction while at the same time moving transactions to completion.  

Recognized by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in the area of Intellectual Property in Minnesota.

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America^® list, 2014-2025 for Trademark Law

World Trademark Review 1000

• United States: Minnesota, Gold and Silver Bands, 2012 - 2024

Named an “Up & Coming Lawyer” by Minnesota Lawyer in 2010

Named a “Forty Under 40” honoree by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal in 2009

Inaugural recipient of Springboard for the Arts' Clough & Post Distinguished Service in the Arts Award for serving the legal needs of Minnesota's arts community.