Fred leads Harris Sliwoski’s intellectual property practice and is the coordinator of the firm’s international team. Much of Fred’s practice consists of helping cannabis businesses protect their brands. He also works with entrepreneurs and companies entering the Web3 space, a new frontier for IP law. Prior to joining Harris Sliwoski, Fred worked overseas for more than a decade, in both government and private sector roles. Fred is a regular contributor to the award-winning China Law Blog and Canna Law Blog.
Fred began his career overseas as a U.S. consular officer in Guangzhou, China, where he advocated for fairer treatment of American companies and citizens in China and for stronger intellectual property rights enforcement. After entering the private sector, Fred worked at a Shanghai law firm as a foreign legal advisor and later joined one of the oldest American law firms in China, helping foreign companies navigate the Chinese legal environment. He also led the legal team at a Hong Kong-based brand protection consultancy, spending most of his time out in the field, protecting clients against counterfeiters and fraudsters in Greater China, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
In addition to his IP work, as a native Spanish speaker, Fred works closely with different Harris Sliwoski teams on Latin America and Spain matters. Fred also provides advice to cannabis industry participants and other businesses on import and export transactions.
Fred is an ardent supporter of FC Barcelona—and would be even in the absence of Catalan forebears who immigrated to Puerto Rico in the mid-1800s.
Registering a Trademark in the UK in 2025: What Global Brands Need to Know Navigating UK trademark registration in 2025 means understanding a legal system that has fully diverged from the EU model post-Brexit. Whether you’re filing through the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) or leveraging the Madrid Protocol, protecting your brand in the UK
Trademarking Pitorro: A Real-World Example I know from my LinkedIn feed that I’m not the only trademark lawyer who slips into Trademark Lawyer Mode™ while shopping or just driving around. Sometimes we wonder whether a particular mark is registered, or we instinctively spot potential issues that could arise if someone applied to register the mark,
A Practical Guide to Trademark Registration in Spain: Protecting Your Brand for the Spanish Market and Beyond This is the latest post in our global trademark series. Having covered Australia, Brazil, and Türkiye, we now turn to Spain—a key jurisdiction in the European Union, with a dynamic consumer market, strong IP enforcement culture, and seamless
Your Trademark Filing Could Trigger Domain Name Hijacking in Seconds In today’s hyper-connected digital landscape, brand protection risks can emerge in an instant. The speed at which these threats materialize makes proactive defense essential. Our trademark team recently encountered a case in which a third party registered a domain name matching a newly filed trademark—less
A Practical Guide to Trademark Registration in Türkiye: Protecting Your Brand at the Crossroads of Europe and Asia This is the third post in our global trademark series. After covering Australia and Brazil, we now turn to Türkiye—the 16th-largest economy in the world and a critical bridge between East and West. With its expansive consumer
A Practical Guide to Trademark Registration in Brazil: Protecting Your Brand in Latin America This is the second post in our global trademark registration series. We began with Australia, a jurisdiction known for its modern and flexible system. We now turn to Brazil—the largest economy in Latin America and an important jurisdiction for any brand
A Practical Guide to Trademark Registration in Australia: Protecting Your Brand Down Under This is the first post in a new series exploring trademark registration around the world. We’re starting with Australia—not just because it’s a key global market, but because our firm has deep experience there. Our Sydney-based colleague, Mathew Alderson, is a veteran
Expanding Your Restaurant Internationally: Intellectual Property Considerations It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of new markets and emerging culinary scenes, but international expansion requires far more than translating your brand or replicating your menu abroad. It demands that you navigate unfamiliar legal systems, mitigate new risks, structure smartly, and ensure your intellectual
Frisby Trademark Fight Highlights Key Risks for Global Brands A European trademark dispute is heating up over the use of the Frisby name, pitting a well-known Colombian fast-food chain against a Spanish company that successfully registered the Frisby trademark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). (Having put up with the title, we promise
Florida’s CHOICE Act Poised to Expand Noncompete Enforcement On April 24, 2025, the Florida Legislature approved the Florida Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth Act, which now awaits the Governor’s signature. In a striking departure from the national trend toward limiting restrictive covenants, the CHOICE Act positions the Sunshine State as the most
