Thayer M. Preece

Thayer Preece is an associate in the Intellectual Property group in the firm's Palo Alto office. 

Areas of Practice

Thayer's practice focuses on trademark and copyright matters.  Her practice extends to prosecuting new and pending applications at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Copyright Office, counseling clients on intellectual property strategy, trademark and copyright licensing, enforcing clients' intellectual property rights against infringers, and pursuing trademark claims at the TTAB and Federal Courts. 

 As part of her intellectual property practice, Thayer has extensive experience in assisting clients with domain name issues, including creating domain registration and enforcement strategies, filing registrations, and enforcing clients' rights against cybersquatters and online trademark and copyright infringers through both legal and administrative channels.

Thayer is a member of Sheppard Mullin's Video Game Industry Group.  By combining a passion for gaming with her relevant knowledge in the legal field, Thayer is ideally qualified to assist clients in the video game industry with their intellectual property issues. Thayer is a leader in the Video Game Industry Group, counseling clients in the video game industry on a range of IP and policy issues, and managing the Law of the Level blog.

Education

• J.D., University of Illinois College of Law, 2005, magna cum laude, Editor for the University of Illinois Journal of Law, Technology & Policy
• B.A., Finance, University of Illinois, 2001
• B.A., Music, Performance, University of Illinois, 2001, with high honors

Admissions

• California

Ms. Preece was a Judicial Intern for the Honorable James Ware, Northern District of California

Memberships

• Member, INTA Internet Committee

Articles

• Making Sense of Virtual Dollars, Law360, December 6, 2011
• Video Game Law Dealt Fatal Blow, The Recorder, July 11, 2011

"The Motion Picture Empire Strikes Back: 321 Studios v. MGM Studios," published by the University of Illinois Journal of Law, Technology & Policy, Spring 2004

Guest author for trademark issues concerning the law and virtual worlds on the site Virtually Blind, http://virtuallyblind.com/

Law of the Level Blog Articles

• "Patent Holder Takes a Shot at Nintendo over DSi Cameras," May 25, 2011
• "Trademarks for Social Games - a Recipe for Success," August 27, 2010 
• "Creating the (Virtual) American Dream: User-Generated Content and Trademarks in Virtual Worlds", October 7, 2009 
• "China's Gold Crop Weathers New Regulations...For Now", August 11, 2009