William E. O'Brien

Attorney William O’Brien began his career in trademark law at the Max  Planck Institute for Patent and Competition Law (now the Max Planck  Institute for Innovation and Competition), in Munich Germany, where he  wrote his master thesis on comparative trademark law.

After completing his fellowship at the Max Planck Institute, he  worked for the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a Trademark  Examining Attorney before establishing a private legal practice.

In private practice in the field of trademark law for over 30 years, Attorney O’Brien has  prosecuted several hundred trademark and copyright applications. He has  enforced and defended trademark rights before the Patent and Trademark  Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and in the United States federal  district court.

Mr. O’Brien received his German law training from the Ludwig-Maximilians Universität, where he graduated with the German equivalent of a J.D. in 1986. In 1988, he received his J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.  Mr. O’Brien completed his master’s thesis and received his Magister Legum in German law from the Ludwig-Maximilians Universität in 1992.

Mr. O’Brien worked as a trademark examining attorney with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and as an attorney  in large and small law firms.