Louis T. "Lou" Pirkey
Lou Pirkey is a founding partner of trademark specialty firm Pirkey Barber. Lou Pirkey has specialized in trademark law, primarily trademark infringement litigation and counseling, for well over 40 years, and is one of America’s most highly recognized authorities in the field. He was heralded as "legend of the field" in the 2014 World Trademark Review 1000 ind in 2012 as a "a groundbreaking trademark lawyer undoubtedly practicing at the highest level.” Chambers USA guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business refers to him as “the guru” who is “widely recognized as one of the leading trademark litigators in the country.”
Lou's career as a leader in the field and in the profession has included such highlights as the following:
- President of the 15,000-member American Intellectual Property Law Association
- Member of the United States delegation to several conferences on trademark reform at the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva
- Member of the Trademark Review Commission whose work led to sweeping reform of the federal trademark statute, the Trademark Law Revision Act passed by Congress in 1988
- Member of the first Trademark Public Advisory Committee of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
- Member of the Board of Directors, International Trademark Association (INTA)
In addition to his trademark litigation practice, Lou is also active in alternative dispute resolution and has served as a neutral in more than 30 trademark disputes. He is a charter member of the Panel of Neutrals of the International Trademark Association/Center for Public Resources.
In his home state of Texas, Lou taught trademark law for 15 years as an adjunct professor at The University of Texas School of Law. He was Chair of the Intellectual Property Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, is a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, and was the charter President of the Austin Intellectual Property Law Association.
- WTR 1000 The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals, World Trademark Review (2011-14)
- Austin Litigation - Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers (2012)
- The 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter-Century, Texas Lawyer Magazine (2010)
- Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2009-14)
- The Best of the Best USA Trademark, Euromoney Legal Media Group (2011)
- Austin Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers (2010)
- America's Top 25 Preeminent Trade Mark Practitioners, The Best of the Best USA (2009)
- Guide to the World's Leading Trademark Practitioners, Legal Media Group
- Who's Who Legal (2008), named one of eight "stand-out trademark practitioners" in Texas
- The International Who's Who of Trademark Lawyers, Who's Who Legal (2009)
- 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America, National Law Journal (1999)
- Legal Legend, Texas Lawyer Magazine
- Super Lawyer, Texas Monthly Magazine
- Texas Super Lawyers annual list of the Top 50 Attorneys in Texas (2012)
- International Trademark Association President's Award (2012)
- Managing Intellectual Property - IP Star (2014)
- Managing Intellectual Property - Top Five Outstanding IP Litigators in Texas (2013, 2014)
- Austin 2014 Lawyer of the Year for Trademark Law, The Best Lawyers in America
Austin, Texas 78702
