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Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, P.C.

United States 2024
4
National Rankings
5
Metro Rankings
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General Information

5
Practice Areas
12
Individuals recognized in Best Lawyers
57
Client Comments
Year founded: 1957
This is the year the firm (or its earliest predecessor entity) was founded.
Logo for Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, P.C.

Overview

Content is provided by the firm.

We maintain long-term relationships by providing highly responsive, personalized service with quality legal work and sound advice.

Since 1957 we have earned our international reputation as a leading intellectual property law firm. We have a deep bench of attorneys experienced in trademark, copyright and patent law who meet together weekly to discuss current issues, and who frequently meet with non-US colleagues.

An adjunct is our unusual practice in customs, international cargo and regulatory compliance law with an ancillary office near JFK International Airport. In addition, we have an active advertising law practice. We also have successfully represented clients in the areas of litigation, commercial and corporate law, real estate, trusts and estates and private client services.

Please visit our website at www.cll.com for more information.

Rankings

Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, P.C. is nationally ranked in 4 practice areas and metro ranked in 5 practice areas. Best Law Firms rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process.

Read how Best Law Firms ranks firms

National Rankings

Tier 1
Tier 1 for Copyright Law
Tier 1 for Litigation - Patent
Tier 1 for Trademark Law
Tier 2
Tier 2 for Litigation - Intellectual Property

Metro Rankings

New York City
Tier 1 for Copyright Law
Tier 1 for Litigation - Intellectual Property
Tier 1 for Litigation - Patent
Tier 1 for Trademark Law
Tier 3 for Commercial Litigation

Firm Leadership

Jonathan Z. King
Chair

About Our Clients

Cannonball Wine & Spirits Delete Canon KK Delete Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. Delete Columbia University Delete Discover Financial Services Delete Empire State Realty Trust Delete Euro-Pro Operating LLC Delete High Times Magazine Delete Inditex Delete J. Crew Group, Inc. Delete Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. Delete Morgan Stanley Delete National Audubon Society Delete Patina Restaurant Group Delete Penguin Random House LLC Delete QVC Delete Ryder System Delete Sixty Hotels Delete Sotheby's Delete The Brinks Company Delete The Donna Karan Company Delete Thompson Hotels & Resorts Delete Varsity Brands, Inc. Delete Wolfgang's Steakhouse

Select Clients

  • Barclays Bank PLC
  • Cannonball Wine & Spirits
  • Canon KK
  • Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.
  • Columbia University
  • Empire State Realty Trust
  • G-III Apparel Group Ltd. (DKNY and DONNA KARAN)
  • High Times Magazine
  • Inditex
  • J. Crew Group, Inc.
  • Major League Baseball Properties, Inc.
  • Morgan Stanley
  • National Audubon Society
  • Patina Restaurant Group
  • Penguin Random House LLC
  • QVC
  • Ryder System
  • Sixty Hotels
  • Sotheby's
  • The Brinks Company
  • Thompson Hotels & Resorts
  • Wolfgang's Steakhouse

Highlighted Client Comments

All client comments represent the opinions of the people who provided them. All potential clients are urged to remember that no two cases are ever completely alike and that the result in one case does not guarantee a similar result in another case.
Litigation - Intellectual Property
I have used Rich Dannay at Cowan Liebowitz for more than 30 years. He is one of the preeminent copyright lawyers in the country. And, unlike many IP attorneys, he knows how to litigate a case. I recommend him highly.
Trademark Law
The attorneys at this little gem of a boutique are the most intelligent and practical attorneys I've ever worked with in the trademark, copyright, trade secret, customs, music, IP litigation and patent areas. Cowan's partners excel at simplifying complicated legal issues, explaining to business people what really matters, what does not and understanding likely outcomes in difficult legal situations. These qualities also make them far and above the most cost effective IP lawyers I've used. On more than one occasion, switching to Cowan reduced my fees on "routine" IP work and headaches by more than 300%. These are "lawyers' lawyers," but my business people love them and often ask for them instead of other firms that they've worked with for years in the past. Bill Borchard, Lana Cohen, C.J. Ericson, Chris Jensen and Tom Kjellberg, to name a few there, are at the top of their field.

Rankings

National Rankings

Tier 1
Tier 1 for Copyright Law
Tier 1 for Litigation - Patent
Tier 1 for Trademark Law
Tier 2
Tier 2 for Litigation - Intellectual Property

Regional Rankings

New York City
Tier 1 for Copyright Law
Tier 1 for Litigation - Intellectual Property
Tier 1 for Litigation - Patent
Tier 1 for Trademark Law
Tier 3 for Commercial Litigation

Practice Areas

The below are areas of legal specialty volunteered by the firm and do not designate a specialty in which a Best Law Firms ranking is held.
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Copyright Law
  • Litigation - Intellectual Property
  • Patent Law
  • Trademark Law

Individuals Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America®

Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, P.C. has 12 lawyers recognized for individual performance in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. By receiving this Best Lawyers recognition from their peers for their professional excellence, these lawyers made Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, P.C. eligible for evaluation for Best Law Firms rankings. For almost two decades, Best Lawyers has awarded these singular accolades, making them the foundation of our Best Law Firms awards. Read more about our Best Lawyers process here.
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Client Comments

All client comments represent the opinions of the people who provided them. All potential clients are urged to remember that no two cases are ever completely alike and that the result in one case does not guarantee a similar result in another case.
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Awards

Awards are self-reported by firms and are not verified by the Best Law Firms rankings.
  • World Trademark Review 1000 -The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals
  • Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars
  • Chambers USA
  • Legal 500

Significant Matters

Below are matters chosen by the firm to highlight.

We succeeded in having two of our clients' trademarks declared to be "famous marks" by the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board:

  1. Major League Baseball's marks WORLD SERIES (Opposition No. 91200934) and MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL (Cancellation No. 92060903).
  2. ESRT Empire State Building's mark EMPIRE STATE BUILDING IMAGE (Opposition No. 91204122).

The TTAB also decided that the designations 1.0, 1.25 and 1.5 in plain or stylized letters are generic for cigarette rolling papers and could be freely used by our client. (Opposition No. 9158276).

Our decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that the graphic designs on our client's cheerleading uniforms is copyrightable was affirmed by the US Supreme Court.

We succeeded in having the Southern District of New York dismiss alleged copyright infringement claims as to 38 stock photographic images.

We defeated a preliminary injunction motion in the Southern District of New York by the owners of The Cotton Club nightclub in New York seeking to prevent the title of New York City Center's musical "Cotton Club Parade."

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