Joseph Grasser’s practice focuses on federal and state court litigation including intellectual property matters, unfair competition claims and complex insurance coverage disputes. Joseph also advises domestic and international clients on matters relating to trademarks, copyrights and insurance coverage. His experience includes discovery and dispositive motion practice as well as trial preparation.

Prior to joining Squire Sanders, Joseph served as a judicial extern for The Honorable Robert Dondero formerly of the Superior Court for the City and County of San Francisco, now with the California Court of Appeal, District 1. Before attending law school, Joseph was a paralegal with Squire Sanders. As a paralegal he assisted in discovery, dispositive motion practice and trial preparation in patent infringement suits in US district courts on behalf of Japan-based and Taiwan-based manufacturers.

Representative Experience

• Defending the author and owner of copyrights to a documentary and a bestselling book against claims of co-ownership asserted by a director of the documentary. (Also representing the publisher in parallel proceedings.) Our client was completely vindicated following a jury trial.
• Defending an insurance company in complex litigation, including intervening appeals and petitions for special writs, against a manufacturer of asbestos-containing products concerning coverage for hundreds of thousands of bodily injury claims spanning three decades.
• Representing a nationwide distributor of fine hand-knitting yarns in an unfair competition and RICO against a competitor.
• Representing a California-based company in an action against its insurance company for failure to pay a claim.
• Successfully resolving a trademark infringement and unfair competition claims on behalf of a nationwide distributor of fine hand-knitting yarns whose trademarks were being used by a competitor in online keyword advertising.
• Representing the producer of a mobile phone application in an action for copyright infringement.
• Representing a leading video game developer and manufacturer in actions and proceedings to protect images and trademarks.
• Representing an insurance company in an action seeking equitable contribution over payments made in defense of a common insured for asbestos bodily-injury claims.
• Successfully resolving as part of a team catastrophic personal injury claim on behalf of a snowboard binding manufacturer in a products liability matter.