Stephen D. Wilson

Boston University School of Law, Boston, Massachusetts

• J.D. 1998
• Concentration in Intellectual Property
• Edward F. Hennessey Scholar, Top 10% of 3L Class
• American Journal of Law & Medicine, Third-Year Editor
• Communications, Entertainment & Sports Law Association (CESLA), Vice President

University of Maine, Orono, Maine

• B.A. 1995
• summa cum laude (with Highest Distinction)
• High Honors
• English Major with Creative Writing Focus
• Interdisciplinary Course Concentration in Legal Studies
• Honors Program
• Senior Skull Honor Society, Vice President
• Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society, President
• Phi Kappa Phi Interdisciplinary Honor Society
• Delta Tau Delta, Director of Academic Affairs, Kershner Scholar
• Dean’s List (all semesters)
• Steve Grady Writing Prize

Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

• Advanced Placement
• Crew, Stroke Position
• Classical Guitar Ensemble

• Maine (1998)
• Massachusetts (1999)
• Florida (2018)
• U.S. District Court for the District of Maine (2000)
• U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (2003)
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida (2018)
• U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida (2018)
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (2018)
• U.S. Court of Federal Claims (2019)
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (2002)
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (2018)
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (2012)
• U.S. Supreme Court (2007)

• Intellectual Property

Mr. Wilson has extensive experience in representing and advising businesses, non-profit organizations, franchisors, franchisees, and other entities and individuals in connection with IP protection and enforcement in the U.S. and internationally. Mr. Wilson advises and assists clients with a wide range of IP matters, including trademark prosecution before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), copyright prosecution and Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) agent filings and renewals before the United States Copyright Office (USCO), Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) filings and enforcement with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), trademark searches, IP assignments and licenses, work for hire agreements, IP due diligence, IP audits, global IP portfolio management, nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), IP holding company formation, domain name transfers, rights of publicity and privacy, software licenses, Software as a Service (SaaS) agreements, website and mobile app terms of use and policies, EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance, cease and desist (C&D) letters, DMCA takedown notices, Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceedings, and settlement and co-existence agreements. Mr. Wilson also handles IP litigation, ADR, and appeals, including copyright, trademark, trade dress, trade name, cybersquatting, trade secret, publicity and privacy rights, Lanham Act, false advertising, unfair competition, trade libel, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and patent litigation.

• Sports & Entertainment

Mr. Wilson has represented athletes, entertainers, sports organizations, sports marketing companies, sports philanthropies, actors, musicians, bands, songwriters, music publishing companies, recording artists, orchestras, authors, publishers, reality TV contestants, celebrities, IP holding companies, and other entities and individuals in the sports and entertainment industries. He assists sports and entertainment industry clients in a broad variety of transactional and litigation matters, including formation of limited liability entities, holding companies, and non-profit organizations, IP clearance, registration, licensing, assignment, monitoring, and enforcement, work for hire agreements, model releases, endorsement agreements, publicity and privacy rights agreements and enforcement, cybersquatting and UDRP domain name disputes, celebrity estate planning, contract negotiations and disputes, nondisclosure, noncompetition, and noncircumvention agreements, trade secrets, undeveloped idea protection, reality TV agreements, publishing agreements, rights clearance, IP audits, sports and entertainment litigation and arbitration, and other matters.

• Food & Beverage

Mr. Wilson has counseled and assisted a broad range clients in the food, beverage, and hospitality industries, including restaurants, craft distilleries, craft breweries, celebrity chefs, hotels, cookbook authors, reality TV personalities, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, franchisors, franchisees, commercial landlords and tenants, and other businesses and individuals.

• General Corporate

Mr. Wilson counsels and represents corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, sole proprietorships, entrepreneurs, startup companies, and other for-profit and non-profit entities in connection with entity formation, annual reports, selection and clearance of business names, assumed names, and fictional names, assumed name filings, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), due diligence, contracts, succession planning, IP protection, shareholder disputes, business litigation, and other business matters.

• Litigation & Appellate

Mr. Wilson has successfully served as lead counsel in well over 100 lawsuits. He handles civil litigation, arbitration, mediation, and appeals, with an emphasis on IP, entertainment, sports, food and beverage, products liability, securities, financial services, business, and commercial litigation. Mr. Wilson represents plaintiffs and defendants as lead counsel, local counsel, and counsel pro hac vice in litigation and appeals in state and federal courts, as well as ADR proceedings ranging from mediation to judicial settlement conferences to arbitration before tribunals including the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Mr. Wilson has assisted clients in obtaining favorable judgments, emergency relief, and settlements in a broad range of litigation matters including trademark, copyright, patent, trade secret, and publicity and privacy rights litigation, complex commercial litigation, entertainment and sports industries litigation, domain name disputes, shareholder litigation, securities litigation, products liability, construction litigation, professional negligence, trustee liability, insurance litigation, real estate litigation, commercial and residential evictions, and other disputes. Mr. Wilson has represented clients in state and federal securities investigations, including Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) examinations, investigations, and settlements. He has also served as an expert witness and expert consultant in IP litigation. Mr. Wilson is licensed to practice in all state and federal courts in Florida, Maine, and Massachusetts, and is admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Florida, the United States District Court for the District of Maine, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. He has also handled proceedings and appeals before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Before entering private practice, he obtained valuable trial and appellate court experience while serving a Judicial Internship with the Massachusetts Superior Court in Boston, Massachusetts and a Judicial Clerkship with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Portland and Bangor, Maine.

• Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating
• Who’s Who Legal (WWL): Sports & Gaming 2023
• The Top 100 Attorneys Magazine
• World Trademark Review (WTR): WTR 1000: The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals 2023
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2023 Top Rated Lawyer
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2023 Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2023 Top Rated Litigator
• Who’s Who Legal (WWL): Sports & Gaming 2022
• World Trademark Review (WTR): WTR 1000: The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals 2022
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2022 Top Rated Lawyer
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2022 Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2022 Top Rated Litigator
• The American Registry, America’s Most Honored Lawyers 2022 – Top 1%
• World Trademark Review (WTR): WTR 1000: The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals 2021
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2021 Top Rated Lawyer
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2021 Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2021 Top Rated Litigator
• The American Registry, America’s Most Honored Lawyers 2021 – Top 1%
• World Trademark Review (WTR): WTR 1000: The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals 2020
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2020 Top Ranked Lawyer
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2020 Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2020 Top Rated Litigator
• The American Registry, America’s Most Honored Lawyers 2020 – Top 1%
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2019 Top Ranked Lawyer
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2019 Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law
• ALM Media and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2019 Top Rated Litigator
• The American Registry, America’s Most Honored Professionals 2019 – Top 1%
• The American Registry, America’s Most Honored Professionals 2018 – Top 1%
• New England Top Lawyers 2017
• The American Registry, America’s Most Honored Professionals 2017 – Top 1%
• Super Lawyers, New England Super Lawyers 2016
• American Lawyer Media (ALM) and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2016 Top Rated Lawyer in IP
• Who’s Who Legal 2016 – Compendium Edition, World’s Leading Sports Lawyers
• Who’s Who Legal 2016 – Compendium Edition, World’s Leading Entertainment Lawyers
• The American Registry, America’s Most Honored Professionals 2016 – Top 1%
• New England Top Lawyers 2016
• Martindale-Hubbell® Top Rated Lawyer in Litigation 2015
• Corporate America 2015 M&A Awards, Best for Intellectual Property Transactions – Maine
• Who’s Who Legal: Sports & Entertainment 2015, World’s Leading Entertainment Lawyers
• Who’s Who Legal: Sports & Entertainment 2015, World’s Leading Sports Lawyers
• American Lawyer Media (ALM) and Martindale-Hubbell®, 2015 Top Rated Lawyer in Intellectual Property
• Who’s Who Legal 2015 – Compendium Edition, World’s Leading Sports & Entertainment Lawyers
• Benchmark Litigation, Appellate 2015
• Who’s Who Legal: Sports & Entertainment 2014, World’s Leading Sports & Entertainment Lawyers
• Benchmark Litigation, First Circuit Litigation Star: Maine, Appellate 2013
• Who’s Who Legal, The International Who’s Who of Sports & Entertainment Lawyers 2013
• Benchmark Appellate, Litigation Star 2013
• Super Lawyers, New England Rising Stars 2011
• Top Attorneys, New England’s Outstanding Young Lawyers: Business Litigation 2011
• Super Lawyers, New England Rising Stars 2010
• Top Attorneys, New England’s Outstanding Young Lawyers 2010
• Super Lawyers, New England Rising Stars 2008

• Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
  • Chair of Escambia County Board (2021-Present)
  • Northwest Florida FCA Board of Directors (2017-Present)
  • Chair of Maine Advisory Board (2011-2017)
• Junior Achievement of Maine, Incorporated (2005-2016)
  • Board of Directors
  • Programs & Volunteers Committee
  • Titan Challenge Committee
  • Titan Challenge Business Mentor
  • Golf Committee
• Christian Leaders In Maine Business (C.L.I.M.B.)
  • Past Co-Chair
  • Past Board of Directors
• Maine Jazz Alliance
  • Past Vice President
  • Past Board Member
• American Red Cross, Disaster Relief Services: 1994 Northridge, California Earthquake Disaster Relief Services Volunteer (100 Hours Volunteer Pin Recipient)

• International Trademark Association (INTA)
  • U.S. Litigators Local Counsel
  • Building Bridges Committee (2022-2023 Term)
  • Advertising and Marketing Associations Subcommittee (2022-2023 Term)
  • Enforcement Committee (2014-2015 Term, 2016-2017 Term)
  • Judicial Administration & Trademark Litigation Subcommittee (2014-2015 Term, 2016-2017 Term)
• Maine Trial Lawyers Association
• Maine State Bar Association
  • Intellectual Property Section
  • Past Board of Governors Member
  • Past Director and Chair of Governing Council of Young Lawyers Section
• Cumberland County Bar Association (Maine)
  • Past President (2015-2016)
  • President (2014-2015)
  • First Vice President (2013-2014)
  • General Committee Member (2006-2013)
• American Bar Association
  • ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law
  • ABA Forum on Entertainment & Sports Industries
  • ABA Litigation Section
  • ABA Advisory Panel
• Greater Portland Chambers of Commerce (2004-2017)
• Athletes & Executives
  • Past Board of Advisors
  • Past Ambassador
• The Florida Bar (2018-Present)
  • Business Law Section
  • Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Section
  • Trial Lawyers Section
• Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association (2019-Present)
• Walton County Bar Association (2019-Present)
• Okaloosa Bar Association (2019-Present)

Mr. Wilson is frequently asked to teach seminars and continuing legal education (CLE) courses, and to author written materials for legal and professional publications. He has served as a faculty member for seminars and CLE courses on topics including IP, music industry contracts, social media/Web 2.0 issues affecting businesses, commercial and residential evictions, and landlord/tenant law. He authored a chapter in the Thomson Reuters book Recent Trends In Trademark Protection, 2013 ed.: Leading Lawyers on Educating Clients, Understanding the Impact of Technology, and Navigating the Current Marketplace. The title of the chapter is “Successfully Protecting Trademarks and Avoiding Litigation in a Changing Marketplace.” He has also authored a number of IP blog articles.

• Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau & Pachios, LLP, Portland, Maine (2004-2017)
  • Partner (2007-2017)
  • Associate Attorney (2004-2006)
  • Chair of Intellectual Property Group
  • Chair of Sports & Entertainment Group
  • Chair of Food & Beverage Group
  • Chair of Recruitment Committee
• Perkins, Thompson, Hinckley & Keddy, P.A., Portland, Maine (1999-2004)
  • Associate Attorney
• Maine Supreme Judicial Court, Portland & Bangor, Maine (1998-1999)
  • Judicial Clerk for Hon. Paul L. Rudman
• Law Office of James F. Day, Bath, Maine (1996-1998)
  • Law Clerk (1997-1998)
  • Summer Associate (1996-1997)
• Massachusetts Superior Court, Boston, Massachusetts (1997)
  • Judicial Internship with Hon. John C. Cratsley
• Grey Havens: Independent Film Actor (1997)
• Maine Department of Conservation, Popham Beach State Park, Phippsburg, Maine (1991-1995)
  • Lifeguard (25 ocean rescues)
  • Lifeguard Instructor