Consumer Products

Freeborn’s industry-focused Consumer Products Team draws on its collective legal skills and business expertise to provide advice and counsel to all types of consumer product manufacturers regarding every facet of their business.

Freeborn’s Consumer Products Industry Team is comprised of transactional attorneys and litigators with industry-specific expertise across a range of practice groups to fully serve consumer products companies. Freeborn’s attorneys have substantial experience responding to the opportunities and navigating the issues regularly encountered by consumer products companies. Our knowledge and solution-oriented approach differentiates Freeborn from other firms, making us the ideal choice to represent you from first negotiating agreements to resolving disputes with distributors, suppliers, vendors, regulators, governmental authorities and even competitors. We identify risks and mitigation opportunities, and can both enforce your rights and defend you in litigation, should the need arise.

Freeborn's Consumer Products expertise includes the below areas of focus:

Intellectual Property and Brand Protection
Purchasing Law, Supply Chain, and Sales Channels
Product Liability, Safety, and Recalls
Antitrust and FTC
Labor and Employment
Website, E-commerce, Data Privacy, and Cybersecurity

Services

We advise, counsel, and defend consumer products companies on the following topics:

Advertising plans
Branding and licensing
Consumer electronics
Copyright infringement litigation
Data security and breach guidance
Design and utility patents infringement
Employment
False advertising litigation
Food safety
“Made in the USA” marketing claims
Master service agreements
Master supply agreements
Minimum advertising price policies
Model invoice and purchase orders
Packaging
Privacy policy drafting
Product recalls
Promotion/sweepstakes
Prosecution and registration of patents, copyrights, and trademarks
Software licenses
Supply chain management
Termination and breach letters
Trademark or trade dress infringement litigation
Warranty matters

Professional Affiliations

Freeborn is an active member in the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA), International Consumer Products Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO), Toy Association, ASTM International, International Trademark Association (INTA), Brand Activation Association (formerly Promotion Marketing Association), and IRI Worldwide.

Freeborn routinely provides webinars, white papers, and other thought leadership to industry members of these consumer products organizations.

Areas of Focus

Representative Matters

Counseled consumer products manufacturer on evaluating incident reports, designing product testing protocols with engineering experts, and reporting to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission including proposing a remediation plan.

Successfully resolved allegations of false “Made in the USA” marketing claims on a toy manufacturer’s product packaging.

Represented leading children’s products manufacturer in design patent suit with a competitor resulting in the preservation of the design patent and the competitor’s exit from the market for the protected product.

Represented distributor-marketers of sporting equipment seeking contribution for personal injury settlements from Taiwanese manufacturers and distributors of alleged defective equipment, including obtaining depositions and other discovery in Taiwan and successfully executing judgments against personal property in Taiwan.

Represented several consumer products manufacturers in employment matters, including employment contracts, DOL audits, training, and general counseling.

Participated in product recalls before the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission and litigated injury claims resulting from alleged defects.

Represented leading children’s products manufacturer in arbitration brought by former C-Suite executive alleging fraud in the inducement (which claim was determined to be without merit).

Counseled consumer products manufacturer on responding to a Freedom of Information Act request to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission.

Prepared and implemented minimum advertised price policy for leading children’s product manufacturer including training for the sales team.

Served as national counsel for a fitness-equipment manufacturer in product-liability lawsuits filed throughout the United States.

Represented manufacturer of health and beauty products in case related to the false advertising of health claims and misappropriation of trade secrets by the defendant, a competing manufacturer of health products.

Counseled multiple consumer products manufacturers in responding to website ADA claims and lawsuits.

Represented manufacturer client in multi-year, multi-jurisdictional litigation of false advertising claims against a competitor and defending against patent-infringement claims relating to windshield wiper blades.

Served as intellectual property counsel to large backpack and suitcase manufacturer. Devised and enforced worldwide trademark portfolio; oversaw transfer of intellectual property when company was sold.

Successfully defended a major automobile manufacturer in a product-liability suit seeking more than $20 million in damages. The National Law Journal heralded the victory as one of the top defense verdicts of the year.

Defended several copyright infringement actions brought against fashion industry clients.

Developed global and national privacy polices for ecommerce and mobile application platforms consistent with GDPR and CCPA.