“Trademarks and copyrights are incredibly valuable assets that build brand loyalty, prevent consumer confusion, and block competitors from taking advantage of your creativity. I love helping clients protect their brands and creative works.”
Dani Muñoz has a rare advantage in her field: she previously worked as a Trademark Examining Attorney at the USPTO, which gives her an insider’s knowledge of how the USPTO examines and evaluates trademark applications. She leverages this insight to efficiently overcome obstacles and objections that arise for her clients during trademark prosecution.
Her pragmatic approach carries over into her counseling practice. Clients appreciate that Dani can quickly get to the heart of an issue and provide guidance with just the right level of detail. She provides the essential information needed to make an informed decision without being bogged down by a full legal treatise.
Dani advises clients on issues such as:
- Copyright fair use questions
- Domain name disputes
- IP assignments and licenses
- Protection of proprietary software
- IP ownership issues
- Due diligence related to IP assets during mergers and acquisitions
- Trade secret protection
She also provides trademark clearance advice and opinions, and prepares and negotiates business agreements related to IP.
Dani is skilled at handling trademark and copyright disputes and frequently has success in negotiating settlements that benefit her clients. Nevertheless, Dani’s experience litigating complex commercial and trademark cases in federal court and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board make her well equipped to vigorously enforce and defend her clients’ rights.
Prior to joining Fitch Even, Dani worked at a commercial law firm. She graduated from Hope College, summa cum laude, and pursued a Fulbright Scholarship in Spain before attending Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where she served as an Editor on the Indiana Law Journal. Dani is committed to providing pro bono legal services and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession.
Dani is a member of Fitch Even’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.
- Frequently overcomes substantive refusals issued by the USPTO, successfully registering clients’ trademarks.
- Educates business and marketing teams on intellectual property basics and trademark best practices.
- Implemented strategy for protection of proprietary software and related branding for pharmacy solutions innovator.
- Overcame descriptiveness refusal for trademark that was advised as potentially generic, obtaining registration on the Principal Register.
- Managed trademark portfolio and provided clearance opinions for new product names and brands for Fortune 100 insurance company.
- Successfully rebutted cease-and-desist letters sent to nonprofit organization for alleged copyright infringement seeking monetary damages for use of images online.
Presentations
- “Trademark & Copyright Law: What’s New in 2024,” Fitch Even Webinar, with Kerianne A. Strachan, November 20, 2024.
- “The Latest Changes in Copyrights & Trademarks,” Fitch Even Webinar, November 2, 2023.
- “Raising the Bar: A Virtual Panel Discussion on LGBTQ+ Diversity in Law,” Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (IPLAC), June 30, 2021.
- “Loyola’s Young Attorneys Intellectual Property Panel,” Loyola University Chicago School of Law and DePaul University College of Law, March 19, 2019.
Publications
- Muñoz, D., “Aaron Judge Makes Triple Play in TTAB Opposition,” Licensing Journal, vol. 43, no. 7, August 2023: 26-27.
- “Iancu v Brunetti,” Intellectual Property Magazine, June 25, 2019.
- Chicago Women in Intellectual Property
- Member, Community Involvement Committee
- DEI Steering Group
- Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago (LAGBAC)
- International Trademark Association
