Tonkon Torp partner Parna Mehrbani is an adjunct professor at the University of Oregon School of Law, serving as a supervising attorney at the UO Business Law Clinic. The Business Law Clinic, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024, provides free legal services to Oregon businesses and entrepreneurs, including students, who cannot afford to pay a lawyer.
In the fall of 2024, the Business Law Clinic launched a United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO)-certified Trademark Clinic, enhancing the practical training offered to Oregon Law students in an area of business law experiencing significant growth and transformation. Through its partnership with Mehrbani, students in the clinic are now able to file federal trademark applications.
The Trademark Clinic offers students practical, hands-on legal training. Under the guidance of Mehrbani and the Clinic’s seasoned faculty, students engage in a variety of trademark and copyright related tasks for clients, including: conducting registerability searches to determine the likelihood of obtaining a registration for a client’s mark, assessing risks associated with use of the client’s mark, and drafting and filing U.S. trademark applications. Students also learn client counseling techniques for guiding business owners and entrepreneurs through the trademark searching and application process.
Parna is a partner at Tonkon Torp and Co-Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. Her practice is focused on intellectual property, trademark registration and enforcement, and advising and litigating trademark portfolios for local, national, and international companies at all stages of growth. Parna also co-chairs the firm’s Information Privacy & Security Practice Group, advising businesses on the management and security of personal data and the laws that regulate the collection, use, and protection of personal data. Parna is a frequent speaker on IP issues, data privacy, and matters relating to professionalism and DEI.
