Joel Geoffrey Macmull

Joel is a nationally recognized trial and appellate lawyer who taps into his deep experience with high-stakes commercial litigation and intellectual property disputes, including copyright, trademark, and trade secret matters, to protect and advance his clients’ business interests.
Joel G. MacMull is Chair of the Firm’s Intellectual Property & Brand Management and Commercial and Corporate Litigation Practice Groups.

Joel’s practice focuses on high-stakes complex commercial litigation and intellectual property disputes, including copyright and trademark infringement, trade secret misappropriation, false advertising, “cybersquatting,” rights of publicity, as well as general contract and business tort disputes. Joel has tried and argued cases in state and federal courts, as well as before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Joel also has significant appellate experience. He was intimately involved in the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Matal v. Tam (formerly Lee v. Tam), in which the Supreme Court by a unanimous vote of 8-to-0 (Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate in the consideration or decision of the case) affirmed the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruling in late 2015. The High Court held that § 2(a) of the federal trademark statute violates the free speech clause of the First Amendment because the government discriminates based on viewpoint and targets offensive expression with an intent to discourage its use.

Joel has also briefed and argued multiple cases before the Second Circuit, and the New York Appellate Division.

Representative Clients include:

- America Online, Inc.
- The Princeton Club of New York
- Mul-T-Lock USA, Inc.
- Symphony Publishing NY, LLC
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Joel hosts a weekly video series known as MacMull’s Musings. You can view the latest episodes here.