Ms. Villanueva is an attorney in the firm’s Intellectual Property Department. She practices in the areas of domestic and international trademark and copyright prosecution, licensing and enforcement. Ms. Villanueva assists clients with brand development and with identifying various protectable aspects of the clients’ products, services and concepts. She also helps clients with clearing all aspects of advertising, promotional and marketing materials and products, including trademark, copyright and right of publicity clearances.
In addition to her prosecution practice, Ms. Villanueva drafts and negotiates a variety of intellectual property agreements such as assignments, licenses, rights of publicity agreements, non-disclosure agreements, and work for hire agreements. As part of her practice, she also represents clients in a wide variety of disputes involving trademarks, copyrights, rights of publicity, and domain names, including the resolution of disputes over contested trademarks before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and enforcing clients’ intellectual property rights in court.
In addition to her prosecution practice, Ms. Villanueva drafts and negotiates a variety of intellectual property agreements such as assignments, licenses, rights of publicity agreements, non-disclosure agreements, and work for hire agreements. As part of her practice, she also represents clients in a wide variety of disputes involving trademarks, copyrights, rights of publicity, and domain names, including the resolution of disputes over contested trademarks before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and enforcing clients’ intellectual property rights in court.
Education & Credentials
Education
University of California, Irvine
B.A., 2006- Phi Beta Kappa
- Pi Sigma Alpha
- Graduated with Honors, magna cum laude
University of California at Los Angeles School of Law
J.D., 2010Bar Admission
Acknowledgements
- Phoenix Business Journal
- "40 Under 40," 2022
- Profiles in Diversity Journal
- Latino Leaders Worth Watching Award™, 2022
- Los Abogados Hispanic Bar Association
- Vice President, 2022
- Hispanic National Bar Association
- Regional President of the Year, 2020
- Best Lawyers in America®
- Litigation - Intellectual Property, 2021-2024
- Copyright Law, 2024
- Los Abogados Latino Bar Association
- Emerging Leader Award, 2019
- Southwest Super Lawyers®
- "Rising Star," IP Litigation, 2016-2023
- Hispanic National Bar Association
- Top Lawyers Under 40, 2018
- Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education
- Top 50 Pro Bono Attorney, 2014
- Arizona Bar Exam
- Highest score, 2010
- WTR 1000
- Recommended, 2024
Prominent Assignments
Brand Development:
- Assisting clients with launching new brands and product lines by drafting work for hire agreements for contractors, branding of new product lines domestically and internationally, and reviewing marketing materials to ensure proper use of all intellectual property.
Copyrights:
- Assisting authors and other artists in obtaining copyright registration for their works, licensing their works to others, and enforcing their rights against unauthorized users. Assisting clients in licensing copyrighted works for use on websites, marketing materials, and other media.
Securing, Enforcing and Licensing IP:
- Assisting various companies, including, hotel, casino, restaurant and bar owners and operators, in clearing title for property names, securing the rights associated with the names, licensing their intellectual property to others, and enforcing their rights against unauthorized users.
Domain Names:
- Successfully obtained the transfer of dozens of domain names, including under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).
Trademark Litigation:
- Part of the legal team that successfully opposed and cancelled multiple marks that infringed the rights of a client in a multi-year litigation before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).
Professional Involvement
- Fellow, Emerging Issues Committee for INTA Association, 2024-2025
- State Bar of Arizona Bar Leadership Institute, 2020-2021
- Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Member
- Los Abogados Latino Bar Association
- President, 2023
- Communications Director, 2021-2022
- Board of Directors, 2017-present
- Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), President Region XIV, 2018-2020
- Valley Leadership, Class 39, 2018
- Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy, 2017
- Ladder Down, Class of 2014
Community Involvement
- XICO, Board of Directors, 2024
- Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, Board of Directors, 2013-present
- LatinaStrong, Board of Directors, 2020-present
Publications/Presentations
- Co-Presenter, "Globinar Six Things to Know About Intellectual Property When You Are Expanding Overseas," Global Chamber, April 2022
- Co-Author, "Jury Pools Drowning in Unfairness," Arizona Attorney Magazine, Volume 58, Number 5, January 2022
- Presenter, “Recent Developments in Intellectual Property Litigation,” The Federal Bar Association Phoenix Chapter, May 2021
- Co-Author, "What You Need To Know: Intellectual Property and Non-Fungible Tokens," Dickinson Wright Client Alert, May 2021
- Panelist, “The Future of IP Law,” 24th Annual National Latina/o Law Student Virtual Conference and Moot Court Competition, March 2021
- Presenter, “How to Protect Your Intellectual Property on Social Media and E-commerce Platforms”, Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, August 2020
- Co-Author, “When Will I Be Famous?: Protecting Well-Known Foreign Marks in the United States”, World Trademark Review Issue 83, April 2020
- Presenter, "Hot Topics for Tribes in Intellectual Property for Tribes Enforcement:Executing Takedowns of Unauthorized Goods on Amazon, eBay and Facebook" Western Indian Gaming Conference, February 13, 2020
- Presenter "Protecting Tribal Intellectual Property: Trademarks, Copyrights and Licensing" State Bar of Arizona CLE, September 26, 2018
- Presenter, "Hot Topics in Intellectual Property for Tribes: Navajo v. Urban Outfitters," Western Indian Gaming Conference, February 6-8, 2018
- Presenter, “The Year in Review in Copyright Law 2015-2016,” Kraemer Copyright Conference in Colorado Springs, CO, June 6-7th, 2016
- Speaker, "IP issues that small businesses may encounter," NAWBO University, March 2, 2016
- Co-Author, "The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act: ‘Authorization' in Flux and the Ninth Circuit Dilemma," The Bureau of National Affairs, March 6, 2012