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Ian  G. McFarland photo

Ian’s practice focuses on intellectual property counseling, enforcement, and litigation encompassing patent, copyright, trademark, false advertising, unfair competition, and trade secret matters.  He regularly represents clients in federal district and appellate courts across the country, state courts in Tennessee, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Ian is a registered patent attorney and admitted to practice before the Tennessee Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth, Ninth, and Federal Circuits. Ian has experience representing clients across a wide array of industries and technology fields, including financial services, cosmetics, jewelry, consumer goods, pet products, insurance services, medical software, educational services, material analysis devices, pharmaceuticals, industrial safety equipment, food and beverage products, electronic measuring equipment, and apparel, among others.

Having helped secure courtroom victories and favorable settlements on behalf of numerous clients, Ian is a frequent and integral member on the firm’s trial teams. Ian has experience coordinating written discovery and document production, deposing potential witnesses, drafting all types of pre- and post-trial motions, and examining witnesses at trial. Due to the often times overwhelming and complex nature of litigation, Ian develops close relationships with his clients and maintains open lines of communication before and during the case to address strategy, risks, budgets, timelines, and other concerns. He understands the sensitivities of his clients’ businesses and the significant impact that litigation often has on them. His primary goal is always to identify and obtain solutions that effectively and efficiently satisfy the client’s objectives.

Represented numerous plaintiffs and defendants in Trademark Trial and Appeal Board cancellation and opposition proceedings, securing denial of registrations and preventing denial of registrations. Ian has coordinated discovery and evidential phases of proceedings, prepared pre-trial motions, deposed witnesses, and drafted trial briefs.

Obtained judgment as a matter of law following jury trial in patent infringement lawsuit involving electronic pet containment and training systems. Ian ...

  • University of Tennessee College of Law, J.D., 2011
  • University of Missouri, B.A. Biological Sciences, 2008
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
  • Tennessee Supreme Court
  • Eastern District of Tennessee
  • Sixth Circuit
  • Federal Circuit

American Intellectual Property Law Association
Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association
Tennessee Bar Association
Knoxville Bar Association
The Hamilton Burnett American Inn of Court

Selected for inclusion in Mid-South Rising Star, 2015-2016

Magna Cum Laude, Order of the Coif, Order of Barristers, Cunningham Excellence in Legal Writing Award, 2011

Merchant & Gould Intellectual Property Award, 2011

Tuneful or Tone Deaf?: Three lessons in brand enforcement and management gleaned from the headlines., Speaker, Tennessee Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, October 14, 2020

Demonstrative Evidence Under the Rules: The Admissable and Inadmissable, Litigation Commentary & Review, co-authored with Allen Hinderaker, July 2015

“The Sky Could Be Falling:  Discussing Prometheus and its Implications on the Life Sciences Industry,” TIPLA Spring Conference, 2012

Comment, In the Wake of Therasense and Nisus Corp., How Can Patent Attorneys Defend Themselves Against Allegations of Inequitable Conduct, 78.2 Tenn. L. Rev. 485, 2011