William G. Pecau

Partner

• wpecau@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Washington Office

William G. Pecau is a partner in the Washington office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where he is a member of the Intellectual Property group.  Mr. Pecau litigates diverse trademark, false advertising, copyright, and patent cases on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants.

As lead trial counsel, Mr. Pecau has represented clients before many federal trial and appellate courts in the United States and proceedings before the US Patent and Trademark Office.  In addition, he has been engaged in transactional matters involving the establishment of joint ventures and international and domestic intellectual property transfers, including licensing, acquisition, and financing agreements. 

Before joining Steptoe, Mr. Pecau was a partner at one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the United States, representing clients in several noteworthy cases as first chair.  Prominent cases include the defense of barnesandnoble.com in a patent infringement action concerning Amazon.com’s “1-Click” business method patent, the defense of Microsoft and Expedia against Priceline.com’s "Name Your Own Price" business method patent, and the prosecution of Hewlett-Packard’s inkjet technology patent, trademark and unfair competition claims against Nu-Kote International.  Another high-profile case is the Apple Computer v. Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard case concerning Apple’s claim of infringement of its Graphical User Interface by Microsoft’s Windows and HP’s NewWave. 

Recent cases include a successful trial in the Middle District of Alabama against Regions University for infringement of the Regions mark of Regions Bank, a successful opposition to an application by Emerson Electric to register its Dirt Hawg and Water Hawg marks based on a family of Hog marks of Black & Decker, and a decision of the Federal Circuit in favor of Texaco against the registration of a Clear Bottle mark by Pennzoil-Quaker State.

Select News & Events

• World Trademark Review Recognizes Steptoe’s Trademark Practice in WTR 1000
• Steptoe Victorious in Trademark Case for Trek Winery
• Victory in the Federal Circuit
• Maximizing Your Assets: Building Managing and Defending Your Intellectual Property Portfolio, April 3, 2008
• New Partner William Pecau

Selected Publications

• Doing Business in the United States
  July 14, 2011, Practical Law Company Cross-Border Doing Business in… Handbook
• Intellectual Property Advisory - Does eBay Need a Disclaimer? Tiffany v. eBay, The Second Circuit Rules
  April 5, 2010
• Gripe Sites: Sue or Stew
  Volume 15, Number 5
  February 2009, Law Journal Newsletter: The Intellectual Property Strategist
• Litigating the Business Method Patent: Pitfalls for Unwary Defendants
  2006, The Intellectual Property Strategist Vol 12 No 12
• Exempt Organizations Advisory - Trademark Act Clarifies Issue of Proof in Dilution of Trademark Cases
  October 30, 2006

Professional Affiliations

• American Bar Association, 1982 - Present
• Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 1977 - Present
• Board Counsel to National Children Research Center (NCRC) of Washington, DC, 2006 - Present
• Editor, Remarks, 1991-1993
• International Trademark Association, Chair of Publications Board, 1997-1999; Vice Chair, 1995-1997; Member, Planning Committee 1993-1994
• Member, Board of Directors of Covenant House New York, 1989 -Present
• Member of the Advisory Board, Intellectual Property Strategist, 1995 - Present