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Dr. Marcus Luepke

Marcus Luepke
Finnegan Henderson
Of Counsel
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow,
Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Washington, DC

Adjunct Professor
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School

Dr. Marcus Luepke is a German and American attorney with significant international trademark experience. After having practiced trademark law in both a firm and in a corporate environment in Germany for more than ten years, he joined Finnegan Henderson’s Trademark and Copyright Practice Group in May 2006 part-time while obtaining his LL.M. degree in Intellectual Property Law from The George Washington University. He completed his LL.M. degree in May 2007, took and passed the New York Bar exam in July 2007, and then joined the firm full-time. Dr. Luepke’s practice includes trademark clearance and prosecution, as well as counseling clients in managing and enforcing international trademark portfolios. He possesses broad expertise in selecting as well as internationally prosecuting and enforcing trademarks with a focus on Europe, the U.S., the Middle East, China, and other Asian markets. He has a strong working knowledge of filing trademarks in the European Community as well as under the Madrid Agreement and Protocol.

Dr. Luepke’s trademark work on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as his first-hand knowledge of both the firm and the corporate perspective, create a unique experience that has been very helpful to clients in targeting and avoiding the typical difficulties of dealing with multi-jurisdictional and multi-cultural issues at these intersections of trademark practice. Before joining the firm, Dr. Luepke served for seven years as a key member in the trademark department of the German auto manufacturer BMW at its global headquarters in Munich. As Senior Trademark Counsel, he managed the majority of BMW's international trademark portfolio. He handled all global trademark clearance and directed the company's trademark prosecution and enforcement in many of the world’s most important markets, including Asia, the Middle East, the United States, and Eastern Europe. Dr. Luepke also handled BMW’s enforcement of design patents and copyright in these markets. With a focus on China and other developing Asian markets, he led numerous anti-counterfeiting activities and gained high familiarity with the various tasks and requirements of such international IP rights enforcement, including cooperating with investigators, enforcement agencies, and other industry members. In addition to his expertise on China, he also has a strong knowledge of the local requirements and specifics for successful brand protection and trademark prosecution in many other jurisdictions.

Immediately prior to joining Finnegan Henderson, Dr. Luepke consulted as a contract Trademark Counsel for The Coca-Cola Company's Global Legal Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where he concentrated on global protection strategies, including the worldwide clearance and prosecution of the company's trademark.

Dr. Luepke’s close cooperation with marketing colleagues when advising on name selection and questions of global branding well equips him to understand the objectives of clients’ marketing departments. His work for BMW and The Coca-Cola Company also provides him with first-hand knowledge of the typical challenges and tasks involved when protecting famous brands of global companies. His talent for developing cooperative relations between industries, customs authorities, and enforcement agencies, and his experience in coalition building, make him a valuable source for advice on how to improve the level of trademark and brand protection on an industry scale. While at BMW, he was instrumental in creating the Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition Middle East, a strong deterrent to counterfeiting in the region.

Dr. Luepke has managed a wide variety of Internet trademark and domain name disputes in many jurisdictions. He is also experienced in negotiating global coexistence and license agreements for a diverse range of products, including automotive, financial, and clothing products, as well as food and beverage products.