ACG Advocacy has one of the premier intellectual property (IP) practices in Washington, D.C. Our team leverages decades of experience shaping IP policy thorough leadership positions in both Congress and the Executive Branch to provide strategic counsel to clients on matters relating to IP enforcement, patent, copyright, and trademark policy.
ACG is sought after for our breadth of expertise and our established bipartisan and bicameral network of key decision-makers across the federal government. Our partners have a proven track record of successfully elevating our clients’ priorities to the heart of the most consequential IP policy debates over the last decade.
ACG continues to play an active role in shaping the current IP policy landscape, representing clients in a wide array of industries, including pharmaceuticals, music, technology, and start-ups. Although our IP portfolio is diverse, we take pride in our continued commitment to promote pragmatic policies that bolster the United States’ innovation ecosystem, which is the backbone of our economy. The ACG principals who primarily contribute to our IP practice include: Manus Cooney, Chris Israel, and Marla Grossman.
From 1996-2000, Mr. Cooney served as Chief Counsel & Staff Director of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, where he was the principal legal and policy advisor to the Committee’s Chairman, Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT). From this post, Mr. Cooney managed a diverse legislative agenda, including matters relating to IP. Marla Grossman served as minority Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee from 1997-1999, where she was instrumental in the development of policy positions and legislative initiatives for current U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Ms. Grossman and Mr. Cooney both worked on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; Copyright Term Extension Act; Trademark Law Treaty Implementation Act; Domain Name Amendment Act; and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Reauthorization Act.
Finally, ACG Partner Chris Israel was appointed by former President George W. Bush to serve as the first U.S. Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement in 2006. In this role, he was responsible for coordinating and leveraging the resources of the U.S. government to protect American intellectual property at home and abroad. He was frequently called upon to testify before Congress and lead U.S. delegations to key countries including China, India, Russia, Japan and the European Union. He also represented the U.S. in global fora including WIPO, G8 and the OECD. Mr. Israel continues to be a frequent speaker on IP and innovation issues today and was named one of the 50 “Most Influential People on IP” by Managing Intellectual Property magazine in 2006.
