Janet W. Cho, CIPP/US, AIGP
Janet Cho is a strategic and decisive intellectual property (IP) attorney who helps businesses, creators, and emerging technology companies protect, build, and monetize their IP assets. As Co-Chair of Williams Mullen’s Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (AI & ML) Practice and certified AI governance professional, she provides future-oriented legal counsel at the cutting edge of IP innovation — including AI-driven content, data strategy, and brand risk.
What Janet Does for Clients
IP Counseling & Brand Protection
Janet advises on trademark clearance and development, portfolio development, trade dress strategy, domain name issues, copyright protection, registration, and maintenance, and IP enforcement. She works with both individual creators and businesses to manage and license their IP assets, ensuring brands are robustly protected and aligned with long-term business goals, including the nexus between IP and exit strategy.
AI, Machine Learning & Emerging Technology
As co-chair of the firm’s AI & ML Practice, Janet guides clients through the legal risks and opportunities posed by artificial intelligence. Her work includes strategy and risk mitigation for AI-generated content, analysis of IP protection for datasets and algorithms, and structuring technology transactions and licensing agreements.
Advertising & Digital Media
Janet supports clients in advertising law, claim substantiation, domain name disputes, and online brand enforcement. Her work also incorporates strategies for anti-counterfeiting in the digital realm, along with infringement by mobile applications.
Vendor Technology Agreements & Contracts
Janet assists clients in negotiating and drafting technology agreements with vendors, including software licenses, SaaS agreements, data-use contracts, service-level agreements, and technology procurement deals. She ensures clients understand and mitigate IP, data, privacy, and operational risks embedded in third-party technology solutions.
Dispute Resolution & TTAB Proceedings
Janet represents clients in inter partes and ex parte proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). She also litigates trademark, domain, and copyright disputes, and negotiates IP and technology contracts and licenses.
Why Clients Choose Janet
- Strategic, business-aligned advice: She crafts IP strategies that support scale, innovation, and brand value.
- Cuts through complexity to achieve results: She operates at the intersection of technology, e-commerce, software, and emerging digital ecosystems, where trademark issues overlap with product strategy and platform risk.
- Enforcement and transaction experience: From TTAB proceedings to domain disputes to licensing, Janet delivers results in both defensive and offensive IP matters.
- Educator and thought leader: Clients appreciate her ability to distill complex legal issues into actionable insights via podcast, webinars, and alerts. Janet appears regularly on Trending Now: An IP Podcast, where she speaks on topics like AI innovation, trademark goodwill, NIL updates, IP in M&A, and enforcement strategies. She presents at CLEs and client workshops, including the firm’s 2023 and 2025 CLE Institute.
Janet serves as chair of Williams Mullen's Engagement Committee. She is a past president of the Virginia Women Attorneys Association (VWAA) and previously served as president of the VWAA’s Richmond Chapter. She is a council member for the Virginia Bar Association’s IP Section and a past president of the Greater Richmond Intellectual Property Law Association. She is also a member of the International Trademark Association. Janet is an active member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity and was selected as a Diversity Fellow in 2017. She was elected to serve a three-year term on the board of directors of the Richmond SPCA. She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® Copyright Law, Litigation – Intellectual Property (2022-present), Trademark Law (2023-present).
She earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of New Hampshire School of Law. She earned a Master of Arts Degree in rehabilitation counseling from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan.
- University of New Hampshire School of Law (J.D.), 2007
- New York University (M.A.), 1998
- Rehabilitation Counseling
- University of Michigan (B.A.), 1993
- Political Science
Professional Affiliations
- Greater Richmond Intellectual Property Law Association – Past President
- Virginia Bar Association, IP Section – Council Member
- Virginia Women Attorneys Association – Immediate Past President
- Virginia Women Attorneys Association, Richmond Chapter – Past President
- International Trademark Association
Community Involvements
- Richmond SPCA Board of Directors - Member
Bar Admissions
- Virginia State Bar
Listed in Virginia Super Lawyers Rising Stars (2013-2014)
Virginia Lawyers Weekly – Influential Women of Law (2019)
Virginia Business - "Legal Elite" (2019-present)
The Best Lawyers in America® - Copyright Law, Litigation - Intellectual Property (2022-present), Trademark Law (2023-present)
Pro Bono Service Honor Roll – Member (2021)
Chambers USA – Intellectual Property (2023-present)
Experience
- Oversee and maintain the trademark portfolio for an herbal product manufacturer, handling both inter partes and ex parte proceedings before the TTAB, as well as federal court litigation involving Lanham Act claims.
- Oversee and maintain trademark portfolio for a U.S.-based retailer, providing guidance on dispute resolution, infringement issues, advertising, licensing, trade dress concerns, and overall portfolio management.
- Act as IP counsel for a non-profit, handling brand advice, resolving disputes, and overseeing trademark clearance, maintenance, and prosecution.
- Act as legal counsel for IP matters on behalf of a manufacturer specializing in shock-control materials. The role involves advising on trademarks both domestically and internationally, including tasks such as trademark searches, registrations, and ongoing management.
- Act as IP counsel to a retail electricity provider and its subsidiaries, overseeing the registration, maintenance, and enforcement of both domestic and international trademark portfolios.
- Reviewed and negotiated technology vendor agreements for a real estate management company, including contract revisions and direct negotiations with vendors and their legal teams.
- Assist numerous financial institutions with trademark clearance and registration matters and IP counseling on complex technology agreements.
- Oversee the trademark portfolio for a resort operator, handling mark maintenance and enforcing trademarks and domain names. Help clear new proposed marks and support their transition as they expand to additional real estate ventures.
- Assist educational software provider with maintenance of U.S. trademark rights, and prosecution of trademark rights internationally. Manage global trademark disputes, including in Brazil, the EU, and Australia.
- Provide global trademark clearance, counseling, and watching for a pharmaceutical manufacturer. Advise on use and maintenance obligations in the U.S. and abroad, and manage their trademark portfolios domestically and internationally.
- Serve as IP counsel for pharmaceutical developer and distributor in inter partes proceedings before the TTAB at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
- Provide trademark portfolio management, IP advice, and brand enforcement for a software provider.
- Represent clients in UDRP proceedings before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
- Assisted numerous clients in various industries, including finance, cryptocurrency, technology, aviation, consumer products and health care with matters relating to brand management, including trademark litigation, advertising, copyright issues and licensing
“Janet emails us back within five minutes - the client service is superb.”
— Williams Mullen Client Feedback - Chambers USA, 2024
