Grimes and Battersby, LLC

Charles W. Grimes

Chuck is the firm's Managing Partner, and has been practicing law since the mid-seventies. He received a B.S. degree in Engineering Mechanics from the Pennsylvania State University and a J.D. degree from the University of Denver Law School. He had previously clerked at Reilly & Dorr in Denver and was an associate at the Chicago office of Neuman, Williams, Anderson & Olson. He was Trademark Counsel at Gulf + Western Industries in New York and an associate with Kane, Dalsimer, Kane in New York before founding the firm.

Chuck has worked extensively in all facets of intellectual property law. He has participated in major patent and trademark litigations including the notable Berkey v. Kodak patent antitrust action. He has managed the worldwide trademark portfolios of leading consumer products companies and negotiated and drafted some of the most significant merchandising license agreements of the past decade.

He has written a number of articles and books in the intellectual property and licensing field and spoken on the subject before such groups as NYIPLA, Stamford Regional Bar Association, New York Toy Fair and at the New York Licensing Show. He has been an Adjunct Professor at Sacred Heart University in the paralegal program.

Chuck has been a member of the editorial board of the Trademark Reporter and has been active in the American Bar Association. He is admitted to practice in Illinois, New York and Connecticut and as a patent attorney before the United States Patent & Trademark Office. grimes@gandb.com

Gregory J. Battersby

Greg is the firm's co-founder and has practiced patent, trademark and licensing law for nearly three decades. He received an A.B. degree from Seton Hall University with a concentration in biology and chemistry and a J.D. degree from Fordham University School of Law where he was an editor on the Fordham Urban Law Journal. He had previously worked at Grumman Aerospace Corp. in R&D on the Apollo spacecraft program and clerked at both the U.S. Attorneys Office and at Morgan & Finnegan in New York. He was also an associate at Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto and Senior Patent Counsel at Gulf + Western Industries, both in New York before founding the firm.

Greg has extensive experience in all facets of intellectual property law, including litigation, prosecution and transactional matters. He has substantial experience in big case litigation, including patent and product liability actions involving hundreds of millions of dollars. In the transactional area, he has negotiated and drafted thousands of license agreements in the product development, patent, trademark and merchandising fields and has substantial experience in mergers and acquisitions. He has been qualified on more than a score of occasions as an expert witness on licensing and valuation issues.

Greg is a prolific author and lecturer, having written more than fifteen books, fifty articles and edits the Licensing Journal and the IP Litigator. He has also given more than 140 talks on the subject before such diverse groups as the Practicing Law Institute, International Trademark Association, Licensing Executive Society, Franklin Pierce Law School, NYIPLA, Thomson & Thomson Forums, Law Journal Seminar Press, Bar Association of the City of New York, Association of Collegiate Licensing Administrators, National Association of College & University Attorneys, Connecticut Bar Association, Law Society of Upper Canada, Toy & Game Inventor Forum, Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association, Insight Licensing Forums and the New Jersey Patent Law Association. For many years he has moderated and spoken at the New York Toy Fair and the New York Licensing Show.

His avocation is baseball which led to his invention of a state of the art baseball pitching simulator now used by a number of Major League Baseball teams. He is a named inventor on four patents covering the product and serves as CEO of the company that he created and built called ProBatter Sports, LLC which manufacturers the simulator.

Greg has been Publications Chairman of both the AIPLA and NYIPLA as well as a member of the Board of Directors and an officer (vice-president and treasurer) of the NYIPLA. He has been General Counsel to the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association (LIMA) for the past seven years.

Greg is admitted to practice in both New York and Connecticut and as a patent attorney before the United States Patent & Trademark Office. gjbattersby@gandb.com

James G. Coplit

James received a B.S. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University and a J.D. degree from Boston University School of Law. He has extensive experience in patent and trademark prosecution both domestically and internationally with a particular emphasis on mechanical, electrical and computer-oriented systems and methods. He is also involved in the negotiation and drafting of intellectual property license agreements.

Jim is a regular contributor to The Licensing Journal and has written for The Law of Merchandise and Character Licensing, The Multimedia and Technology Licensing Law Report, and The Licensing Deskbook. He has lectured on topics ranging from merchandise licensing to high-tech patent search strategies and techniques. He is admitted in both New York and Connecticut and is registered as a patent attorney before the Patent & Trademark Office. coplit@gandb.com

Edmund J. Ferdinand III

Jed received a B.A. degree from Union College and a J.D. degree, cum laude, from Tulane Law School. Prior to joining Grimes & Battersby, he was formerly associated with the international law firms of Chadbourne & Parke, Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, and Graham & James.

Jed has extensive litigation experience in the intellectual property area, including disputes involving trademarks, trade dress, copyright, patent, trade secret, unfair competition, Internet domain names and breach of license agreements. He also regularly advises clients regarding the acquisition of intellectual property rights (including Internet domain names), product licensing, protection of trade secrets and employment related issues.

Jed is a member of the Advisory Board of three publications related to the field of intellectual property: The Licensing Journal, IP Litigator and E-Commerce Law Journal. He writes the "Trademarks in Cyberspace" monthly column for the E-Commerce Law Journaland the "Trademark Litigation" monthly column for the IP Litigator.

He is admitted to practice in Connecticut, New York, the District of Columbia and in numerous federal courts, including the Second Circuit and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal. ferdinand@gandb.com

Russell D. Dize

Russ is an Associate with the firm and received a B.B.A. degree from James Madison University and a J.D. degree from the University of Baltimore (cum laude). During law school, he worked as a Legislative Aide to Senator Richard F. Colburn of the Maryland General Assembly where he performed legal research concerning possible legislation. Russ is admitted to practice in Connecticut. dize@gandb.com

Susan M. Schlesinger

Susan received her B.A. degree in English and Fine Arts with a concentration in theatre from Fairfield University. While in college, the FAIDRA Theatre Society produced one of her plays. She went on to work in the entertainment industry as Assistant Director of the Audition and Casting Department of Actors’ Equity Association.

Susan attended the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law where she received both a J.D. degree and an LL.M. in Intellectual Property. While at Cardozo, she was awarded a Howard M. Squadron Fellowship and spent the summer working at the Stanhope Centre for Communications Policy Research in London. In addition, Susan was a legal intern at Westwood One, Inc. and the Entertainment Software Rating Board. She also served as a Teaching Assistant to the Legal Writing Program at Cardozo. Susan is admitted to practice in New York and Connecticut. schlesinger@gandb.com

Jessica Rutherford

Jessica is an Associate with the firm. She received an A.B. (with honors) from Brown University with a dual concentration in cognitive science and Russian language and literature. She went on to work in the publishing industry, licensing subsidiary rights and advising foreign publishers on the U.S. book market.

Jessica received a J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law with a concentration in intellectual property law. During law school, she interned with Southern District of New York Judge Deborah A. Batts. In addition, Jessica was a legal intern at Wolff & Godin, LLP and Classic Media, Inc. Jessica is admitted to practice in Connecticut and is currently awaiting admission to practice in New York. rutherford@gandb.com

Robert C. Beasley

Bob is counsel to the firm. He received his B.A. degree from Wabash College and a J.D. degree from Indiana University School of Law. He has served and will continue to serve as General Counsel to Paws, Inc. in Albany, IN.

Bob has extensive experience in the licensing and merchandising area, having played an instrumental role in the design and implementation of the Garfield merchandising program, including supervising the enforcement activities both domestically and internationally. He is admitted to practice in Indiana. beasley@gandb.com

Richard E. MacLean

Richard is Of Counsel to the firm. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College in 1976 and a Juris Doctor degree cum laude from New York Law School in 1980 where he served on the moot court board and chaired the team that won 1 st place in the National Administrative Moot Court Competition. Richard has been practicing law in Fairfield County, Connecticut for over 20 years. From 1999 to 2003 Richard served as in-house Counsel to South Beach Beverage Company where he managed all facets of the company’s legal needs, including its intellectual property, government compliance, litigation, product quality and the eventual sale of the Company to PepsiCo in 2001 for over $300 million.

Richard’s private legal career has focused primarily in litigation and trial work, but he has extensive experience in all aspects of general business law, including intellectual property, corporate transactions, government compliance and contracts.

Richard is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Connecticut, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the 2 nd Circuit, and he has appeared by special permission before the courts of numerous other states. He is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. maclean@gandb.com