Kristine M. Boylan

Kristine is a lawyer with several decades of experience in Minnesota law, litigation and intellectual property. Kristine is a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP). She has been named to IAM Patent 1000. Kristine has been named to the WTR1000 (one of the top 1000 trademark professionals worldwide). She is a member of the International Trademark Association’s Panel of Trademark Mediators. Kristine is a Rule 114 qualified neutral under rule of the Minnesota Supreme Court. She has been listed in Best Lawyers in America for Intellectual Property for nearly a decade. Kristine sits on the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Roster of Arbitrators.

Distinctions

1. Honoree, IP Stars, Managing Intellectual Property
2. Minneapolis office Practice Group Chair

Confidential Advice on IP Strategy and Litigation Avoidance

• Confidential handling of various cease and desist communications.
• Diligence and strategy on matters involving start-up companies and university-assisted research.
• Due diligence on the Intellectual Property components of M&A deals.
• Craft overseas efforts to combat product copying, counterfeiting, grey market problems.

Business Disputes & Trade Secret Litigation

• Failed M&A Talks & Failed Joint Ventures Resulting In Trade Secret Theft and Breach of NDA. Lead counsel to investigate, develop and bring legal action to protect confidential, proprietary trade secret information stolen in failed M&A talks and joint ventures. Has included but is not limited to manufacturing processes, medical devices, cell towers and robotics.
• Shareholder Dispute. Has involved closely-held family business, valuation issues, conflicting corporate organizational documents, complicated tax scenarios and family trust litigation.
• IP Rights and Licensing. Has included but is not limited to IP ownership, valuations and relative rights in company break-ups and corporate re-organizations.

Intellectual Property Litigation – Patents

• Patent Infringement. Lead counsel to bring and resolve lawsuits for patent infringement. Have obtained multiple Court Orders of Injunction and secured favorable settlements with monetary payments and license terms.
• Chinese Knock-Offs Unfairly Competing For Store Shelf Space And On Internet Storefronts. Lead counsel to get Court Order needed to shut down copied product from Chinese-manufacturer sold through United States-based traditional retailers and online sales outlets. Has included a variety of goods imported through different ports of entry and distributed nationwide.

Intellectual Property Litigation – Trademark

• Website Impersonation. Lead counsel to get Court Order needed to shut down website with fraudulent corporate identity and copying of website to illegally collect credit card payments and customer information.
• Trademark and Trade Dress Infringement. Lead counsel to bring and resolve lawsuits for trademark infringement in a variety of routine trademark enforcement and trademark defense settings.

Intellectual Property Litigation – Copyrights

• Copyright Infringement. Lead counsel to bring and resolve lawsuits for copyright infringement. Has included but is limited to copying of product catalogs, images, packaging, descriptions and designs.

• Panelist, “Issues of TM Law and Practice,” USPTO webinar, April 30, 2024.
• Guarding Your Trademarks and Copyrights in the Digital Age Association of Corporate Counsel, Minnesota Chapter, September 2016.
• Speaker, Non-Trademark Issues Trademark Attorneys Should Know About International Trademark Association, Minneapolis Roundtable, June 2014.
• Author, Federal (District of Minnesota) Practice Deskbook, Depositions Chapter, May 27, 2014.
• Author, “Preliminary Injunctions,” Trademark Infringement Remedies (BNA), May 16, 2010.
• Co-Author and Moderator, “Witness,” The Minnesota Ultimate Trial Notebook III, Nov. 18, 2000.
• Author, “Antitrust Concerns With Licensing Agreements,” MSBA’s Antitrust & Business Competition Law Conference, April 18, 2000.
• Author, “Judicial Disobedience & The Corporate Right of Publicity in Federal Trademark Dilution Legislation,”  Nov. 27, 1999.
• Author, “Life After Quality King: A Critique of Copyright Law as a Tool to Police the Grey Market,” AIPLA Quarterly Journal 109, April 27, 1999.
• Author, “The Corporate Right of Publicity in Federal Trademark Dilution Legislation,”  Trademark Reporter, August 27, 1998.