Logo for Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu PC

Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu PC

United States 2025

Overview

At Fross Zelnick, we secure and defend our clients’ most valuable assets—their brands, designs, and content.

  • Our trademark practice is unmatched. After five decades, we’ve developed a singular trademark practice serving clients in the United States and around the world. We’ve handled every type of trademark issue and dispute, multiple times for multiple companies in multiple jurisdictions, from the simplest registration to the thorniest cross-jurisdictional enforcement action.
  • We boast top-tier copyright experience, with a special emphasis on defending creative works, including character rights, branding assets, and product design. For decades we’ve assisted clients as they navigate the consequences of new technological frontiers – most recently, digital, and virtual performance rights and blockchain-based technologies.
  • Our patent practice focuses exclusively on design patents, with particular expertise in developing multi-pronged strategies combining patent, trademark, and copyright law to protect our clients’ prized works.

The breadth and depth of our practice has attracted a wide range of clients, from celebrated brands, industry leaders, and renowned content providers to disruptive startups and regional companies, all of whom rely on us to protect their unique properties at home and around the world. Many of the largest corporate law firms rely on our advice for unique or hard-to-handle U.S. and international issues.

Our capabilities include:

Top-Tier IP Litigation

We are a renowned trademark and copyright litigation firm, with a reputation for both aggressive advocacy in court and quick, favorable settlements out of court. We know how to fight and win—whether in our backyard or in the most intractable foreign jurisdictions.

Strategic and Nuanced Registration Strategies

We register trademarks, copyrights, and design patents with our clients’ business goals in mind. Our cross-discipline expertise means we leverage multiple legal strategies to shore up strong protections for the most hard-to-defend assets. We obtain rights that ward off newcomers and stand up in court. We are one of the most prolific filers of U.S. trademark applications, and our expertise in the finer points of U.S. trademark prosecution is second to none.

Global Portfolio Management

With our unparalleled in-house knowledge of international IP law, we provide unrivaled advice for global portfolio management, litigations, and transactions around the globe. Our dynamic, carefully selected network of foreign counsel helps us guide U.S. and foreign clients alike as they identify, protect, and defend their rights under copyright, trademark, trade dress, design patent, domain name, and related laws worldwide. Our international capabilities are just as robust as our local prowess.

Deal Expertise

Whether a client is buying or selling an entire business or a portion of an intellectual property portfolio, we’ve seen it before—and can advise on how to structure the deal to fit the client’s goals. We conduct due diligence reviews for mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate ventures, and formulate efficient worldwide strategies to record the corporate changes against their clients’ IP registrations. Many of the country’s premier M&A attorneys partner with us on the IP components of larger transactions.

Services on the Cutting Edge

Thanks to our more than 50-year legacy, we’ve been witness to the birth and evolution of nearly every technology that’s central to the modern economy. From in-the-trenches Uniform Dispute Resolution Proceeding litigations against cybersquatters, to the rapidly changing intersection of IP rights and blockchain innovations like NFTs, to educating trademark offices around the world on new technological intersections, we’re helping clients successfully steer through uncharted waters and prepare for what’s to come.

Protection of Celebrities and Cherished Characters

From Batman to Harry Potter, we protect famous characters through sophisticated copyright and trademark protection strategies and enforcement against infringers. We’ve also retrieved numerous infringing trademarks and domain names for celebrities and litigate high-profile, right-of-publicity cases involving the unauthorized use of well-known names and likenesses, all within a quickly evolving legal landscape.

Combating Counterfeiting

We’ve developed sophisticated and cost-effective enforcement programs for preventing the importation, sale, and distribution of infringing or counterfeit products. Our experience is capacious, including apparel, footwear, cosmetics, jewelry, and luxury goods products. Included in these programs is the recordal of relevant intellectual property rights with Customs in the United States and abroad.

Founded:
1969
Size:
50
Magnifying glass with star icon
Practice Areas:
3
Person outline with Best Lawyers logo
Best Lawyers Recognized:
14

Rankings

National

Tier
1
National Ranking
Copyright Law
Tier
1
National Ranking
Trademark Law
Tier
2
National Ranking
Litigation - Intellectual Property

Regional

New York City

Tier
1
New York City
Copyright Law
Tier
1
New York City
Litigation - Intellectual Property
Tier
1
New York City
Trademark Law

Select Clients

Banana Republic Colgate - Palmolive DC Comics Estée Lauder Gap Inc. Honeywell International, Inc. Johnson & Johnson LEGO Louis Vuitton Malletier Novartis Consumer Health Group Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Vevo LLC

Rankings

National

Tier
1
National Ranking
Copyright Law
Tier
1
National Ranking
Trademark Law
Tier
2
National Ranking
Litigation - Intellectual Property

Regional

New York City

Tier
1
New York City
Copyright Law
Tier
1
New York City
Litigation - Intellectual Property
Tier
1
New York City
Trademark Law

Practice Areas

Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu PC has been ranked by Best Law Firms for excellence in 3 specialties, reflecting the firm's commitment to delivering outstanding legal services.
Additionally, the firm provides services in these practice areas:
  • Copyright Law
  • Litigation - Intellectual Property
  • Trademark Law

Individuals Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America®

Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu PC proudly has 14 lawyers recognized for their outstanding professional performance in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. This peer-reviewed honor highlights individual excellence and directly qualifies the firm for consideration in the prestigious Best Law Firms rankings. For over four decades, Best Lawyers has been the gold standard for recognizing top legal talent, serving as the cornerstone for Best Law Firms awards. Learn more about our rigorous Best Lawyers research and selection process.
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Client Comments

A strong relationship between a client and their law firm is key to achieving the best possible outcomes. Open communication, trust, and collaboration ensure that attorneys understand each client’s unique goals and needs. Choosing the right firm means finding a team with the experience, knowledge, and dedication to guide you through every stage of the legal process.
Client comments reflect personal opinions and individual experiences. Every case is different, and outcomes depend on specific facts and circumstances. Past results and testimonials do not guarantee similar outcomes in future matters. For personalized legal advice, consult directly with an experienced attorney who can evaluate your specific situation and provide tailored guidance.
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Awards

Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu PC is honored to be recognized for excellence by Best Law Firms and other leading legal industry organizations. Our rankings and awards reflect the dedication, skill, and results our attorneys deliver across a wide range of practice areas. In addition to our Best Law Firms awards, Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu PC has earned accolades from respected national and regional publications for outstanding legal service and professional achievement. Explore our awards below to learn more about how Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu PC continues to set the standard for quality legal representation.
“Trademark Prosecution Firm of the Year” for the United States at the 2022 WTR-IAM Global IP Awards
Chambers USA 2022 - Band 1 for Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets
Chambers Global 2022 - Band 1 for Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets
Tier 1 in 2022 Managing IP "IP STARS" in the United States (National) for Copyright & related rights, Trademark contentious, and Trademark prosecution
“Gold” Tier of United States-New York firms in the 2023 edition of World Trademark Review 1000
Who's Who Legal 100 2022 - Trademarks Firm of the Year
Tier 1 in Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms 2023" in Trademark and Copyright in the United States

Offices & Contacts

New York, NY
151 West 42nd Street, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10036
United States
Director of Marketing and Business Development
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