Trademark, Copyright & IP Litigation Attorney – California

Last updated: October 2026

Kolmogorov Law, P.C. is a business litigation firm in Irvine, California that litigates intellectual property disputes for companies, founders, and creators. The firm handles trademark infringement, trade dress, counterfeiting, false advertising, copyright infringement, cybersquatting, trade secret misappropriation, and computer data theft claims under Penal Code section 502. Founder Pavel Kolmogorov (State Bar No. 321018) appears in the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Santa Ana and Los Angeles. He also appears in the Superior Courts of Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Clara Counties. We represent brand owners who need to stop infringement and businesses accused of it.

Call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online to discuss a trademark, copyright, or trade secret dispute.

Intellectual Property Disputes We Litigate

Trademark infringement of registered marks under section 32 of the Lanham Act, and of unregistered marks and trade dress under section 43(a).
Counterfeit goods and knock-off products sold online, in stores, or through distributors.
Copyright infringement involving software code, product photographs, website copy, catalogs, designs, training materials, and video.
False advertising and false designation of origin claims between competitors.
Cybersquatting and domain name disputes over a company's name or brand.
Trade secret misappropriation by departing employees, contractors, and competitors.
Computer data theft and unauthorized access claims under Penal Code section 502.
Disputes over licenses, assignments, co-ownership, and work-for-hire terms.
Defense of companies and individuals accused of infringement, including cease and desist letters and declaratory relief actions.

Trademark Infringement in California: What You Must Prove

A registered mark is infringed when someone uses a reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of it in commerce. The use must be likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception. (15 U.S.C. § 1114(1).) An unregistered mark, a trade name, or a product's trade dress gets similar protection under section 43(a). That section reaches any use of a word, name, symbol, or device likely to confuse consumers about affiliation, sponsorship, or source. (15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1).) A plaintiff asserting unregistered trade dress must also prove that the design is not functional. (15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(3).)

The central question in almost every case is likelihood of confusion. Courts in the Ninth Circuit weigh eight factors. They are the strength of the mark, the proximity of the goods, the similarity of the marks, and evidence of actual confusion. They also include the marketing channels used, the degree of care buyers exercise, the defendant's intent in selecting the mark, and the likelihood of expansion. (AMF Inc. v. Sleekcraft Boats (9th Cir. 1979) 599 F.2d 341, 348-349.) No single factor controls. We build the evidence around these factors from the first meeting. The same record supports a motion for a preliminary injunction and the case at trial.

California adds its own claims. A mark registered with the California Secretary of State is protected against confusing uses under the state's Model State Trademark Law. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14245.) Most trademark complaints also plead unfair competition under Business and Professions Code section 17200, which borrows the same confusion analysis. Our guide to the Unfair Competition Law explains what that claim adds and what it does not.

Trademark Remedies: Injunctions, Profits, and Treble Damages

Speed matters in a brand dispute. Federal courts may enjoin infringement. A plaintiff who shows a likelihood of success on the merits gets a rebuttable presumption of irreparable harm on a motion for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction. (15 U.S.C. § 1116(a).) That presumption removed one of the hardest hurdles to early relief.

A prevailing plaintiff may recover the defendant's profits, its own damages, and costs. To get profits, the plaintiff proves only the defendant's sales; the defendant must prove every cost or deduction it claims. The court may increase damages up to three times the amount found, and may award attorney's fees in exceptional cases. (15 U.S.C. § 1117(a).) Counterfeiting cases are harsher. Where the defendant intentionally used a mark it knew was counterfeit, the court must award three times profits or damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees. Only extenuating circumstances avoid that result. (15 U.S.C. § 1117(b).) The owner may instead elect statutory damages of $1,000 to $200,000 per counterfeit mark per type of goods. The ceiling rises to $2,000,000 per mark if the use was willful. (15 U.S.C. § 1117(c).) California law adds its own remedy for state-registered marks. The owner can recover up to three times the counterfeiter's profits and up to three times its damages. The court must also order the counterfeit goods and the tools used to make them destroyed. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14250.)

Copyright Infringement: Registration, Damages, and Deadlines

A copyright claim requires ownership of a valid copyright and copying of protected expression. Two statutory rules shape every case. First, no infringement action for a United States work can be filed until the Copyright Office has registered or preregistered the claim, or refused registration after a complete application. (17 U.S.C. § 411(a).) Second, timing controls remedies. Statutory damages and attorney's fees are unavailable for infringement that began before the effective date of registration, unless the work was registered within three months after first publication. (17 U.S.C. § 412.)

When those conditions are met, the owner may elect statutory damages of $750 to $30,000 per work instead of proving actual damages and profits. The court may raise the award to $150,000 per work for willful infringement and reduce it to $200 for an innocent infringer. (17 U.S.C. § 504(c).) The alternative is actual damages plus the infringer's attributable profits. Copyright claims must be filed within three years after the claim accrued. (17 U.S.C. § 507(b).) Copyright cases belong in federal court; state courts have no jurisdiction over them. (28 U.S.C. § 1338(a).)

Many of the copyright disputes we see involve a former contractor who reuses code. Others involve a competitor who lifts product photos and website copy, or a licensee that keeps using material after the license ends. The registration status of the work often decides whether the case is worth filing or better resolved by demand. Our guides to copyright registration and trademark registration cover the filing side, and our copyright infringement case study shows how one California business matter played out.

Trade Secrets and Computer Data Theft

A departing employee, contractor, or partner sometimes takes customer lists, pricing, source code, or product designs. The claims are usually trade secret misappropriation under the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act. They are often paired with a civil claim under Penal Code section 502 for unauthorized access to computer data. Those matters have their own page. See our trade secret attorney practice, our guide to Penal Code section 502 civil remedies, and our article on what courts treat as a trade secret. Because California does not enforce non-compete agreements, trade secret and data theft claims are often the only tools an employer has. Our non-compete guide explains the limits. For how AI chat logs are now subpoenaed in these cases, see our article on the ChatGPT subpoena.

Defending an Infringement Claim

We defend as often as we prosecute. A cease and desist letter is not a lawsuit. The right response depends on the strength of the claim, the cost of rebranding, and the exposure if the matter proceeds. Defenses include no likelihood of confusion, descriptive or nominative fair use, functionality, and abandonment. Others are a defective or fraudulently obtained registration, prior use, independent creation, license or consent, and delay. The Lanham Act has no statute of limitations of its own. Courts apply laches and borrow the most closely analogous California limitations period to decide whether delay is presumptively unreasonable. (Jarrow Formulas, Inc. v. Nutrition Now, Inc. (9th Cir. 2002) 304 F.3d 829, 836.) In the right case, a company that receives a demand can file first for a declaration that it does not infringe. That fixes the forum and the timetable. Counterclaims for cancellation of the registration, unfair competition, or interference are common.

IP Litigation Lawyer for Orange County, Irvine, and Los Angeles Businesses

Orange County and Irvine. Our office is in Irvine. Federal trademark and copyright cases for Orange County companies are filed in the Southern Division of the Central District of California. That courthouse is the Ronald Reagan Federal Building in Santa Ana. State-law claims, including California trademark and unfair competition claims, can be filed in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana. Many of our IP clients are small and mid-size businesses, consumer brands, software companies, and founders. They need brand protection without a national firm's overhead. Our Orange County trademark lawyer page covers the disputes small businesses bring most often. See our Orange County and Irvine pages.

Los Angeles. We handle federal IP cases for Los Angeles County companies in the Western Division of the Central District at the First Street Courthouse. State-law claims go to Los Angeles Superior Court. See our Los Angeles page.

Elsewhere in California. We appear in the Southern District in San Diego, the Northern District in San Francisco and San Jose, and the corresponding Superior Courts. We handle arbitration where a license or distribution agreement requires it.

How We Approach an IP Dispute

We start by confirming what you own: the registrations, the dates of first use, the chain of title, and the agreements with the people who created the work. Then we preserve the evidence of infringement, including dated screenshots, test purchases, and marketplace listings. If the mark is registered in California, the cease and desist demand should include the registration certificate, the claimed imitation, and a sworn statement identifying the infringer. A demand in that form creates a presumption that later conduct was knowing. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14245, subd. (a)(3).) For federal claims, the demand sets up willfulness and fee-shifting arguments. We evaluate a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction when the infringement is ongoing and the harm is to goodwill that money cannot restore. Where a coexistence agreement, a rebrand with a transition period, or a license makes commercial sense, we negotiate it. Where it does not, we file.

What to Bring to the Consultation

Bring your trademark and copyright registration certificates or application numbers. Add proof of first use such as dated invoices, packaging, and website archives. Include the agreements with the designers, developers, photographers, and contractors who created the work. Add screenshots and purchase records showing the infringing use, and any cease and desist correspondence in either direction. Sales figures that show how the infringement has affected revenue help too. If you are the accused party, bring the demand letter, your own adoption history, and any clearance search you ran before choosing the name.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a registered trademark to sue for infringement?

No. Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act protects unregistered marks and trade dress that identify your goods or services. (15 U.S.C. § 1125(a).) Registration still matters: it provides evidence of validity and ownership, and a California registration adds state remedies under the Business and Professions Code. The analysis of confusion is the same either way.

Do I need a registered copyright to sue?

Yes, for a United States work. The Copyright Office must have registered the claim, or refused it after a complete application, before the case is filed. (17 U.S.C. § 411(a).) Registering within three months of first publication, or before the infringement begins, preserves statutory damages and attorney's fees. (17 U.S.C. § 412.) If the work is unregistered when you discover the infringement, we register it first and plan the case around the remedies that remain.

How long do I have to file?

Copyright claims carry a three-year limitations period from accrual. (17 U.S.C. § 507(b).) The Lanham Act has no fixed period; courts apply laches by reference to the most analogous California limitations period, and unexplained delay can bar relief. (Jarrow Formulas, Inc. v. Nutrition Now, Inc., supra, 304 F.3d at p. 836.) Trade secret and Penal Code section 502 claims have their own periods, covered on our trade secret page. The practical answer is to act as soon as the infringement is confirmed, because delay also weakens any request for an injunction.

Can I recover my attorney's fees?

Sometimes. The Lanham Act allows fees to the prevailing party in exceptional cases, and makes them mandatory in intentional counterfeiting cases absent extenuating circumstances. (15 U.S.C. § 1117(a), (b).) The Copyright Act allows a discretionary fee award, but only if the registration timing rule in section 412 is satisfied. Fee exposure runs both ways, which is one reason the strength of a claim should be assessed before a demand letter goes out.

Should I send a cease and desist letter first?

Usually. A well-supported demand often ends the matter, documents the infringer's knowledge, and strengthens later claims for enhanced damages and fees. The risk is that the recipient files a declaratory judgment action in a forum of its choosing. We weigh that risk against the benefits before the letter is sent, and in urgent cases we file and seek a restraining order without advance notice.

Federal or state court?

Copyright claims must be filed in federal court. (28 U.S.C. § 1338(a).) Trademark claims under the Lanham Act may be filed in either federal or state court, and California trademark and unfair competition claims can be joined with them. Most of our trademark cases are filed in the Central District of California. The injunction standards, the jury pool, and the schedule usually favor it, but the choice is made case by case.

How much does IP litigation cost?

It depends on whether early injunctive relief is needed, how many works or marks are at issue, and whether the other side has the resources to fight. Our cost guide explains hourly, flat, and hybrid arrangements. Fee-shifting under the Lanham Act and the Copyright Act can change the economics of a strong case, and we address it in the first consultation.

Talk to a California Trademark and Copyright Litigation Attorney

If a competitor is using your name, logo, product design, or content, or if you have received a demand letter, contact Kolmogorov Law, P.C. at (909) 235-6116 or through our contact page. Our office is at 327 Magnet, Irvine, CA 92618. See also our intellectual property FAQ, our California business litigation practice, and our article on what IP attorneys do.

This page provides general information about federal and California law and is not legal advice. Intellectual property disputes turn on the registrations, the agreements, and the specific facts.