J. Damon Ashcraft

Damon Ashcraft is a recognized expert in the field of Intellectual Property. He has been selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America® and the World Trademark Review. 

Damon is a recognized leader in trademark and Internet law. He has been recognized multiple times by the World Trademark Review as one of the top ten attorneys in the country for his work with generic top level domain names. He is a leader within the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers having served as the Chair of ICANN’s Nominating Committee (NomCom) in 2018 and 2019 which appoints 50% of ICANN’s Board of Directors and other key leadership positions within ICANN. Damon also served as Chair-Elect and Associate-Chair of the NomCom.  

Damon is active in ICANN’s Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC) and served on its leadership team. The IPC elected Damon to serve as one of its two Councilors on the Generic Names Supporting Organization. Damon assumes this position in October of 2023 at ICANN’s meeting in Hamburg, Germany.  

Damon has significant patent experience. As a registered patent attorney, Damon prepares and prosecutes patent applications in the biotechnology, medical device, electronics, software, and business method areas, and also manages numerous global patent portfolios. His technical experience includes medical devices, software, microbiology, optics, pumps, heaters, ultrasound, semiconductors, wireless devices, software, and circuitry.

Damon's trademark experience includes domestic and foreign trademark registration and he currently manages numerous trademark portfolios. He enforces and defends clients’ trademark rights before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and in various federal and state courts. Damon has represented trademark owners in hundreds of domain name disputes resolved by the Universal Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). Damon is also familiar with other rights protection mechanisms available to stop infringement online, including the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS), the trademark clearinghouse, and ICANN’s new gTLD program.

Damon also negotiates intellectual property and software assignments, license agreements, material transfer agreements, and research development agreements. His practice further includes assisting clients in handling intellectual property transfer and due diligence during mergers and acquisitions. Damon's experience with mergers and acquisitions include serving as the principal intellectual property attorney on deals valued in the range of twenty-five million dollars to over eight hundred million dollars.

Finally, Damon is an active participant in the Phoenix community. He recently served as Board Chair for the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education, The Arizona Bar Foundation where he led a board of almost two dozen members. He is also an active participant in Snell and Wilmer’s Community Involvement Committee.