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Clemmons, Katie

Katie Clemmons

Managing Associate
  • Commercial Litigation and Disputes
  • IP Litigation

Biography

KATIE CLEMMONS focuses her practice on litigating and counseling on copyright, trademark, and false advertising matters. She has represented clients in both state and federal court throughout the litigation process, including drafting dispositive motions, managing fact and expert discovery, arguing motions, taking and defending depositions, negotiating settlements, and preparing for trial, TRO, preliminary injunction, and class certification hearings.

Katie represents and counsels clients on a variety of copyright and trademark matters across the industry spectrum, including e-commerce, technology, social media, sports, and television. She has experience handling a broad scope of intellectual property issues, including ownership, fair use, licensing, secondary liability, right of publicity, artificial intelligence, online advertising, and privacy. She frequently presents on a variety of intellectual property topics, including Section 230, secondary copyright liability, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

In her advertising practice, Katie has experience litigating and counseling on matters involving a broad range of products and services, including over-the-counter drugs, beverages, dietary supplements, medical devices, and home appliances. She has litigated both competitor cases and consumer class actions.

Katie also represents clients in the sports industry in litigation, investigations, and transactions involving a broad range of issues, including breach of contract; name, image, and likeness (NIL); and labor and employment claims.

Prior to joining Sidley, Katie served as a law clerk for The Honorable David A. Ezra of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. She also worked in the Intellectual Property and Media practice at another global law firm.

Katie received her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School, where she was the senior notes editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review and a member of the Moot Court Board. She received her B.A., summa cum laude, from Washington and Lee University, where she was a captain of the women’s soccer team and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Experience

Representative Matters

  • Representing a major social media platform in a putative class action involving copyright infringement and Lanham Act claims in the Northern District of California.
  • Representing a prominent technology company in litigation in the Southern District of New York involving direct and contributory trademark infringement claims.
  • Advising major social media and e-commerce platforms on matters relating to copyright and trademark infringement and issues concerning the DMCA, the Communications Decency Act (CDA), and artificial intelligence.
  • Represented an international e-commerce platform in litigation in the Southern District of New York involving direct and contributory trademark infringement claims.
  • Represented a major pharmaceutical company in false advertising litigations in the Northern District of California.
  • Represented a major e-commerce platform in a litigation involving direct and secondary liability trademark and copyright infringement claims.
  • Represented a multinational broadcasting company in a copyright case involving a television series.
  • Represented an academic institution in breach of contract litigation involving an athletic conference realignment.
  • Advised a private equity firm on NIL and right of publicity issues in potential acquisition.

Some of the above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.

Community Involvement

Membership & Activities

  • Member of the Entertainment Law Committee (Litigation Subcommittee) and the Trademarks & Unfair Competition Committee of the NYC Bar Association.
  • Member of the Copyright Litigation Committee of the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law.
  • Member of the Trademark Law Committee of the New York State Bar Association Intellectual Property Law Section.

Credentials

Admissions & Certifications
  • U.S. District Court, District of North Dakota
  • U.S. District Court, E.D. of New York
  • U.S. District Court, S.D. of New York
  • U.S. District Court, W.D. of Texas
  • New York
  • Tennessee
Education
  • Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D., 2020, Vanderbilt Law Review
  • Washington and Lee University, B.A., 2017, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Clerkships
  • David A. Ezra, U.S. District Court, W.D. of Texas (2020-2021)

News & Insights

  • Author, “Dissecting Revlon: Severing the Standard of Conduct from the Standard of Review in Post-Closing Litigation,” Vanderbilt Law Review, 2020.