Susi Stuart loves trademark law because brands are dynamic and powerful.

She recalls the jingles from television commercials of her childhood that have remained stuck in her head to this day even as the brands themselves have evolved. She enjoys guiding clients through the process of selecting and registering their trademarks and continuing to advise them as their brands grow and change.

Susi works with clients across industries and sizes, from software startups to established digital media companies with large trademark portfolios as well as clients in the non-profit sector. In her work with startups, Susi has a front-row seat for new products and innovations and guides clients through building their brands. With established companies, she advises them over the years on maintenance of existing registrations, questions about use of marks, and registration of new marks and in expanded fields of goods and services. With each client, she values the relationship and the opportunity to deeply understand the brand.

Solving Problems Creatively

Trademark law is highly detailed and idiosyncratic and rife with pitfalls. Susi takes the time to walk clients through the process and solve problems creatively. For example, a client came to the firm with a trademark application that had previously been blocked by another mark at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. After considering the client’s plans to use the mark as well as the registration that was blocking the client, Susi recommended and successfully registered an alternative use of the mark.

Susi also served on the board of QLaw, the LGBTQ+ bar association of Washington. In this role, Susi got an insider’s view of the needs and challenges of a non-profit. She also volunteered for the organization’s legal clinic, thinking on her feet to help find the right resources for clients with a range of legal questions.

Curiosity, from Human Life to Digital IP

Susi earned an undergraduate degree in anthropology, the study of human societies and cultures. As a video and board gamer, she went to law school in part because of her interest in the then-developing free speech and intellectual property laws around video games. With her boundless curiosity about human life—both terrestrial and digital—she is the ideal attorney to help companies consider the way they present their brands to the public.