Jose Luis Villareal

José Luis Villareal is an intellectual property (IP) attorney in Holland & Knight's Monterrey office. Mr. Villareal advises Mexican and international clients from a wide variety of sectors on complex transactions and litigation proceedings related to intellectual property rights, including trademarks, patents and copyrights.

Mr. Villareal has successfully handled several IP transactions, including the purchase, sale, transfer, licensing and due diligence of IP rights. He also is experienced in advising on numerous administrative procedures and litigations related to IP rights. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants against several highly acknowledged corporations before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) and the Mexican Federal Courts. He also has coordinated the protection and enforcement of IP rights abroad.

As part of his experience, Mr. Villareal collaborated for nearly 10 years with a former senior legal officer of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and also former deputy general director of the IMPI. In addition, he has served as guest speaker for one of the Legal Culture Centers of the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice, for which he has presented on several IP topics.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Villareal formed part of the IP practice of another top-tier global law firm in Mexico.

Mr. Villareal's representative matters include:

• representing a global pharmaceutical giant on Mexico-related industrial property matters related to the potential acquisition of a section of another global pharmaceutical company
• representing one of the global market leaders in the pasta industry in connection with the registration of its trademarks before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI), and the enforcement and defense of its trademarks before the IMPI and Mexican Federal Courts
• representing a prestigious private university in Latin America with offices around the world in connection with the registration of its trademarks before the IMPI, the coordination of hundreds of trademark registrations abroad, the enforcement and defense of its intellectual property rights before the IMPI and Mexican Federal Courts, and diverse advertising campaigns
• representing one of the main food and beverage companies in the north of Mexico in connection with trademark-related administrative procedures before the IMPI and litigation before Mexican Federal Courts involving several claims against an international food and beverage leader
• providing legal advice to a Mexican hardware distribution industry leader in connection with numerous administrative procedures before the IMPI and representation in various litigations before Mexican Federal Courts arising out of several claims against one of the main hardware vendors in Mexico and Latin America, related to several patents and industrial designs
• representing one of the largest international storage solution companies, in connection with the registration of its trademarks before the IMPI and defense of its intellectual property rights before Mexican Federal Courts
• providing legal advice to one of the main banking institutions in the north of Mexico on the registration and enforcement of its trademarks before the IMPI, the defense of its intellectual property rights before Mexican Federal Courts and on diverse advertising campaigns
• representing one of the leading manufacturers of sports supplements in connection with the Mexico-related aspects of the acquisition of certain intellectual property rights
• providing legal advice on franchise and trademark matters of a well-known and award-winning luxury hotel chain in connection with its international expansion program
• representing one of Mexico's industry leaders on the design and manufacture of plumbing products in connection with the registration of its industrial designs before the IMPI
• representing a global sports media network in connection with the registration of its trademarks before the IMPI
• representing a volunteer-based global nonprofit organization in connection with the registration of its trademarks before the IMPI
• representing one of the Big Four auditors in connection with the maintenance of its trademarks registrations before the IMPI
• representing one of the world's leading producers of paper in connection with the registration of its trademarks before the IMPI
• representing one of the main financing agents for development in Brazil in connection with the registration of its trademarks before the IMPI