Skip to Main Content
Professional Photo
Professionals

Benjamin West Janke

Shareholder

Benjamin Janke is a seasoned trial attorney with a proven track record of successfully navigating complex litigation to help clients involved in high-profile and bet-the-company matters.

Featured Experience


Successfully resolved a complex software copyright infringement claim spanning more than ten years of alleged infringement in multiple countries.

Dismissed title insurer in a complex matter involving more than 20 related lawsuits and several parcels of property over ten years.

Successfully completed many large and high-profile commercial foreclosures, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in asset recovery.

Professional Biography


Mr. Janke is a seasoned litigator with nearly 20 years of experience representing clients in matters involving intellectual property, business and construction litigation, commercial finance, and secured lending. The depth of his trial experience includes judge and jury trials, injunction proceedings, and arbitration proceedings in jurisdictions coast to coast and everywhere in between. His diverse clientele spans a variety of industries, including media, entertainment, technology, hospitality, food and beverage, construction, health care, heavy equipment, maritime, real estate, education, and data brokerage.

Mr. Janke enjoys making complex cases simpler. With a thoughtful and deliberate approach to early case assessment and client goal setting, he is often able to "cut to the chase" and identify threshold issues that allow even the most daunting cases to resolve against most odds. As for those cases that are indeed inherently "simple," Mr. Janke takes pride in the work that he and his teams provide in coming to a sensible, pragmatic, and efficient resolution.

Intellectual Property (Trademarks, Copyright, Trade Secrets), Media, and Technology

Mr. Janke has extensive global and national experience in trademark, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, media, and right of publicity cases. He manages several large trademark and copyright portfolios and works to secure early intellectual property assets for emerging and mature companies. He has extensive experience with the Lanham Act, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and the Copyright Act, as well as nearly every applicable international treaty and protocol involving the protection of intellectual property assets on a global level. Mr. Janke regularly navigates online legal issues, including resolving domain name disputes through the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP), cybercrimes, and computer fraud and abuse.

Much of Mr. Janke's intellectual property experience frequently involves intertwining First Amendment issues in an increasingly complicated legal landscape. Having the breadth of experience of these various IP practices and IP-adjacent disciplines allows him and his teams to serve clients with a fuller context and avoid blind spots that others may miss.

In addition to his overall IP prosecution practice, Mr. Janke's extensive litigation experience allows him to serve every aspect of his client's IP needs, from diligence and protection to enforcement.

Business and Construction Litigation

Mr. Janke has managed several complex business litigation matters, advocating for clients as both plaintiffs and defendants. He has served as first chair in several prominent construction litigation cases (both judge and jury trials), consistently securing major victories for his clients. In the realm of construction litigation, Mr. Janke frequently represents engineering, procurement, and construction companies, particularly program managers.

Commercial Finance and Secured Lending

Mr. Janke has extensive experience in equipment finance and commercial lending and has worked to recover or restructure tens of millions of dollars of secured debt through commercial foreclosures and bankruptcies, both in the context of traditional property, such as real estate, and non-traditional security in intellectual property.

Law Reform

Mr. Janke is a member of the Council for the Louisiana State Law Institute and serves as a member of various committees. His record of legal scholarship is extensive, having published several law review articles in comparative law and law reform.

  • Intellectual Property, Media, and Technology

  • Obtained nearly $1 million in judgments against defendants on behalf of a liquidating trustee in a lawsuit filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana for turnover and breach of contract in a matter involving software, trademark, and copyright issues, and successfully defended against the defendants' multimillion-dollar counterclaim related to the software and the loss of business reputation.

  • Obtained a dismissal of all claims against a licensing agent in a federal lawsuit alleging trademark infringement. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied writs, setting precedent in a case of first impression.

  • Successfully resolved a complex software copyright infringement claim spanning more than ten years of alleged infringement in multiple countries.

  • Successfully represented a university in a federal trademark application, demonstrating to the USPTO no likelihood of confusion for one part of the mark, and winning a motion for summary judgment before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), thereby achieving the dismissal of another university's opposition to the mark in question.
  • Successfully represents intellectual property owners in claims involving the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), including in the context of social media, frequently saving clients millions in legal fees by spotting early-case resolution strategies and pragmatic solutions that work in the long run.

  • Has resolved hundreds of trademark infringement disputes on behalf of mark owners and in defense of alleged infringers.

  • Successfully prosecuted hundreds of copyright and trademark applications.

  • Business and Construction Litigation

  • Successfully defended a program manager in a significant multi-party (100+) litigation matter arising from the construction of a billion-dollar, state-of-the-art new medical center project.

  • Successfully dismissed unjust enrichment claims against a multinational engineering, procurement, construction and installation company by an individual who claimed to have invented the concept and design used to contain the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

  • Obtained a favorable verdict on behalf of several maritime industry clients in a $4 million contract dispute involving a bareboat charter agreement.
  • Defended clients in a multimillion-dollar breach of contract and tortious interference with a contractual relations claim related to the alleged entry into a bareboat charter agreement.

  • Dismissed title insurer in a complex matter involving more than 20 related lawsuits and several parcels of property over ten years.

  • Led and oversaw multiple large-scale, complex electronic document review and production initiatives across diverse industries – managing millions of documents and leading attorney teams of more than 80 lawyers – while ensuring the secure handling of highly sensitive and confidential information.

  • Commercial Finance and Secured Lending

  • Successfully forced the dismissal of a Subchapter 5 bankruptcy case in Massachusetts, leading to a likely liquidation of the debtor's assets, while also pursuing a separate successor liability lawsuit.

  • Successfully resolved three commercial loan transactions, with a collective principal balance in excess of $42 million, secured by operating hotels in the New Orleans area (among several other similar loan transactions resulting in litigation, and ultimately recovery, of assets for and dismissal of claims against his clients).

  • Obtained dismissal, with prejudice, of all claims against an insurance broker in a contentious preference litigation brought by the trustee in a bankruptcy matter.
  • Regular practice with issues involving public records requests and withholdings.

  • Represented multiple data exchange companies in a variety of industries, including telecom and utilities, in a broad range of issues related to permissible use of data and collection practices.

  • Successfully completed many large and high-profile commercial foreclosures, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in asset recovery.

  • Successfully dismissed several claims against banks and other financial institutions for claims related to unfair debt collection practices and wrongful foreclosure.

  • Selected to Louisiana Super Lawyers in Business Litigation (2025)
  • Selected to Louisiana Rising Stars by Super Lawyers (2013 – 2023)
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Construction Law (2021 – 2025); Litigation - Intellectual Property and Trademark Law (2023 – 2025)
  • New Orleans City Business 2015 Leadership in Law class
  • Recognized as a "Top Lawyer" in Intellectual Property Law by New Orleans Magazine (2015, 2017, 2019, 2022 – 2025)
  • Recipient – Baker Donelson's Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award for the New Orleans office
  • Featured – "Ones to Watch," New Orleans City Business (February 20, 2014)
  • Bar Associations (Louisiana State Bar Association; New Orleans Bar Association; Federal Bar Association; American Bar Association)
  • Member – International Trademark Association
  • Member – The Federalist Society
  • Member and Treasurer – Louisiana Supreme Court Historical Society  
  • Member – Historic New Orleans Collection
  • Member – Louisiana State Law Institute Council (Member, Prescription Committee; Lease Movables Act Committee)
  • Member – Association Henri Capitant (Louisiana Chapter)
  • Order of the Coif
  • Vinson and Elkins Award for Best Comment or Case Note
  • Comité scientifique – Scientia juris (Université Paul Verlaine - Metz)
  • "Recipe for Protection: Safeguarding Your Restaurant's Intellectual Property," Louisiana Restaurant Association (August 2024)
  • Panelist – "Trying Cases by Zoom," New Orleans Bar Association CLE (December 2020)
  • "Family law," Pro Bono Project CLE (November 2017)
  • "Jury Trial Opening Statements," Louisiana Bar Association (October 2017)
  • "Intellectual Property Pitfalls and Q&A with the Patent and Trademark Office," 2017 Louisiana Life Sciences and Technology Symposium (September 2017)
  • "Intellectual Property and Advertising for Brewers and Distillers," NBI, New Orleans (September 2016)
  • "All in the Family - Pro Bono Cases," CLE (2014 – 2015)
  • Panelist – "The Dictionary of the Civil Code," CLE (March 2015)
  • "Immoral, Scandalous, Deceptive, Disparaging, and Contemptuous Trademarks," Baker Donelson IP Group (July 2014)
  • "Recent Developments in Personal Jurisdiction," Baker Donelson Business Litigation Group (July 2014)
  • LOU!S!ANA! Pick Your Passion! (And Your First Amendment Rights): An Analysis of the Trademark Dispute in Jay Dardenne v. Moveon.org (May 2014)
  • "Intellectual Property Basics for Emerging Companies," Baker Donelson Emerging Company Boot Camp, New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, New Orleans, Louisiana (March 2014)
  • "French Law for the 21st Century Louisiana Lawyer," Francophone section of the Louisiana Bar Association, Lafayette, Louisiana (October 2013)
  • "Statutes of Limitation in Civil Copyright Claims: The Unfinished Business of the Courts," Baker Donelson Intellectual Property Group (September 2013)
  • "It's Not Too Late if We Both Agree - Recent Changes to the Civil Code Prescription Articles by the Louisiana Law Institute," New Orleans Bar Association, Real Property Committee (June 2013)
  • "Intellectual Property Basics for Emerging Companies," Baker Donelson Emerging Company Boot Camp, New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, New Orleans, Louisiana (March 2013)
  • "Survey of Rule Changes in Jurisdiction, Venue, and Removal in 2012," Business Litigation Practice Group (January 2013)
  • "The Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Clarification Act of 2011," New Orleans Bar Association CLE – Litigation Lessons for Lawyers (November 2012)
  • "What's In a Name? Trademarks and Your Business Name," Baker Donelson Entrepreneur Minute (June 2012)
  • "Intellectual Property Basics," Baker Donelson Emerging Company Institute, Louisiana Technology Park, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (November 2011)
  • "Security Interests in Intellectual Property," Baker Donelson Intellectual Property Group (May 2011)
  • "Intellectual Property Basics," Baker Donelson Emerging Company Boot Camp, New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, New Orleans, Louisiana (March 2011)

Education

  • Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University, J.D. & B.C.L., 2008, magna cum laude
    • Production Editor, Member – Louisiana Law Review
    • Member – The Civilian Society
    • Member and Vice President – The Federalist Society
    • Member – Wex Malone American Inn of Court
  • Vanderbilt University, Master of Education, 2005
  • Vanderbilt University, B.S., 2004, magna cum laude

Admissions

  • Louisiana (All Courts)
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. District Courts, Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana

Email Disclaimer

NOTICE: The mailing of this email is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. Anything that you send to anyone at our Firm will not be confidential or privileged unless we have agreed to represent you. If you send this email, you confirm that you have read and understand this notice.
Cancel Accept