Deena R. Merlen is a Partner at the firm. She serves clients at both our New York and Stamford offices and heads the Connecticut practice. Her practice areas include intellectual property, employment and labor law, media and entertainment, general business law, commercial transactions and dispute resolution. In her employment practice, Ms. Merlen is a trusted “go to” problem solver and counsel to individuals, established name brand companies and startups alike. She has extensive experience representing clients in matters including general counseling, discrimination actions, mediations and dispute resolution, investigations by federal or state agencies, as well as wage and hour claims and other labor law matters. She also advises on and regularly negotiates employment and separation agreements, independent contractor arrangements and other services-related arrangements. Ms. Merlen also counsels clients on employment and business matters in response to a crisis or other unexpected business impact, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting business closures, including continuity plans, employee furloughs, reductions in force and other critical measures. In her intellectual property practice, Ms. Merlen helps her clients with the development, acquisition and protection of their valuable brands and other vital intellectual property assets. She manages and grows trademark portfolios in the U.S. and internationally; negotiates licensing, assignment, distribution and branding agreements; prosecutes trademark and copyright registrations; enforces intellectual property rights; and provides strategic counsel to safeguard brand platforms and expand the value of her clients’ intellectual property assets. Ms. Merlen’s media practice encompasses the development and protection of creative works in the fields of music, film, television, theatre, publishing, literary arts, performing arts, design and technology. She ran her own business in the entertainment industry for over a decade and brings that business experience and acumen to her legal practice. In addition, Ms. Merlen provides general business counsel and represents clients in company and transactional matters such as partnerships, joint ventures, licensing arrangements, the purchase or sale of businesses, and a wide range of other corporate matters, including company formation, capitalization and governance, compliance and contracts. Representative clients include technology companies, schools and other academic institutions, personal care and beauty companies, fashion and design companies, media, arts and entertainment companies, wholesalers, retailers and more. Prior to her work with RPJ, Ms. Merlen served as Law Clerk to The Honorable Roger J. Miner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, after which she joined Debevoise & Plimpton, where she practiced for over five years in the areas of corporate law and intellectual property. Ms. Merlen is admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York.

Robert D. Katz has been practicing intellectual property law for over 30 years, and his practice has encompassed virtually every aspect of intellectual property law. He has been first chair in a large number of patent, trademark, copyright, unfair competition, and trade secret cases including jury trials, and has also handled arbitrations and mediations. He has obtained and opposed preliminary injunctions and briefed and argued appeals in State and Federal Courts throughout the country. Robert has also handled patent interferences, reissues, and reexamination proceedings as well as trademark oppositions and cancellations in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In addition to his active litigation practice, he has counseled clients on patent and trademark validity and infringement issues, has negotiated and drafted numerous license agreements, and has prepared and prosecuted patent applications in many different areas of technology. Those technologies emphasize inorganic and organic chemistry, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, but also include medical devices, materials science, polymer chemistry, nanotechnology, semiconductors, nuclear energy, and green energy. He was selected as a charter member of the prestigious Conner Inns of Court and has had an AV rating for excellence from Martindale Hubbel for many years, the highest rating from his peers. He has served as an expert witness in several patent and trademark cases. He is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (Chair, Biotech Patent Appeals Committee), the New York Intellectual Property Law Association, and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Robert has also lectured on intellectual property law at Stern Graduate School of Business at New York University, Columbia University School of Business, University of Hong Kong, and Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has taught a course on Advanced Patent Prosecution and Amendment Practice at the Practicing Law Institute. He received his B.A. degree in Chemistry from Columbia University and his J.D. degree from Case Western Reserve University, where he was an Editor of the Law Review. He is admitted to the New York and Illinois State Bars; the United States Supreme Court; the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the Northern District of Illinois (Trial Bar); and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth and Federal Circuits. He is a registered patent attorney.