Lynda Zadra-Symes is a litigation partner in the Orange County, Calif., office of Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP. She represents clients through all stages of U.S. litigation, from presuits through trial and appeal, in federal courts throughout the country and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Her practice involves all types of intellectual property, including patents, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, false advertising, unfair competition and rights of publicity. She also advises on customs and anti-counterfeiting issues, international trademark and copyright matters, advertising and competition issues. She is a domain name dispute panelist arbitrator for the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and has arbitrated numerous domain name disputes.

Q: What is the most challenging case you have worked on and what made it challenging?

A: A trademark case involving an infringer that falsely claimed it had prior use of our client's mark.

The case was challenging because the defendant made false statements and fabricated evidence. The defendant then declared bankruptcy on the eve of trial to prevent our client’s claims moving forward. The litigation system is founded on the basis that parties and witnesses tell the truth and do not fabricate evidence. With an unscrupulous defendant that is willing to make false statements and fabricate evidence, the case becomes very challenging. The falsity of the evidence needs to be specifically proven, significantly adding to the litigation effort and expense for the party with the legitimate claims.

Originally published in Law360, New York on May 29, 2013.