Deanna is an experienced litigator who represents both intellectual property owners and accused infringers in matters involving patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and copyrights as well as related areas of commercial litigation. She specializes in multi-claim, multi-discipline cases that involve combinations of intellectual property rights and other contract or tort claims.
I litigate large-scale, multi-party actions as well as narrow disputes. My courtroom experience spans state and federal courts, as well as jury and bench trials. I particularly enjoy and specialize in rescuing “distressed cases.”
I have a passion for protecting the intellectual property that protects advancements in women’s health care. From OTC to surgical tools, I help doctors, scientists, and business individuals who work diligently to improve the health—and lives—of women around the globe. Protecting their intellectual property allows them to move their inventions through the development pipeline into real-world application and use.
I represent clients in actions involving a variety of industries and technologies, including medical devices, software, navigation equipment, consumer products, financial equipment, and audio systems. I focus on developing strategies to meet my clients’ goals and match their business culture, which can adapt as the litigation advances.
I assist businesses in protecting well-established brands as well as growing businesses and product lines in the food, beverage, alcohol, and agribusiness industries. From producers to distributors to retailers, my broad experience helps me counsel clients on how to best integrate and protect their intellectual property through multi-tiered strategies. I am particularly skilled with advising clients on holistic intellectual property management and protection strategies and policies.
In the last several years, interest has spiked in research focused on women’s health, particularly within government agencies such as the FDA and NIH. In fact, the NIH recently completed its largest women’s health prevention study ever—a 15-year study of over 160,000 women. Increased research activity typically matures into increased invention—and the intellectual property that defines those inventions. In the next decade, I believe women’s health care will be at the forefront of medical advancement.
Rochester Business Journal | July 26, 2019
This column by Rochester Corporate partner Jeremy Wolk analyzes a recent Supreme Court decision on whether individuals have a First Amendment right to register federal trademarks of “obscene” words and phrases. The column is based on an NP Alert written by Intellectual Property partners Jeff Costellia, Jason Kravitz and Deanna Kunze, and associate Anthony Duncan.
Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D., (Order of the Coif; Vanderbilt Law Review, Associate Editor)
University of Notre Dame, B.A., magna cum laude
Illinois
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
Deanna was named a “Rising Star” in 2012, 2013 and 2014 by the publisher of Illinois Super Lawyers magazine. Inclusion in “Super Lawyers” is based on a peer-review survey.
Deanna is an Ambassador for ResearcHERS, a movement and campaign of the American Cancer Society to support women researchers of women’s cancers.
Deanna also is a member of the Associate Board of the Lawyers for Creative Arts and a graduate of the WOMN Mentoring Program.
