Gerard F. Dunne
| Jerry Dunne is an AV Preeminent Lawyer as rated by his peers through Martindale Hubbell. He graduated from Manhattan College in 1969 with a Bachelor of Engineering degree and from the University of Baltimore Law School with a JD degree in 1974. Jerry served as a patent examiner in the bio-mechanical arts at the United States Patent and Trademark Office from June of 1969 until October of 1974, and he has been registered to practice before the United States Patent & Trademark Office since 1974. He has authored and obtained hundreds of patents in the mechanical and electronic arts and has also obtained, with the assistance of Penny Zahler, hundreds of federal trademark registrations. |
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Court Admissions
Jerry is admitted to the state and federal courts of New York, as well as the federal appellate courts of the Federal, Second, Third, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits. He is also admitted to the United States Supreme Court. Jerry has appeared in all of these federal appellate courts to advocate for his clients.
Legal Accomplishments
The law of intellectual property has been advanced in several areas due to Jerry's appellate work. Jerry represented the originators of The Cabbage Patch Kids dolls in trademark and copyright matters around the country, and in Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc. v. Granada Elecs., Inc., 816 F.2d 68, 73 (2d Cir. 1987) he sustained a holding he obtained in the trial court through the Supreme Court that gray market items which differed materially from the products sold in the United States violate the US trademark laws. This decision has formed the basis for much of the subsequent gray market litigation in the United States.
In Knitwaves, Inc. v. Lollytogs, Ltd., 71 F.3d 996 (2nd Cir. 1995), Jerry established limits of the trade dress laws as relating to product copying. After a trial in Imig, Inc. v. Electrolux Home Care Products, Ltd., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25478, 2008 WL 905898, (E.D.N.Y. 2008), Jerry won the right for his client to continue marketing unpatented vacuum cleaners clearly copied from an industry leader. His appeal to the Third Circuit overturned a copyright decision denying copyright protection to masks in Masquerade Novelty, Inc. v. Unique Industries, Inc., 912 F.2d 663, 670-71 (3d Cir. 1990) and enabled his client's copyrights to be enforced.
Litigation
Beginning in the early 1980s, Jerry has been "first chair," primarily responsible for litigation of patent, trademark, copyright, and related matters in federal courts across the country. He has obtained multiple orders to show cause and temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in counterfeiting cases. He has substantial experience as plaintiff as well as defense counsel in litigation involving not only patents, trademarks, copyrights, and unfair competition, but gray market and trade dress cases as well as related antitrust matters. Whether he is obtaining and protecting patents in the electronic and mechanical arts or handling evidentiary hearings and trials in federal court, Jerry brings passion and experience to advance his client's best interests.
Volunteer Activities
Jerry volunteers on several boards for nonprofits, including the National Board for the American Canoe Association and several local nonprofits. He volunteers as the pole vault coach at Archbishop Molloy High School and still competes at the national level in masters sports.
