Partner

Lynn Jordan

About

For the past three decades, Lynn Jordan has devoted herself to representing clients in all aspects of trademark law, from selection of marks through federal court appeals. She is particularly adept at helping clients understand the business and legal risks associated with the adoption, use, and registration of trademarks. Lynn is recognized for her expertise in handling trademark matters for major entertainment, news, and media companies, particularly regarding the interplay between trademark law and the First Amendment. Lynn has handled countless clearance, prosecution, and enforcement matters involving trademarks used as titles of or elements in motion pictures, television programs, books, and video games, as well as collateral merchandise associated with these properties.

Lynn is the author of three of the leading articles on trademarks and the First Amendment: “Twenty Years of Rogers v. Grimaldi: Balancing the Lanham Act with the First Amendment Rights of Creators of Artistic Works,” which won the highly esteemed Burton Award for excellence in legal writing and “Another Decade of Rogers v. Grimaldi: Continuing to Balance The Lanham Act With The First Amendment Rights of Creators of Artistic Works,” both published in the Trademark Reporter; and “Recent Shifts in Rogers v. Grimaldi: Looking for a Genuine Artistic Motive,” which was published in the ABA’s Entertainment and Sports Lawyer in 2021. She regularly speaks on topics relating to entertainment trademarks and recently penned an Amicus Brief on behalf of the Motion Picture Association in support of the First Amendment rights of its members.

Recognized by her peers and clients as an “accessible, hands-on practitioner with an immense understanding of media law and corporate realities,” Lynn has been recognized as both an “IP Star” and among the “Top 250 Women in IP” by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine. She has also been ranked among the top trademark lawyers in the Washington, DC area by World Trademark Review 1000, and has been designated as a WTR World Leader.

Prior to founding Kelly IP, Lynn practiced trademark law at a large international intellectual property firm based in Washington, DC.

  • / Searched and cleared thousands of trademarks for the entertainment industry, including titles of motion pictures, television programs, theme-park attractions, character names, likenesses, and elements within creative works, as well as related mass merchandising programs.
  • / Counseled clients and responded to hundreds of trademark and copyright-related entertainment claims.
  • / Global portfolio management and enforcement for some of the world’s most recognized brands.
  • / Served as Law Clerk to Hon. Herman Whisenant, 31st Judicial Circuit of Virginia.
  • /Recognized by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine as an “IP Star” (2014-2023).
  • /Named in Managing IP’s Top 250 Women in IP (2014-2022)
  • /Ranked among top D.C. trademark lawyers for non-contentious work in World Trademark Review 1000 (2013-2024)
  • /Recognized as a Recommended Trademark Lawyer by Legal 500 (2014-2023)
  • /Recipient of the 2010 Burton Award for effective legal writing for her article “Twenty Years of Rogers v. Grimaldi: Balancing the Lanham Act with the First Amendment Rights of Creators of Artistic Works.”
  • /Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society, 1995 International Graduate of the Year
  • /Association of Intellectual Property Firms (AIPF):
  • President (2022-2024)
  • Vice President (2020-2022)
  • Treasurer (2019-2020)
  • Chair, Boutique Practice Committee (2020-2022)
  • Member of Board of Directors (2017-Present)
  • /American Bar Association (Communications Section; Motion Picture, Television, Cable & Radio Division; past co-chair, Intellectual Property Law Section)
  • /International Trademark Association (INTA)
  • /American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) (past co-chair, New Lawyers Division)
  • /Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (firm representative)
  • /Legal Mentor Network (active mentor to 3 junior professionals)
  • /Jack Daniel’s v. VIP Products: Dog Toys, Parody & First Amendment,” kellyipblog.com, April 2023.
  • /“Recent Shifts in Rogers v. Grimaldi: Looking for a Genuine Artistic Motive,” ABA Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, May 2021.
  • /“Another Decade of Rogers v. Grimaldi: Continuing to Balance The Lanham Act With The First Amendment Rights of Creators of Artistic Works,” The Trademark Reporter, Sept./Oct. 2019.
  • /“Twenty Years of Rogers v. Grimaldi: Balancing the Lanham Act with the First Amendment Rights of Creators of Artistic Works,” The Trademark Reporter, Nov./Dec. 2009.
  • /“Dilution of Famous Marks in the U.S.: The Victoria’s Secret Case and Its Progeny,” Journal of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property of Japan, March 2004.
  • /“Naming A Drug in Just One Color: U.S. Trademark Protection for Organoleptic Properties of Pharmaceuticals,” Trademark World, March 2001.
  • /“The Generic Problem,” Writers’ Digest, July 2001.
  • /“Addressing a Problem: Cybersquatting,” American Journalism Review, April 2000.
  • /“Name Tag—Domain Name Trademark Liability,” Cyber Esq., Spring 1999.
  • /Qualitex v. Jacobson Products Co., The Unanswered Question—Can Color Ever Be Inherently Distinctive?” The Trademark Reporter, July/Aug. 1995.
  • /District of Columbia
  • /Virginia
  • /U.S. District Court, E.D. Virginia
  • /U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
  • /University of Tulsa, J.D., summa cum laude, 1995
  • /Penn State University, B.S., summa cum laude, 1992