Lisel M. Ferguson is co-chair of Procopio’s Action Sports and Apparel Practice Group. Her practice focuses on patent, trademark, and copyright prosecution world wide, and intellectual property litigation throughout the United States. Ms. Ferguson has handled matters involving computer hardware and software, sporting goods, apparel, the Internet, entertainment, medical devices, agricultural products and services, and consumer goods. She is admitted to practice before all the Federal and State Courts in California, the US District Court of Colorado, the US District Court of Arizona and the US District Court of Utah, as well as Federal Circuit Court. Ms. Ferguson is also admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Ms. Ferguson is also experienced in handling intellectual property issues specifically for the Action Sports industry. As a co-chair of Procopio’s Action Sports Practice Group, she is actively involved, not only professionally, but personally, too. In her spare time, she enjoys horseback riding, competing in dressage and Three Day Eventing, water skiing, snow skiing, and participating in triathlons.
Prior to practicing law, Ms. Ferguson spent over five years working full time in the professional fields of science and biology, managing eco-tourism research projects and marine mammal diving physiology research. She also managed a cognitive science study on children with focal lesions for UCSD, Salk, and Children’s Hospital. She worked for Scripps Institute of Oceanography, UCSD, and for an International Turtle Conservation Group where she assisted with numerous professorial level and Ph.D. research projects in addition to co-authoring scientific journal articles.
Prior to joining Procopio, Ms. Ferguson handled a broad range of Intellectual Property matters for the San Diego law firm of Perkins & Miltner, where her practice also focused on business, environmental, construction, trademark, patent, copyright, and equine litigation.
Representative Matters
Intellectual Property Litigation
- Successfully resolved a patent infringement action involving nutritional supplements for animal feed
- Successfully defended a guitar manufacturer in trademark/trade dress case
- Successfully defended a patent infringement case brought against an ice making and distributing machine maker
- Successfully prosecuted a trademark infringement case involving a domain name dispute in Federal Court
- Successfully defended a claim of trade secret misappropriation relating to a web store selling online first aid and survival supplies
- Successfully represented a Korean manufacturer of die board bending machines in a trademark, patent and misappropriation of trade secrets case
- Successfully represented a surfboard inventor in a breach of contract case
Intellectual Property Prosecution
- Obtained patents for such products as storm drain filtration systems, horticultural products, surfboards, skateboards, medical and veterinary devices, and various sporting goods
- Obtained foreign patents and trademarks in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the European Union, South America, Canada and Korea
- Represented several action sports clients in filing for patents, trademarks, copyrights and negotiating licensing and royalty agreements
- Represents numerous businesses, including apparel companies, beverage companies, pet product companies, clean tech companies and sporting companies with their intellectual property portfolios