Profile
Micheline Johnson synthesizes her chemistry, finance, and legal education and experience to elevate her work as a corporate IP Strategist - developing, managing, and leveraging Intellectual Property (IP) assets to improve businesses’ bottom lines.
Ms. Johnson has used her abilities to assist clients in a variety of fields, from a global car sharing/rental company that diversified into tech; an international television and radio network; pharmaceutical companies; consumer products companies; hospitality interests; and web-based service providers.
Leveraging IP to improve the bottom line begins with identifying and protecting intellectual capital for defensive purposes; it also includes taking the offense to shut down infringers. Most recently, Ms. Johnson directed the litigation that won the first recognition of the AVIS trademark as “famous,” in a highly-pitched infringement lawsuit in Taiwan. Famous marks receive greater protection under the law, leaving infringers little room for argument even in cases of trademark dilution rather than exact copying.
Ms. Johnson has obtained trademark protection for both product configurations and market-leading brands, and negotiated and structured critical international co-existence agreements designed to protect brand strength while embracing business opportunities. She represents clients in enforcement efforts worldwide, as well as in federal courts and before the Patent and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Boards of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She has also prosecuted and litigated both domestic and international patents related to diverse technology including chemicals, manufacturing materials and processes, toys, medical devices, and computer-based business methods.
Before joining Taylor English, Ms. Johnson served as Chair of a large national law firm’s Trademark and Branding section, having previously led and grown the Intellectual Property Group as a whole in its infancy. Ms. Johnson made the move to Taylor English in order to be part of a law firm that pushed aside the traditional model to create one adapted to current realities - providing the highest-quality legal services with experienced lawyers who are driven by efficiency, value, and responsiveness.
Memberships
International Trademark Association (INTA), Emerging Issues Committee, Member, 2016–2019
Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle (AIPPI), Member
Selected to serve on Trademark CET Committee
Tennessee Bar Association, Patent, Trademark and Copyright Sections, Member
Georgia Bar Association, Patent, Trademark and Copyright Sections, Member
American Bar Association, Member
American Chemical Society, Member
Intellectual Property Owners Association, Member, Committee, 2018-2019
Community Involvement
Pro Bono Attorney in the Chattanooga Legal Aid Program, Volunteer
Pro Bono Attorney in the Atlanta Legal Aid Program, Past Volunteer
Second Life Chattanooga (Anti-Trafficking Organization), Former Board Member
Chattanooga Women's Leadership Initiative, Corporate Advisory Board
Family Promise of Greater Chattanooga (aka Interfaith Homeless Network), Past President, Vice President and Board Member
The Junior League of Chattanooga, Past Board Member
Corporate Partnership for Lookout Mountain Elementary School, Past Chairman
St. Jude Home and School Association, Past Board Member
Family Promise of Greater Chattanooga, Past Board President
Girls' Preparatory School Auction Committee, Past Member
International Students Host Family, Baylor School, 2009–2015
Our Lady of the Mount Catholic Church, Lector, Eucharistic Minister, Former Secretary of Parish Council, and Sunday School teacher
Foreign Languages
- French
Newsroom
Speaking Engagements
- December 16, 2020
- October 11, 2019
- "Branding Experience," Memphis, Tennessee, April 2015
- "Branding Inside & Out", November 2017
- "Global Protection and Enforcement of Trademarks," International Franchise Association's Franchise Business Network, Nashville, Tennessee, November 2014
- "Gucci v. Guess: Four Jurisdictions, Four Decisions—The U.S. Case," FICPI Open Forum, Venice, Italy, October 2017
- "Branding Experience," Atlanta, Georgia, October 2014
- "Tennessee-China Network – Selling to China Seminar," Chattanooga, Tennessee, October 2016
- "Non-Disclosure Agreements for the Information Technology Professional," for CIO and IT staff of national nursing home, assisted living, retirement living, home care, and Alzheimer centers, Cleveland, Tennessee, July 2014
- "Selling into China: Protecting Your IPR Abroad," Tennessee China Network - Selling to China Seminar, Chattanooga, Tennessee, October 2016
- "Intellectual Property Simplified for the CPG Executive," Consumer Products Goods (CPG) Executives, New York, July 2013
- "Unauthorized Use of Trademarks on the Internet," panelist, Open Forum of FICPI (International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys), St. Petersburg, Russia, October 2016
- "Branding in the Digital Age: New Media, New Models," International Franchise Association's Franchise Business Network, Nashville, Tennessee, July 2013
- "Marketing In The Year We Live In," New Orleans, Louisiana, July 2016
- "Hot Topics in Trademarks," International Biotech Audience, Washington, D.C., July 2013
- "Best Practices: Social Media," Southeast Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women's (SETLAW) Lunch and Learn CLE, Chattanooga, Tennessee, July 2016
- "Amazon Take Downs," CLE presentation, Southeast Tennessee Lawyers' Association for Women, Chattanooga, Tennessee, October 2018
- "Protecting Your Intellectual Property in China," JC Partnership Forum China Workshop, Nashville, Tennessee, July 2015
- "Social Media Pitfalls," Prestige Brands, Tarrytown, New York, June 2018
- "Social Media Workshop," Emerson Group/Vayer Media, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 2015
- "Web Strategy and the Amazon Brand Registry," Nicholas Hall North American OTC Conference, Morristown, New Jersey, June 2018
- "Global Intellectual Property," North Alabama International Trade Association, Huntsville, Alabama, May 2015
- "Intellectual Property and Data Protection in the United States," Beijing, China, March 2018
Publications
- "#Newyear #Hashtag #Valuableasset," IAM Weekly International Reports, January 2018
- "Ninth Circuit Address Priority and Proof for Trademark Litigants," IAM Weekly International Reports, October 2017
- "New USPTO director: predictability!," IAM Weekly International Reports, April 2018
- "Caught in the Middle: US Sellers in Europe," IAM Weekly International Reports, November 2017
- "WINTER IS COMING… and the PTO Will Be Pruning Your Deadwood!” October 2017
- "High-stakes Gambling With a Bad Hand," IAM Weekly International Report, August 2018
- "A Rose By Any Other Name?," IAM Weekly International Reports, February 2018
- "Caught in the middle: US sellers in Europe," Lexology, November 2017
- "#Hashtag #Valuable Asset," Baker Donelson IP Watch, July 2018
Headlines
News Releases
Alerts
Services
Education
Vanderbilt University, JD
Student Writing Editor–Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
Vanderbilt University, MBA, Finance
Owen Merit Scholar
Spring Hill College, BS, Chemistry, cum laude
Miller-Le Jeune Memorial Scholar
Bar Admissions
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Tennessee
District of Columbia
Georgia
Accolades
Tennessee Super Lawyers, 2019
Top 50 Female Attorneys, Mid-South Super Lawyers®, 2015 – 2018
Top 100 Tennessee Attorneys, Mid-South Super Lawyers®, 2016 – 2018
Listed in Mid-South Super Lawyers® in Intellectual Property, 2013 – 2018
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in Trademark Law, 2012 – 2021; Copyright Law, 2016 – 2021; Patent Law, 2017 – 2021; Entertainment Law - Motion Pictures and Television, 2017 – 2021
Best Lawyers®’ Chattanooga Trademark Law "Lawyer of the Year," 2014
Best Lawyers®’ Chattanooga Patent Law "Lawyer of the Year," 2018
AV® Preeminent™ Peer-Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
The Best Lawyers in America®, 2020