50 Years of Practice

Ira Sacks is litigator and counselor with significant  first chair trial experience. He has served as counsel of record in more than 100 reported decisions, including two arguments before the United States Supreme Court in City of Sherrill, N.Y. v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York, 544 US 197 (2005) and Lilly v. Virginia, 527 US 116 (1999).  He has served as lead trial counsel in over 25 matters litigated to judgment.

Ira Sacks counsels and litigates for clients in trademark and copyright matters, false advertising and unfair and deceptive trade practices. He has substantial experience counseling clients on consumer advertising and marketing laws, including designing advertising audits, performing prepublication reviews, and also vigorously enforces trademarks for clients, including cease and desist letters and litigation, if necessary.

The hallmark of Ira Sacks' practice is being immediately responsive to all clients on all matters, no matter how complex or simple, no matter how large or small. Many, if not all, law firms say that; Ira Sacks has lived and delivered that for decades 

Coogi:

• Successfully repesented Coogi in a motion to transfer a copyright case from California to SDNY.  Lixenberg v. Coogi Partners, LLC, 2018 WL 4850402 (C.D. Cal. 2018)

Estée Lauder

• Successfully represented fragrance brand in trademark infringement and false advertising litigation, through jury verdict. BeautyBank, Inc. v. Harvey Prince, LLP,  2011 WL 671749 (SDNY 2011)

Brookhaven Science Associates: 

• Successfully represented national laboratory in high technology trade secrets and breach of contract case involving the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Modular Devices Inc. v. Brookhaven Science Associates, 2011 WL 1885719 (EDNY 2011)

Nike: 

• Successfully represented Nike in counterfeiting matter. Nike, Inc. v. Top Brand Co., 2005 WL 1654859 (SDNY July 13, 2005) (leading decision on recapture of profits in anticounterfeiting matters)

City of Sherrill:

• Successfully represented the City of Sherrill in numerous courts, including the US Supreme Court, in defeating the Oneida Indian Nation's assertion of tax free status on re-acquired land on laches grounds.  City of Sherrill, N.Y. v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York, 544 US 197 (2005)

Benjamin Lee Lilly:

• Successfully represented Ben Lilly before the US Supreme Court in a 6th Amendment challenge to a death sentence.  Lilly v. Virginia, 527 US 116 (1999)

Columbia Pictures and Tri-Star Pictures:

• Successfully represented Columbia and Tri-Star regarding breach of contract and trademark claims relating to the film Return from the River Kwai. Tri-Star Pictures, Inc. v. Unger, 198 F.3d 235 (2d Cir. 1999) and 17 F.3d 38 (2d Cir. 1994)

Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal, “Ninth Circuit Extends Tam First Amendment Protections to Advertising,” January 2019

Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal, “The Skinny on ‘Thins,’” January 2019

Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal, “TTAB Seals Fate of Trade Dress Claims for Design Covered by Utility Patent,” January 2018

Aereo: Another View, Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal, December 2014, Vol. 26, No. 12

Applying For A U.S. Trademark Registration: Punctuation Matters(?), Intellectual Property Today, March 2013, Vol. 20, No. 3

• JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards, 2017, 2020-2021, Recognized as a “Top Author” on Trademarks
• Super Lawyers Magazine 2009-2019, Listed in New York for Business Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, and Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights
• National Science Foundation, Fellow