J. Rodgers Lunsford III

Rodgers Lunsford is a partner in the Intellectual Property Section of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP.

Mr. Lunsford’s specific expertise is in litigating intellectual property disputes.

He has been recognized by Chambers & Partners as “one of the trademark aristocracy within the Atlanta legal market,” and has been named one of the The Best Lawyers in America, Georgia Super Lawyer and Georgia Legal Elite, respectively, in listings published by Woodward/White, Inc., in Atlanta Magazine, Georgia Super Lawyers and Georgia Trend magazine based on selections made by his peers. Three of Mr. Lunsford’s cases have received attention in national publications: (i) Metro Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. v. Showcase Atlanta Coop. Products, Inc., 479 F. Supp. 351 (N.D. Ga. 1979)(copyright infringement of the novel and film Gone With The Wind, (ii) Schmidt v. Quigg, 609 F. Supp. 227 (E.D. Mich. 1985), rev’g In re Schmidt, 222 U.S.P.Q. 643 (T.T.A.B. 1984) (registerability of the mark Honey Baked Ham) and (iii) Schmidt v. Honeysweet Hams, Inc., 656 F. Supp. 92 (N.D. Ga. 1986 (infringement of the Honey Baked Ham mark). Additionally, in Syntex (U.S.A.), Inc. v. Apotex, Inc.N.D. Ga. 1993), Mr. Lunsford was one of the first attorneys in the United States to rely on the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act as the basis for obtaining a preliminary injunction precluding defendants from competing unfairly by making false representations in violation of the Act. Mr. Lunsford has also served effectively as an ADR neutral, successfully mediating pending federal court disputes regarding magazine titles and the designs and trademarks for HVAC floor grates. In addition to his domestic litigation practice, Mr. Lunsford also supervises litigation abroad, directs trademark enforcement programs, counsels clients with regard to intellectual property matters, prosecutes applications to register intellectual property and transfers intellectual property rights and technology. He is the former Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department.

Mr. Lunsford graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering and received his J.D. degree, cum laude, from the University of Georgia, where he served as a member of the board of editors for the Georgia Law Review. His honorary memberships include Phi Kappa Phi. Mr. Lunsford has served as a member of the editorial board of the Trademark Reporter for the International Trademark Association. He is a past president of Buckhead Baseball, Inc. and the Atlanta Phi Delta Theta Alumni Club and a former member of the Board of Visitors of Shorter College and of the Service Council at Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church.

Mr. Lunsford is admitted to practice in Georgia and the District of Columbia and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and is a past Chairman of the Intellectual Property Section of the State Bar of Georgia.

He speaks at seminars sponsored by the Intellectual Property Section of the State Bar of Georgia, by the Federal Circuit Bar Association and by the International Trademark Association.