PRO
A seasoned litigator, Karl has tried more than 20 jury trials and many more bench trials, and he regularly handles complex digital media and technology law issues, such as internet trademark and copyright infringement, spam litigation defense, internet defamation and false advertising, cybersquatting, FTC lawsuits, website agreements and privacy disputes. Karl thrives on litigating matters where the legal terrain is uncharted, as is often the case in the realm of Internet disputes.
As a former general counsel to technology and non-technology companies alike, he has handled many of the day-to-day legal issues these companies face, including intellectual property issues, licensing and distribution agreements, and domain name disputes. Additionally, he handles a variety of transactions and business disputes for services, technology and media companies.
A former prosecutor and Army JAG Corps officer, he is both aggressive and creative in solving problems, while maintaining the highest of ethical standards.
Karl is frequently called upon as an Internet law expert by the media and at industry conferences. He has received the highest "AV Preeminent" rating by his peers through Martindale-Hubbell and is named to the 2011 list of Northern California Super Lawyers for his work in Internet law.
Karl is licensed to practice in California, New York, Georgia and Ohio and before the District Courts for the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of California, District Court for the Southern District of New York, District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Bar Association of San Francisco.
He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (1990) and the University of Cincinnati College of Law(1993).
Representative Matters
•Represented a major Internet advertising network in $11 million federal spam lawsuit by professional spam plaintiff. Prevailed on behalf of the client at summary judgment on all claims in the lawsuit. Obtained order awarding over $806,000 in fees and sanctions against the professional spam plaintiff, which pushed plaintiff into insolvency and caused them to cease operations.
•Represented a cloud computing and file sharing company backed by more than $600 million in venture financing in a lawsuit where the firm successfully obtained the domain name containing the client’s primary trademark.
•Represented a social networking app developer backed by more than $350 million in venture financing in a TCPA class action lawsuit. Obtained speedy settlement and voluntary dismissal of putative TCPA class action against client, after early discovery and independent research by the Firm demonstrated that the SMS text message at issue was initiated by the plaintiff’s acquaintance, not the client.
•Represented a medical records imaging technology company in lawsuit against an unknown person who hacked into client’s network. Upon discovering that the hacker was a competitor, and that the competitor stole trade secrets and used them to compete with client, the Firm amended the John Doe complaint to name the competitor as a defendant, leading to a complete win in the case and the criminal indictment of the defendant competitor.
•Represented an international nonprofit organization in lawsuit involving theft of its trade secrets and dissemination of such trade secrets by defendants anonymously via multiple blogs.
•Seized a domain name portfolio from a notorious cybersquatter and judgment debtor, auctioned the domain name portfolio for $302,000, and in the process created new Ninth Circuit law concerning the ability to seize domain names as property.
•Represented defendants in an FTC lawsuit alleging $350 million in damages arising from what the FTC described as “bogus free trial offers”, including preparing and presenting nine expert witnesses in an opposition to a preliminary injunction.
•Represented defendants in a FTC lawsuit involving $42.5 million regarding unsolicited SMS text messages marketing free gift cards, resulting in a public settlement where defendants paid only a fraction of the damages alleged by the FTC.
•Represented a medical school in lawsuit against a bogus non-profit consumer review website and company; following a round of subpoenas served on various service providers for defendants, the firm discovered that the defendant was actually controlled by a direct competitor of the client. The matter settled promptly after this revelation.
•Represented the nation’s largest broker of moving and relocation services in false advertising lawsuit against a so-called consumer review website. The complaint alleged that defendant engaged in search engine spam by numerous uses of our client’s trademark under the auspices of a “black list”, which directly benefited the competitors of the firm’s client.
•Represented the nation’s top retailer of ink and toner products in a false advertising lawsuit brought by a billion dollar printer manufacturer.
•Represented the U.S. Chess Federation in a lawsuit involving unknown parties hacking into the email account of a member of the board of directors of our client, and stealing information regarding the internal investigation of two other directors of the organization (Susan Polgar and Paul Truong). After multiple rounds of subpoenas, the firm discovered that the person responsible for the hacking was an employee of Susan Polgar, which led to the criminal indictment of such employee and an eventual resolution of the case.
•Defeated motion for class certification in hotly-contested, multi-million dollar consumer class action against Internet advertiser by using arguments made by plaintiff in refusing to arbitrate—namely, that the version of the website plaintiff viewed did not contain certain disclosures—against him to demonstrate that plaintiff could not establish the requisite commonality or typicality. The case was resolved shortly thereafter through voluntary dismissal by plaintiff and no payment by the client.
4
Practice Areas
28 years
28 years
28 years
28 years
We have not found any cost information for this lawyer
State: New York
Acquired: 2008
No misconduct found
State: California
Acquired: 2003
No misconduct found
State: Georgia
Acquired: 1998
No misconduct found
State: Ohio
Acquired: 1993
No misconduct found
150 Post Street, Suite 520, San Francisco, CA, 94108-4707
kr.lawOther places you can find Karl online.
Showing 1 - 1 of 1 review
Posted by Dustin Mitchell | September 30, 2016 | Business
Great representation
Consulted with his firm on several issues that were impacting my company Dustin
"I've worked with Karl on several matters, and have been thoroughly impressed. Karl is an experienced litigator, tactful negotiator, and achieved great results on our matters. I'm proud to know Karl."
"I met Karl at a recent Internet Lawyer Conference. I recommend him as a person and an attorney."
"I endorse this lawyer."
"Karl is among the best of the best. I have had the pleasure of working with him on many matters, and I have always found him to be well-prepared, creative and trustworthy. Perhaps most importantly, he is effective. Karl wins cases."
"I endorse and recommend Karl without hesitation. Over the last few years, I have come to know Karl, understand the manner in which he practices law and manages his firm, hear him speak on diverse legal issues, and, to my benefit, develop a collegial relationship with him. As to the manner in which he practices law, he is an attorney's attorney. He understands the law, appreciates the nuances of situations, advocates a strong position for his clients, and, this is important, he is respectful, professional and ethical. As to substantive knowledge, Karl is well-respected among peers throughout the country."
"I have worked with and opposite Karl on a number of matters. He is a true professional and one of the best in the space. Extremely knowledgeable and many of his cases make new law."
"Quite simply, Karl is an exceptional attorney. He is brilliant, savvy, hard working, creative, and honest. Unlike other lawyers who dabble in Internet and intellectual property law, Karl has extensive experience and really knows this area of the law."
"Karl is a trusted colleague and well respected lawyer is a highly specialized field."
Consumer protection lawyer
Litigation lawyer
Internet lawyer
Internet lawyer
Intellectual property lawyer
Internet lawyer
Corporate and incorporation lawyer
Business lawyer
Brain injury lawyer
Corporate and incorporation lawyer
2025
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
2024
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
2023
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
2022
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
2021
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
2012
AV Preeminent Peer Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
2011
Northern California Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers
2011
Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers
1997
Inducted as Colonel, Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels
1993
Inducted, The Order of the Barristers
2003 - Present
Partner, Kronenberger Rosenfeld, LLP
1994 - 1998
Prosecutor / Defense Attorney, U.S. Army JAG Corps
2011 - Present
ABA Cyberspace Law CommitteeMember
2008 - Present
American Association for JusticeMember
2004 - Present
Bar Association of San FranciscoMember
2003 - Present
American Bar AssociationMember
2012 - 2014
State Bar of California, Business Law Section, Cyberspace CommitteeCo-Vice Chair, Co-Chair
Case dismissed, affirmed on appeal.
The domains names were auctioned and the proceeds distributed to the judgment creditor.
Decision for defendant, affirmed on appeal.
The civil case eventually settled.
The civil case eventually settled.
Settled.
Settled
Domain Name Transferred
1993
JD - Juris Doctor
1990
BA - Bachelor of Arts
2022
What is a Web3 Domain Name, and Why IP Practitioners Should Know About Them? (.eth, .crypto, .nft, etc.)
2019
Defamation, Free Speech, and Reputation Management in the RV Industry
2018
Trends in Dealing with Unauthorized Sellers on Amazon
2017
Unpacking Hassell v. Bird
2017
Legal Issues for Amazon Sellers
2016
Copyrightability Under the Copyright Act
2015
Online Marketing: Current Trends & Common Pitfalls
2015
2015
Employers' Use of Social Media – NLRB and Other Updates
2015
Employers' Use of Social Media – NLRB and Other Updates
2015
Online Advertising Panel
2015
2014
2014
Testimony at Hearing of Judiciary Committee of California Assembly
2014
Nonconsensual Content Distribution: New Laws, Judgments and Case Strategies.
2013
New TCPA Requirements and Surging SMS Spam Litigation
2013
Recent Developments in TCPA Compliance and Litigation Regarding SMS Spam
2013
Serving Subpoenas on ISPs, Email Providers and other Vendors: Pitfalls and Best Practices
2013
Spam Litigation Update
2013
SMS Spam Litigation Explosion
2013
Spam Law Thunderdome: A Vigorous Debate on Current Spam Law Developments
2013
Mobile Privacy & COPPA: Recent Updates and Impending Regulatory Changes
2013
Mobile Privacy and SMS Marketing: Recent Updates and Impending Regulatory Changes
2012
SMS Spam Liability Under the TCPA and State Law: Compliance and Litigation Strategies
2012
Investigations and Pretexting: Legal and Ethical Considerations
2012
Waging War on Anonymous Bad Actors on the Internet
2012
Enforcing IP on the Internet: Ethical Issues and Investigative Tools in Pursuing Anonymous Infringers
2011
Legal Ethics of Online Marketing
2011
Technology Solutions in Cyberlaw
2009
2008
Legal Compliance and Risk Minimization for Email Marketing
2008
Internet Defamation
2008
Net Neutrality
2007
Legal Compliance When Engaging in SEO and SEM Internet Marketing
2015
2014
2009
2009
Legal Answers