View my professional biography

People often ask me why my name is spelled the way it is. When I was born, my mother added an extra “e” in the middle to distinguish it from being confused with the word “drake,” meaning “male duck.” The strategy was mostly successful. (I still earned the nickname “the mallard” for a short time and there was even a duck call at a tenth grade basketball game or two, to be used on the rare occasion I scored any points).

Having an uncommon name, I noticed any other “Drake.” Whether it was the secret identity of my favorite cartoon character, a hotel in Chicago, a university in Iowa, a person everybody loves (except George), a fictional soap opera doctor, or a rapper from Toronto. But it wasn’t until I was in law school studying trademark law and likelihood of confusion that I actually experienced firsthand the confusion of being confused with another “Drake.” A fellow student casually commented that they did not know I was such a fan of salsa dancing (I wasn’t) but it turns out another “Drake” was and had posted a request for dancing partners on some law school bulletin board. This felt like infringement to me!

My understanding of trademark law has come a long way since, but it is with this personal experience that I practice and write about trademark law. On DuetsBlog, you will find posts from me about my personal favorite brand and other personal topics of interest. I may occasionally take a controversial position, but only because I can – with that extra “e” in my name, even if my argument is questionable, one thing is certain: I’m not a quack!