Michelle A. Cooke

Partner

Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement

Contact

mcooke@manatt.com
Phone: 310.312.4208

Services

Industries

Manatt Retail and Consumer Products

Michelle Cooke helps IP owners build, protect and monetize their assets domestically, internationally and online. As leader of Manatt’s IP Protection & Enforcement business unit, Michelle focuses much of her work on branding, online content, digital assets, copyrights, international protection/enforcement, trade secrets and privacy/data security. She has particular market knowledge of the entertainment and media, multimedia platforms, consumer products, apparel and software industries.

Clients seek Michelle’s guidance on brand strategies, including establishing, expanding and exploiting brands, developing plans for content development, controlling and managing brand identity, and using digital real estate. She takes a global perspective on preplanning, management and vigilance to promote IP value and lay the foundation for expansion in the global marketplace. Michelle negotiates licensing and distribution agreements, and structures agreements, guidelines and internal policies to govern the use of third-party intellectual property, social media activity, user-generated content, and personal data. She guides the sale and acquisition of international IP rights, runs IP audits, and builds and manages trademark and copyright portfolios.

Encompassed in Michelle’s work with digital assets is counseling on trade secrets, privacy and data security. She evaluates and crafts internal/external policies and procedures on the collection, use, transfer, maintenance and protection of privacy/data information, and the use, development and distribution of content. In M&A transactions, she evaluates assets for potential vulnerabilities on the privacy and data security front. She has helped clients minimize their liability exposure and maintain their trade secrets by spearheading campaigns to remove from social media and digital platforms unauthorized postings of trade secrets and customer personal information. Michelle also assists companies in addressing phishing and the email impersonation of their employees as well as related brand rehabilitation.

Based in the firm’s Los Angeles office, Michelle plays an active role in the protection and enforcement of IP rights internationally as well as addressing risks that threaten brand value or create liability exposure. This work includes structuring policies and plans to protect global brands, policing and enforcing IP rights, and creating and enforcing digital assets. She leads dispute proceedings against infringers and counterfeiters, including administrative proceedings, customs seizures and online take-downs, as well as manages international litigation.

Works with a multimedia and international entertainment company with multiple brands on international intellectual property establishment of rights and protection for computer and online games; online distribution of film, television and original content; downloads; applications; and other forms of recorded media.

Led the analysis and risk assessment of a trademark portfolio, copyright portfolio and online/multimedia assets spanning over 50 countries in a $1.3 billion acquisition in an entertainment-related industry.

Advised a leadership consulting group during its acquisition of a global executive search and leadership consulting firm.

Advised a multimedia company in its acquisition of a cable television station, which included a large intellectual property portfolio of trademarks, online content and related agreements.

Assisted an entertainment company in expanding into a multimedia platform, including television and an interactive online presence, by crafting policies, agreements, and strategies for brand building, user-generated content, and personal data, as well as formulating internal compliance procedures and audits.

Assisted multiple celebrity fashion designers in establishing, protecting and enforcing brands internationally.

Developed a licensing agreement for a major U.S. apparel company with a Chinese manufacturer and retailer regarding manufacturing, development and distribution through retail and online stores, and quality control for manufacturing, subcontractors, product, brand usage, and marketing, as well as trademark enforcement.

Speaking Engagements

Facilitator, “MCCA’s Blueprint for Selling & Buying – A Pitch Workshop For Outside and In-House Counsel,” MCCA 2019 Global TEC Forum, April 4, 2019.

Speaker, “The Do’s & Don’ts of Using Copyright & Trademarks in Social Media,” 2018 ANA/BAA Marketing Law Conference, November 8, 2018.

Faculty Member, Center for Women in Law’s Women in Law Institute, “How to Communicate with Impact, Demonstrate Your Value, and Build Strategic Relationships,” workshops, Los Angeles, CA, October 14, 2016.

Panelist, “New Media Marketing: Balancing the Risks Against the Monetary Rewards and Avoiding the Pitfalls,” BESLA Annual Meeting, October 23, 2015.

Panelist, “Anatomy of an International Trademark License,” ABA Annual Intellectual Property Conference, April 2, 2014.

Co-guest Lecturer, “Strategic Management of Intellectual Property,” at University of Southern California, Masters of Engineering, March 3, 2014.

Judge, “Chick Launcher Award Event,” Broads Circle (supporting female entrepreneurs), October 24, 2013.

Panelist, “Trademark Bootcamp,” Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association, October 24, 2013.

Panelist, “Revealed: Best Practices for Attorney’s Use of Social Media,” BESLA Annual Meeting, October 17, 2013.

Honors & Awards

Ranked, Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets (California), Chambers USA, 2014–2019

Bronze Ranking, California: Enforcement and Litigation, World Trademark Review 1000, 2017–2019

Named in Top Intellectual Property Attorneys in California, Daily Journal, 2015-2019

Named as one of the Most Influential Women Lawyers, Los Angeles Business Journal, 2017, 2019

Named as one of the Most Influential Minority Attorneys, Los Angeles Business Journal, 2016, 2019

Ranked, Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets (USA), Chambers Global, 2016–2018

Silver Ranking, California: Prosecution and Strategy, World Trademark Review 1000, 2013–2018

Southern California Super Lawyers, Intellectual Property, 2009–2019

Named as one of the Most Influential Black Lawyers, Savoy Magazine, 2015, 2018

Named in Top Women Lawyers in California, Daily Journal, 2017

Named as one of the Most Influential Intellectual Property Lawyers, Los Angeles Business Journal, 2017

Named in Top 25 Intellectual Property Portfolio Managers and Patent Prosecutors in California, Daily Journal, 2011–2014

Finalist to the Broads Circle's “Top Women of Influence in Los Angeles,” 2014

Named as one of the Top 40 Angelenos to Know in Intellectual Property Law, Los Angeles Business Journal, 2012

Admitted to practice in the state of California and the District of Columbia

Intellectual Property Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association

Member, Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles

Board of Directors, Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc.

Member, 2018 G-TEC Advisory Council for MCCA (Minority Corporate Counsel Association)

Co-author, “Impact of the Defend Trade Secrets Act in the U.S.,” Corporate Disputes, January-March 2017 issue.

Author, “Losing Your Mark,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 4, 2009.

04.25.19

Chambers USA Ranks Manatt Lawyers, Practices in 2019 Guide

Nine Manatt practices and 24 lawyers were named to Chambers USA ’s 2019 list of leading lawyers for business in the United States. Manatt ...
04.17.19

Cooke, Jacobs Recognized Among California’s Top Intellectual Property ...

Manatt’s Michelle Cooke, leader of the intellectual property protection and enforcement group, and Robert Jacobs, leader of the entertainm...
04.09.19

LABJ Names Wilson, Cooke Among L.A.’s Top Women Lawyers

Manatt’s Donna Wilson, CEO, Managing Partner-elect and leader of the privacy and data security group, and Michelle Cooke, leader of the intel...
02.14.19

Cooke Ranked Among World’s Top Intellectual Property Attorneys by ...

Manatt’s Michelle Cooke, leader of the firm’s intellectual property protection an...

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12.07.17

Dec. 31 Deadline to Preserve DMCA Service Provider Immunity

By Dec. 31, 2017, eligible service providers must use a new online system at the Copyright Office to designate agents to receive Digital Millennium ...
09.28.17

Looking Through an IP Lens at Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

With headline news ranging from J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Winklevoss twins and Floyd ...
07.13.17

SCOTUS: For Patent Venue, Domestic Corporations ‘Reside’ Where ...

On May 22, 2017, the Supreme Court issued its decision in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC—rejecting long-standing Federal ...
07.07.16

Supreme Court: Status Quo in Cuozzo

On June 20, 2016, the Supreme Court decided Cuozzo Speed Technologies v. Lee, where it rejected challenges to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ...

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11.07.18

Manatt Attorneys to Speak at 2018 ANA/BAA Marketing Law Conference

Donna Wilson, Managing Partner-Elect, and Michelle Cooke, co-chair of Manatt’s intellectual property practice, will speak at the 2018 ...