Pirkey, Lou

Pirkey Barber

Lou Pirkey is a founding member of trademark specialty firm Pirkey Barber.  He 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 a “legend of the field” in the 2014 World Trademark Review 1000 and in 2012 as “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. Lou 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.