Anne E. Kearns

ASSOCIATE

Telephone: (415) 249-8330
Email: akearns@kksrr.com

 

 

Anne Kearns’ practice concentrates on complex commercial litigation and intellectual property and disputes, including patent, trade secret, copyright, trademark and unfair competition litigation. Ms. Kearns represents high tech corporations, retailers, start-ups and individuals throughout the United States in litigation at the trial and appellate court levels. She has participated in numerous trials in state and federal court in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., as well as alternative dispute resolution proceedings.

Ms. Kearns was admitted to the California Bar in 1996 after practicing for two years in Washington, D.C. (and was admitted in New York in 1994) where she focused on communications law and general litigation. Ms. Kearns also practiced in Los Angeles for several years representing artists, including writers, musical performers, producers, and actors in various and often high-profile copyright, trademark, trade dress, right of publicity and unfair competition claims.

NOTABLE ENGAGEMENTS

• Local Counsel for the Motion Picture Association of America in its lawsuits against illegal downloaders
   
• Represents national wine distributor in trademark dispute

• Represents and counsels national retail clothing company regarding intellectual property issues
  
  
• Represents high tech company involved in bankruptcy as special intellectual property counsel
  

• Represented high tech company in trade secret dispute involving proprietary source code in the telecommunications industry
  
  
• Represented advertising firm in right of publicity case involving local personality
  
  
• Represented international company in a multi-million dollar complex commercial litigation which involved a month-long trip to China
  
  
• Represented music producer in partnership and royalty dispute
  
  
• Represented music performer in dispute against manager brought before the Labor Commission
  
  
• Represented music producer and distributor in copyright, trade dress and Lanham Act suit against major entertainment company
  
  
• Represented music publisher in copyright infringement suit against competing music publisher

PUBLICATIONS

• Co-Author, "Note to California Employers: Run, Don't Walk to the Courthouse," California Litigation (Journal of the Litigation Section, State Bar of California) (August 2001)

TEACHING AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• Has given several presentations on trade secret protection and litigation

REPORTED CASES

• Cross-Talk Productions, Inc. v. Jacobson, 65 Cal.App. 4th 631 (1998)
   
• Playboy Enterprises, Inc. v. Welles, 7 F. Supp. 2d 1098 (S.D. Cal. 1998) (one of the first cases to address trademark infringement involving meta-tags)

EDUCATION

Catholic University, Columbus School of Law, J.D. (1993)
Co-founder, CommLaw Conspectus (communications law journal) Senior Lead Articles Editor

University of Colorado, Boulder, B.S., International Business (1990)

ADMITTED TO PRACTICE

New York (1994)

Maryland (1994)

California State Courts (1996)

Central District of California (1997)

Southern District of California (1998)

Northern District of California (1999)

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS AND ACTIVITIES

San Francisco Bar Association

State Bar of California

BACK to Attorney List