Charlie G. Giger

Charlie Giger is a Partner in CM Law’s Chicago office. His practice focuses on trademarks, copyrights, domain names, online brand protection, litigation, and appeals. He advises clients across a diverse range of industries, including technology, financial services, insurance, education, and food and beverage.

Charlie assists clients with all aspects of protecting, managing, and enforcing their trademarks. His trademark practice includes clearance, prosecution, maintenance, portfolio management, trademark-related acquisitions and transactions, and enforcement.

He also advises clients on domain name and online enforcement matters, including proceedings under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) system, as well as litigation under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). Charlie regularly assists clients in addressing online infringement, impersonation schemes, fraudulent investment scams, abusive domain name registrations, and other forms of brand misuse.

Charlie represents clients in enforcement and litigation matters before federal district courts, federal courts of appeals, and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). He has represented clients in matters involving claims and defenses under the Lanham Act (trademark infringement/unfair competition), ACPA (domain name issues), the Copyright Act, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Following law school, Charlie served as a law clerk for the Honorable William J. Bauer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. His appellate clerkship provided valuable experience in legal writing, appellate advocacy, and complex legal analysis, which he continues to draw upon when representing clients in litigation and appeals. Upon the completion of his clerkship, Charlie joined a boutique firm located in Chicago.

Charlie earned his law degree from the DePaul University College of Law, where he also received a Certificate in Information Technology Law.

Outside of work, Charlie enjoys exploring Chicago’s restaurant scene, listening to music, and spending time with family and friends.

Representative Matters

• Obtained favorable decisions in numerous UDRP and URS proceedings involving impersonation, cryptocurrency-related scams, job scams, phishing schemes, and other abusive uses of domain names.
• Successfully defended a favorable judgment under the ACPA transferring a domain name to the client, including drafting appellate briefing and obtaining dismissal of one appellant for lack of Article III standing.
• Drafted and filed an appellate opening brief that contributed to the reversal of a district court’s order denying attorneys’ fees under the Copyright Act.
• Successfully responded to substantive USPTO refusals, including likelihood of confusion refusals based on the purported relatedness of goods and services and mere descriptiveness refusals.
• Successfully handled contested TTAB proceedings, including obtaining dismissal of notices of opposition for failure to state a claim, opposing discovery-related motions, conducting discovery, and defending against dispositive motions.
• Drafted the opening and reply briefs in an ex parte appeal before the TTAB that resulted in reversal of a USPTO refusal and allowed the application to proceed toward registration.
• Negotiated trademark coexistence and settlement agreements that resolved disputes without litigation or avoided further litigation.
• Advised businesses and individuals facing copyright infringement demands and lawsuits, successfully negotiating favorable resolutions and avoiding or limiting litigation exposure.