Stefan Mentzer

• Blanch v. Koons. Successfully defended Deutsche Bank against claims by a freelance photographer who alleged infringement by visual artist Jeff Koons. Obtained a total win in the Southern District of New York and at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, establishing a leading precedent on copyright fair use.°
• Trackman. Representing a leading sports technology company in a copyright infringement claim against a competitor for allegedly copying golf simulator software.
• Pfizer. Lead counsel for a pharmaceutical company in a copyright infringement lawsuit alleging infringement of a song used in television advertising campaign for Advil.°
• Dramatic Publishing Company. Represented a theatrical licensing company in litigation involving copyright termination in a stage adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.°
• Lemonade. Represented an insurtech leader in copyright infringement litigation against copycat producers of a property and casualty insurance app, located in Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.°
• iFIT. Retained as a copyright law and music licensing expert on behalf of iFIT, a leading health and fitness platform, in litigation against Peloton.°
• Museums of Art. Served as counsel of record for 28 museums of art, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons. The U.S. Supreme Court relied on the museum amici’s arguments as support for its landmark decision that the “first sale” doctrine applies to foreign-manufactured goods, and The National Law Journal featured the museum brief as its “brief of the week.”°

• Multifactor authentication. Represented a Germany-based developer of security and authentication technology in patent infringement litigation in the District of Delaware. Prevailed in a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and in two inter partes review proceedings. Obtained a rare reversal from the Federal Circuit under Alice step 2, in which the court ruled that the client’s patent recites a specific improvement to a particular computer-implemented authentication technique.°
• Abiomed. Represented Abiomed in a patent infringement dispute regarding the company’s core product, the Impella® line of heart pumps. After a Markman ruling, the court granted summary judgment of non-infringement, giving Abiomed a complete victory and clearing the way for the company’s $16.6 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson.°
• Biotronik. Represented Biotronik, a cardiovascular biomedical research and technology company, in patent infringement litigations involving coronary stent technology. Successfully challenged jurisdiction and venue claimed by the plaintiff, resulting in the plaintiff withdrawing its Western District of Texas action and allowing the parties to proceed in the client’s preferred venue.°
• Samsung Bioepis. Represented Samsung Bioepis in a Section 1782 proceeding against a competitor that sought broad discovery for use in patent litigations worldwide. After extensive motion practice involving the novel issue of whether the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) bars such discovery, the competitor withdrew its application.°

• Valbruna. Successfully represented a leading stainless steel manufacturer in a Section 337 proceeding before the U.S. International Trade Commission. The ITC found that the respondent, an India-based stainless steel producer, misappropriated the client’s trade secrets, and it issued orders prohibiting the respondent’s importation and sale of stainless steel products for more than 16 years. Stefan argued the appeal to the Federal Circuit, which affirmed the ITC’s determination, resulting in a complete victory for the client.°
• Pfizer. Represented Pfizer in litigation against Merck concerning alleged misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential business information in the development of multi-conjugate pneumococcal vaccines.°
• Electronics manufacturer. Represented a leading electronics manufacturer in federal district court trade secret litigation.°

• Walmart. Represented Walmart in trademark and trade dress disputes involving the company’s Walmart.com e-commerce platform. Defended Walmart against trade dress and design patent claims brought by the manufacturer of Ugg footwear, and in a lawsuit brought by a manufacturer of stationary exercise bicycles alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition for use of the terms “spin” and “spinning.”°
• Epic Staffing Group. Represented a national provider of staffing services to bio-pharmaceutical and health care industries in trademark litigation against Epic Systems.°
• Abiomed. Defeated an opponent’s motion to amend a complaint to add false advertising claims under the Lanham Act and state law, persuading the court that the purported false advertising claims arose from entirely different transactions and facts — a crucial win for the client.°
• Mahindra & Mahindra. Represented an India-based vehicle manufacturer in an appeal of the ITC’s Section 337 trade dress infringement determinations. The Federal Circuit ruled that Mahindra’s redesigned vehicle did not infringe the claimant’s claimed trade dress in “jeep” vehicles, giving the client a significant win and allowing it to continue importing its products into the United States.°
• International Wildlife Coexistence Network. Defended a wildlife preservation nonprofit, which advocates for the relisting of gray wolves on the federal endangered species list, against a plaintiff that claimed to own trademark rights in the term #RelistWolves. Won dismissal in Montana of plaintiff’s complaint on personal jurisdiction grounds and denial in Idaho of plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction.°

• Music Royalty Rate-Setting and Distribution Proceedings. Litigated federal court cases to determine reasonable fees for the public performance of copyrighted musical works by internet and commercial music services, and U.S. Copyright Office proceedings for the distribution of cable retransmission royalties.°
• Square Acquisition of TIDAL. Advised Square on music IP and licensing issues in the company’s acquisition of a majority ownership stake in TIDAL, the global music and entertainment platform.°
• LINE Acquisition of MixRadio. Advised LINE on all aspects of music IP and licensing issues in LINE’s acquisition of music streaming service MixRadio from Microsoft.°

• Average Wholesale Price Pharmaceutical Litigation. Represented a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer in a false claims act, common law fraud, and consumer protection lawsuits brought by state attorneys general and a qui tamRealtor for the reporting of Average Wholesale Price (AWP) and Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) data used in Medicaid reimbursements. Helped win reversal of a $78 million verdict in Sandoz Inc. v. Alabama and a $28 million judgment in Sandoz Inc. v. Kentucky.°

°The above representations were handled by Mr. Mentzer prior to his joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.

• Listed, The Legal 500 U.S., Recommended Lawyer (Patent Litigation: Full Coverage and Trade Secrets), 2024
• Listed, BTI Consulting, “Client Service All-Stars,” 2018
• Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, New York Metro Super Lawyers, 2013-2021, 2026
  • Rising Stars, 2011-2012
• Listed, WTR 1000, “Leading Trademark Professionals,” 2021-2026
• Recipient, The Burton Awards, “Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing,” 2015
• Recipient, ASCAP, “First Prize, Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition,” 2001

• Member, American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
  • Chair, Copyright Law Committee, 2013-2014
  • Member, Special Committee on Legislation, 2011-2012
  • Member, Amicus Committee, 2025-2026
• Trustee, The Copyright Society of the USA, 2005-2008
  • Member, New York Chapter Program Committee, 2006-Present