John Brendan Riordan

John is excited to help you with your business and intellectual property business needs. From helping you brand your business to registering your first trademark, John is ready to walk alongside you as you make your business the best that it can be. John works primarily with transactional intellectual property and contract work and is prepared to assist you and your business in litigation as well.

Liberty University School of Law

J.D. (2019)

2016 - 2019

Honors: Liberty University School of Law Honors Association; Dean's List

Activities: Moot Court; Law Review; Alternative Dispute Resolution

Liberty University

B.S. (2015) | Criminal Justice/Pre-Law

2011 - 2015

Honors: Dean's List; Alpha Phi Sigma Honors Society

Managing Member

Fidelity Law Group

2019 - Current

In 2019, I, along with two other colleagues, started Fidelity Law Group. Fidelity is focused on the needs of small to medium size business. Specifically, we deal primarily with intellectual property, business, and employment law. We gear our practice towards the hospitality industry, helping restaurants, breweries, tap-houses, wineries, and distilleries.

Law Clerk

Connors and Brenke, PLLC

2019 - 2019

I worked at Connors and Brenke, assisting attorneys with litigation and transactional matters. We primarily worked in the fields of intellectual property and business law.

In-House Counsel Law Clerk

Thriveworks

2018 - 2019

As in-house counsel at Thriveworks, I handled the day-to-day legal needs of the company. This ranged from writing policies, to handling employment contract issue, to responding to record requests.

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? An Examination of Collateral Consequences and Their Role in Sentencing.

Liberty University Law Review

January 1, 2018

Best Overall Brief - Florida Bar, Tax Section, National Tax Moot Court Competition

The Tax Section of the Florida Bar

2019

My teammates, Jonathan Shbeeb and William Baker, and I received the award for best overall brief during the Annual National Tax Moot Court Competition, hosted by the Tax Section of the Florida Bar. We also took first place in the competition.

First Place - Florida Bar, Tax Section, National Tax Moot Court Competition

The Tax Section of the Florida Bar

2019

My teammates, Jonathan Shbeeb and William Baker, and I competed in, and won, the 2019 Annual National Tax Moot Court Competition, hosted by the Tax Section of the Florida Bar. We competed against 12 other teams from across the country, hailing from well-known law schools, and went undefeated during 5 rounds, including the final round, which was judged by sitting and former Federal Tax Court judges.

First Place - ABA Regional Client Counseling Competition

The American Bar Association

2019

The ABA hosts 12 regional client counseling competitions annually. During the 2019 competition, my partner, Jonathan S. Shbeeb, and I came in first place in our region. This qualified us to compete in the ABA National Client Counseling Competition in March, 2019. The national competition will have the winners of the 12 regional competitions compete for a chance to move on to the international client counseling competition.

Semi-Finalist - Hunton Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship

Hunton Andrews Kurth & University of Houston Law Center

2019

The University of Houston Law Center, together with several prestigious sponsors, namely Hunton Andrews Kurth law firm, hosts an annual Moot Court National Championship. The top 16 teams from across the country--determined by calculating each participating law school's accumulated point total from the previous year's competitions--are invited to compete against each other for the title of national champion. After being invited to compete in the 2019 championship, my partner, Natalie C. Rhoads, and I placed as semi-finalists at this competition.

Second Place - ABA National Client Counseling Competition

The American Bar Association

2019

After taking first place at the ABA regional client counseling competition, my partner, Jonathan Shbeeb, and I placed second in the ABA's National Client Counseling Competition.

North Carolina State Bar  # 54973

Member

2019 - Current

North Carolina

North Carolina State Bar

ID Number: 54973

Since 2019

Intellectual Property

Trademarks

Trademark Litigation, Trademark Registration

Business Law

Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Finance, Business Formation, Business Litigation, Franchising, Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes

Employment Law

Employee Benefits, Employment Contracts, Employment Discrimination, ERISA, Overtime & Unpaid Wages, Sexual Harassment, Whistleblower, Wrongful Termination

Q. Hello, I have a question about copyright, please.

5 August 2020

A: Hello, you are likely able to keep using this term. I believe what you are referring to are "trademarks" not "copyrights." A trademark is a "source indicator" for goods or services. These usually come in the form of a business name, logo, or slogan. Copyrights, on the other hand, protect original works of authorship. So, based on what you've told me, it's likely that your book (the contents of the book itself, not just the title) would be a copyright, whereas the title of your book could be a trademark. Similarly, Anisa International's "Take Back Beauty" would be a trademark. Trademark infringement occurs when one party holds a valid, registered trademark and another party uses that mark or a similar mark without permission. When determining if a mark is infringing, we look at two main factors: the similarity of the mark and the similarity of the goods or services the mark is being used with. If the mark is similar enough to cause a "likelihood of confusion" it will likely be infringing unless the goods or services are sufficiently different. A good example of this is Dove soap and Dove chocolate. They are owned by separate parties, the marks are identical (in word form), but they refer to two completely different goods. Here, there's a good argument to say your book title would not be infringing on Anisa International's mark because it represents an entirely different good or service. There are always counter arguments, so be prepared for that. However, I think in this scenario, you are probably ok. DISCLAIMER: This answer does not form an attorney/client relationship and should not be considered as legal advice. Similarly no confidentiality exists between the asker and John B. Riordan or over the question or answer. If the asker would like a full consultation with confidentiality, he or she should contact John B. Riordan or another attorney to schedule such.

Q. In 2010 I coined the name ColdArted. I recently discovered someone in Illinois trademarked the same name. What can I do?

23 July 2020

A: There is potentially something you can do. First of all, are you sure that the company you found on google has officially received trademark registration? If not, it would be worth having an attorney conduct a thorough USPTO trademark search for you to see if they have or if they have applied to do so. If they have received national registration of their mark, your options are more limited. This is because the USPTO operates on a "first to file" basis where the first one to register a mark obtains "priority." However, there is a chance you have already obtained what is known as a "common-law trademark" in Indiana. A common-law trademark provides protection as a matter of law, not as a matter of registration. If you have used the mark enough (meaning, for long enough and publicly enough) that people in your geographic area of business operation have come to recognize your mark as synonymous with your goods or services, you may have common-law trademark protections. If you do, it would mean that you would have priority over the business that obtained USPTO registration, but only in the area you have already operated (this can even be limited to only a portion of the state where you most commonly operate). If they have not yet obtained or filed for federal registration, I would suggest you get on that quickly to see if you can beat them there! There's also a fairly in-depth analysis that can be done to determine whether, despite the similarity of the two business names, your mark can be registered because of the line of work that you are in. An attorney can help you answer that question, as well. I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck! By the way, I think the name is pretty clever. DISCLAIMER: This answer does not constitute legal advice and it should not be relied-upon as such. An attorney-client relationship has not been formed between the individual asking the question and John B. Riordan or Fidelity Law Group. This communicate is public and is therefore not confidential in any way.

Q. do i need a wwe trademark

17 July 2020

A: Hello, I would need more context to answer this question. Are you asking if you would need permission to use the WWE trademark in connection with one of your goods or services?