Marc S. Whitfield is a partner at Taylor Porter and serves as Section Leader for Taylor Porter’s Intellectual Property Law Group. Mr. Whitfield has practiced since 1988 in the area of intellectual property law, commercial litigation and commercial transactions. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University (J.D., 1987) and received his LL.M in taxation from Southern Methodist University in 1988. He is a member of both the Louisiana and the Texas State Bar Associations.

Mr. Whitfield is admitted to practice in all Louisiana and Texas state courts and admitted to practice in all Louisiana federal district courts, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Whitfield has previously served on the Louisiana Committee on Bar Admissions as Chief Bar Examiner for the Business Entities and Negotiable Instruments section of the Louisiana State Bar Examination. He is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Defense Research Institute and the National Association of College and University Attorneys. He is also a member of the Intellectual Property Law Sections for both the Louisiana and Texas Bar Associations.

Recent litigation and transactional work:

• Representation of both employers and employees various non-compete litigation and arbitration proceedings;
• Defense and prosecution of various unfair trade practice claims and trade secrets litigation;
• Lead counsel for State of Louisiana in trademark opposition proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appellate Board;
• Lead counsel for Louisiana State University in trademark opposition proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appellate Board;
• Representation of both licensors and licensees in various software license agreements;
• Drafting and negotiation of documentary film rights and screenplay distribution rights;
• Obtained early dismissal of unfair trade practices claims in Blanchard v. Bayou Apparel, LLC, 2008 WL 2080756, (E.D., LA. 2008);
• Taylor Porter has been recognized by Intellectual Property Today (May, 2006) as one of the Nation’s Top Trademark Firms based upon registrations during 2003 – 2005 and was the only Louisiana firm to be listed in the rankings;
• Lead counsel in trademark/cybersquatting case widely reported in the New York Times, Washington Post, MSNBC, The National Law Journal and various Internet media;
• Lead counsel in copyright infringement case reported in Forbes magazine;
• Lead counsel for Louisiana State University in trademark infringement litigation and licensing of intellectual property;
• Litigation counsel for Penn National Gaming in successful defense of unfair trade practice litigation and breach of contract claims exceeding $750,000,000;
• Lead counsel in mergers and acquisitions involving both domestic and international companies;
• Registration of federal trademarks with the United States Patent & Trademark Office and copyright registrations with the United States Copyright Office for various works including: computer source codes and user manuals, music and sound recordings, books, newspapers, screenplays and architectural works;
• Drafting and negotiation of research grants, sponsorship agreements, license agreements and joint development agreements in representation of Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University and the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.

Mr. Whitfield is a frequent lecturer on corporate and intellectual property law. Past legal articles, seminars and drafted legislation include the following:

• Copyright and Trademark Implications on the Internet, Baton Rouge Business Report, Summer, 2004;
• Legal Traps for Unwary Businesses, Baton Rouge Law Journal, Winter, 2003;
• Copyright Law Basics, Bench Bar Conference, Summer, 2002;
• Drafted ACT 137 amending La. R.S. 23:921 regarding non-compete agreements within the computer industry; collaborated on ACT 1041 amending La. R.S. 10:9-104 regarding inclusion of transmitting utility companies within scope of Article 9 - Secured Transactions; and collaborated on ACT 123 generally amending Louisiana’s version of Article9 regarding security interests in farm products.

Martindale Hubbell Peer Review Rated