Robert T. Maldonado

Robert T. Maldonado

(he/him/his)
Counsel | Trademark & Copyright
212.849.3339 Robert.Maldonado@WolfGreenfield.com LinkedIn Profile

Education

  • BS, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • JD, Stanford Law School

Key Industries

  • Consumer Products
  • Advertising
  • Fashion
  • Food & Beverage
  • Music
  • Mechanical Arts
  • Design Patents
  • Hemp Products
  • Tech Start-ups

Practice Groups

Languages

  • Spanish

Admitted to Practice

  • New York State
  • US Supreme Court
  • US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • US Courts of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • US District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • US District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • US District Court for the District of New Jersey
  • US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • US Patent and Trademark Office

Location

  • New York

Overview

Rob Maldonado focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation, including patent, trademark, copyright, false advertising, and unfair competition matters in federal court. He has extensive litigation experience at both the trial court and appellate court levels, as well as before the Patent and Trial Appeal Board (PTAB) and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). Rob manages extensive patent and trademark portfolios for his clients. He assists his clients in obtaining trademark, copyright, and patent protection, including developing IP protection and enforcement strategies. He is involved in the process from clearance, through registration of rights, through enforcement and licensing, and through renewal and maintenance. 

Rob’s clients, which span from start-ups to global corporations, rely on him for his strategic counseling. He regularly drafts opinion letters regarding patent validity and infringement, as well as trademark clearance, validity, and infringement. For patent work, his experience is primarily in the mechanical, material and process arts, as well as obtaining design protection. Rob also has assisted non-profits with protecting their intellectual property.

Prior to joining Wolf Greenfield, Rob was a partner at an intellectual property law firm in New York City for 27 years, where he practiced all aspects of intellectual property law.


Activities

  • Member, Hispanic National Bar Association (1999-present)
    • National President, Hispanic National Bar Association (2015-2016) 
    • National President-Elect, Hispanic National Bar Association (2014-2015) 
    • Regional President, Hispanic National Bar Association (2012-2014) 
    • Chair of LGBT Section, Hispanic National Bar Association (2010-2013) 
  • Member, The Hispanic Lawyers Society of New York (Top 100 Hispanic Lawyers in New York Metro Area) 
  • Member, American Bar Association 
    • Presidential Appointments Committee, American Bar Association (2024)
    • Council for Diversity in the Educational Pipeline, Commissioner, American Bar Association (2020-present) 
    • Center for Human Rights, Commissioner, American Bar Association (2018-2020) 
    • Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities, Commissioner, American Bar Association (2014-2018) 
  • Member, Puerto Rican Bar Association (“PRBA”)
  • Member, New York Intellectual Property Lawyers Association
  • Member, National LGBT Bar Association
  • Board Member, LGBT Law Association Foundation of Greater New York, Inc. (2013-2022) 
  • Fellow, American Bar Foundation (2013-present)
  • MIT Alumni Association, MIT Club of New York
  • CUP Catalyst, Council of Urban Professionals (2017) 
  • Trial Lawyer Honorary Society, Fellow, The Litigation Counsel of America (2016)
  • Member, Programming & Planning Committee, Judicial Conference of the Second Circuit (2014)
  • Member, Association of the Bar of the City of New York
    • Copyright & Literary Property Committee, Association of the Bar of the City of New York (1999-2002) 
    • Committee on Land Use Planning and Zoning, Association of the Bar of the City of New York (1995-1997)

Recognition

  • National Latino Attorney of the Year Award (2023)
  • Repeatedly named to the New York Super Lawyers list for intellectual property litigation
  • Repeatedly named to World Trademark Review 1000 – The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals 
  • Ranked among the top 4% of most active trademark attorneys by Patexia, Inc. (2023)
  • Named a Top Latino Lawyer by Latino Leaders Magazine (2019)
  • Named among the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in the US by Latino Lawyers Magazine (2018, 2016)
  • Recipient of El Award by El Diario La Prensa (2013)
  • Named Regional President of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association (2013)

Publications


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Podcasts


Interests

  • Traveling
  • Cooking
  • Dancing
  • Fitness