About

Leslie Gutowski has more than 25 years of experience working on a wide variety of IP matters relating to the Internet, with an emphasis on domain names. Leslie’s extensive domain name experience includes enforcement matters, acquisitions, transfers, and investigations as well as strategies for new gTLDs (generic top-level domains). In addition, Leslie assists clients with a host of trademark and copyright enforcement matters online, including social media.

Working with Kelly IP’s attorneys, Leslie drafts and files domain-name arbitration complaints and replies under ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (“UDRP”) governing gTLDs such as .com, and other dispute policies including those for. US, UK, and other ccTLDs (country-code top-level domains); drafts demand letters and takedown complaints for online trademark violations, including websites and social media content; provides support for cybersquatting and counterfeiting lawsuits; drafts demand letters and complaints under the Digital Millennial Copyright Act (“DMCA”); conducts investigations regarding unauthorized use of clients’ IP online; and procures evidence required to support enforcement claims.

Leslie has drafted more than 1,000 complaints, for more than 140 different companies, that were filed under the UDRP and other domain name policies before the National Arbitration Forum and WIPO’s Arbitration and Mediation Center. Leslie has worked on domain name enforcement matters involving a wide range of issues, such as websites offering counterfeit, competing, and aftermarket goods and/or services; commercial websites featuring pay-per-click and/or affiliate advertising; alleged fair uses and exercise of free speech including parody, criticism, artistic uses, and political speech; and fraudulent uses such as phishing, employment scams, and impersonation. These matters have involved an array of respondents, including competitors, resellers (authorized and unauthorized), rogue vendors, industry-related parties, employees (current and former), ISPs and hosting companies, fans, critics, anonymous registrants, opportunists taking advantage of news announcements regarding new company and product names, and domainers, among others.

Leslie began her career in online IP matters in 1997 at Network Solutions where, as the Manager of Dispute Administration, she developed and managed administration of Network Solutions’ dispute policy that at the time governed domain name conflicts between trademark owners and domain name registrants. After Network Solutions, Leslie joined Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner as a Domain Name Specialist, and during the course of her tenure of more than 13 years there, continued to be at the evolving forefront of online IP matters.

Leslie holds a B.A. in English from Bryn Mawr College, and a Master of Arts in Humanities from the State University of New York at Buffalo.