After a judicial clerkship, stints at law firms doing trademark and copyright work, and tenure at American Greetings Corp., Tiffany Trunko ’90 became the first in-house trademark attorney for Calvin Klein Inc. in 1996. When she moved to Pfizer in 1998, many colleagues thought it would be a huge change for her. “My practice is actually very similar,” says Ms. Trunko. “Global trademark and brand protection are essential for any company.”
Her responsibilities include searching, clearing, and registering global trademarks in more than 100 countries and protecting Pfizer trademarks against infringement and counterfeiting.
A recent case she handled involved Viagrene, a beverage sold in the United Kingdom and Sweden. It was found to infringe Pfizer’s famous trademark Viagra.
“This was one of the first injunctions to enforce a community trademark throughout all member states of the European Union,” she notes. “The phenomenal success of Viagra caused the trademark, almost instantaneously, to become a famous mark throughout the world. The defendant had a hard time defending Viagrene as not infringing the Viagra mark.”
As of 2003, Ms. Trunko oversees 14 trademark professionals at Pfizer and serves as team leader for trademark support of the company's global pharmaceuticals business which accounts for 80% of Pfizer's revenues.
Ms. Trunko, who majored in chemical engineering as an undergraduate, says she is looking forward to the continuing challenges of trademark law.
