Biography
Mark D. Passler is a trusted intellectual property (“IP”) attorney to senior executives, in-house counsel, technology transfer professionals, inventors, and brand managers. With extensive experience in patent, trademark, and copyright law, Mark guides clients through securing, licensing, and enforcing IP rights and he provides strategic IP due diligence for mergers, acquisitions, and IP transfers, helping businesses protect valuable assets.
He has a diverse client base that spans a wide array of organizations and industries, serving Fortune 500 corporations, startups, restaurant chains, banks and wealth management firms, healthcare companies, and universities, as well as sports and entertainment organizations.
Mark has substantial experience across a broad spectrum of technical fields, including mechanical, electrical, chemical, biological, and computer sciences. His knowledge further extends to areas such as medical devices, pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, and data management, allowing him to address complex IP challenges in rapidly evolving industries.
Mark is also recognized for his proven track record negotiating agreements with leading music publishers, record labels, motion picture studios, television networks, and digital content providers. His experience extends to representing recording artists and songwriters in all aspects of their careers, from recording and publishing to merchandising, sponsorship, and endorsement deals. Mark’s practical solutions ensure his clients’ interests are protected in the competitive entertainment industry.
Mark’s practice also encompasses drafting and negotiating website, software development, and other technology agreements, as well as advising on innovative and emerging business models in the evolving entertainment and technology sectors. His commitment to client success is reflected in his ability to anticipate industry trends and deliver results that safeguard intellectual assets and maximize business opportunities.
Experience
- Represented a world-renowned multi-platinum recording artist in connection with its reunion tour and new studio album, including the negotiation of numerous contractual agreements, and the policing of its trademark rights.
- Represented a professional sports organization before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office in connection with the enforcement of its trademark rights, and internationally in connection with more than a dozen trademark infringement matters.
- Represented a client in the settlement of a complex patent infringement suit relating to chemical products and methods.
- Represented a financial institution in connection with the loan of more than $10 million dollars to acquire a music publishing catalog.
- Represented several clients with the establishment of independent record labels, one of which is owned by an international corporation that is a leader in the entertainment industry.
- Represented a company in connection with the acquisition of a restaurant chain for more than $250 million dollars.
- Represented actors and recording artists filing patent applications in the music and motion picture industry, including applications relating to new systems of delivering content, and new systems for tracking audience preferences.
- Represented a company in connection with the acquisition of a television production copyright and trademark assets for several hundred million dollars.
- Represented a sports industry client in the enforcement of trademark rights against several Fortune 100 companies.
- Represented numerous clients in the service, consumer products, sports and entertainment, biomedical, pharmaceutical, and other technological industries, in managing their worldwide intellectual property portfolios.
- Represented a client in the settlement of a federal trademark suit related to the enforcement of color trademark rights.
Recognitions
- 2020–2025, Intellectual Property, listed in Chambers USA
- 2016–2026, Patent Law and Trademark Law, listed in Best Lawyers
- 2013–2017, Litigation Department of the Year for Intellectual Property, by Daily Business Review
- 2015, Recommended, listed in World Trademark Review 1000
- 2009, Key Partner Award, Intellectual Property and Technology, by South Florida Business Journal
- 2006, “Legal Elite,” listed in Florida Trend
Affiliations
Memberships
- Federal Circuit Bar Association
- International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property
- International Trademark Association
- The Florida Bar, Entertainment & Sports Law Section
Credentials
Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Supreme Court of the United States
- Texas
- U.S. District Court - Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court - Middle District of Florida
- U.S. District Court - Southern District of Florida
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
- United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Education
- University of Massachusetts, MS
- University of Miami School of Law, JD
- University of Texas, BBA
