John D. Tran is a highly skilled Registered Patent and Trademark Attorney and IP litigator with over twenty years of experience. As head of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group, John has seved as IP counsel to some of the most recognizable brands in the nation, from Fortune 500 companies to merging start-ups. His practice spans the globe, representing companies from such countries as Canada, Mexico, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Europe and Vietnam.
Respected by peers and revered by clients, John’s accolades speak volumes. He’s been named a 2026 Southern California SuperLawyer, is a rare honoree in the elite World Trademark Review/Reporter (WTR) 1000 which recognizes the top trademark professionals worldwide, and holds a “Superb” rating from AVVO and Martindale. Notably, John was the lead counsel in winning the highest litigated trademark case (Quoc Viet Foods, Inc. v. VV Foods, LLC (192 F. Supp. 3d 1067), in the United States regarding the Doctrine of Foreign Equivalents involving a Vietnamese word, which was referenced in McCarthy on Trademarks (5th Edition) (March 2026 update), the leading authority for trademark law.
John’s deep expertise covers the full spectrum of intellectual property and business litigation: Patent and Trademark Infringement, Patent Prosecution, Copyright and Trademark Registration, Trade Secrets, Franchise Law, Business Disputes, TTAB Oppositions/Cancellations, and full-scale IP portfolio management.
John is a seasoned litigator who has successfully tried and won cases at every level, including State and Federal Courts, the California Court of Appeals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, before the USPTO, PTAB (Patent Trials & Appeals Board), and TTAB (Trademark Trials & Appeals Board). He’s also a fierce advocate for Amazon sellers, frequently winning complex IP disputes through Amazon’s Brand Registry and Amazon’s “APEX” and “NPE” (Neutral Patent Evaluator Program).
His nationwide litigation footprint includes major victories in New York, California, Illinois, Nevada, Florida, and Texas covering cases involving patent, trademark and copyright infringement, trade dress, trade secrets, business disputes, and franchise litigation. He’s served as litigation and IP counsel to major players like Best Buy, Gigabyte Computer, House of Lashes, Greenlight Financial, Lee’s Sandwiches International, Asian Hustle Network, Shun Fat/Thuan Phat Supermarkets, Irvine Biomedical/St. Jude Medical, Monoeric International, VIZIO, and Quoc Viet Foods, among others.
Since 2009, John has consistently earned recognition as a Southern California Super Lawyer in the field of Intellectual Property — an honor awarded to the top 5% of attorneys in the state. As trusted counsel, he has helped countless businesses develop, safeguard, and enforce their IP assets with strategic precision, managing national portfolios that define industry leadership.
Since 2009, John has been recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer and/or Rising Star, an honor reserved for the top 5% of attorneys in California.
Within the community, he has served as part of the board of directors for legal associations such as OCAABA (Orange County Asian American Bar Association); NCVAA (National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys); and non-profits such as the Teen Leadership Foundation (TLF).
Beyond the courtroom, John is a dedicated husband, proud father of twins, and an active mentor to at-risk youth in the foster care system, embodying a commitment to excellence, leadership, and impact both in and out of the legal arena.
Best Firm I’ve Ever Worked With. We have been working with John for over 5 years now and he has protected my small company from big companies taking our ideas or using our trademarks. They truly care for their clients and you feel confident that they will get the job done no matter what it takes. Highly recommend John! Excellent service, trustworthy, attention to detail, knowledgeable, personalized approach.
John demonstrated his wealth of experience as an IP litigator while exhibiting creativity, responsiveness and diligence. Throughout the course of litigation, John was cognizant of the impact to our business and was integral in getting the settlement completed.
For over a decade, we’ve trusted our intellectual property needs to John D. Tran and the lawyers at Rhema Law. We greatly respect their work ethic and genuine concerns for our legal issues. We have worked with many attorneys and have found John to be simply the best. We trust him with our most well-guarded secrets.”
This case was extremely important to us because all of our soup base products used the word “COT” as part of the brand. We had spent so much money to brand our trademarks so we cannot afford to lose the case. The presentation was very organized, accurate, precise and smooth. All of our expert witnesses, interpreter and confusion witnesses were superb. What really impress me was the way John…cross-examined defendant witnesses. I know that John took our case as [his] own and treat us as a family member. Our organization thanks John and [his] team at Rhema Law for an outstanding performance.
John is an excellent attorney with a great reputation in the legal community. He is personable and very easy to work with. John is very knowledgeable in the area of IP Law.
Quoc Viet Foods, Inc. vs. VV FOODS, LLC et. al.; (Case No. 8:12-cv-02165-CJC (DFMx) (Central District of California)
John served as co-lead trial counsel in the highly publicized “bet the company” case in the Vietnamese American community (Quoc Viet Foods, Inc. vs. VV Foods, LLC ) case, which is one of the, if not the, highest level of cases litigated regarding trademarks involving Vietnamese words, which ultimately reached the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In doing so, John spearheaded a complete victory in this highly publicized “bet your company” trademark infringement case spanning seven (7) years which resulted in his client, Quoc Viet Foods, protecting its trademarks against the Defendant VV Foods. Among other things, Defendant VV Foods was found to have infringed Quoc Viet Foods’ “COT” trademarks and agreed to pay high six-figure in damages, and to a stipulated permanent injunction. See Press Release.
Greenlight Financial, Inc. vs. Internet Brands; (Superior Court of California)
In a several week jury trial against Internet Brands, a large online media/tech company, John served as co-lead trial counsel in obtaining a jury verdict victory of nearly $1million dollars, which was later upheld on appeal, for claims of breach of contract. See Press Release
Sunsauce Industrial Ltd. vs. Son Fish Sauce, Inc. (Central District of California)
John was the lead trial counsel in representing the Defendant Son Fish Sauce against a claim of tradmeark infringement involving two brands of Asian sauce manufacturers. John and the firm’s trial team, including Rosalind Ong, successfully filed and won a motion for summary judgment for non-infringement effectively ending the case and resulting in the Plaintiff ultimately dismissing their case with prejudice.
Linh Ngo et. al. vs. Paris Banh Mi Licensing et. al. (Florida Superior Court)
In representing the Franchise owner in a Franchise litigation case the “Paris Banh Mi” brand, John successfully resolved the case before trial resulting in the Plaintiffs essentially surrending their case and accepting a “walk away,” between the parties with the firm’s client paying zero dollars and Plaintiff’s dismissing their case with prejudice.
MaxxGroup, LLC vs. Uriah Products, Inc. et. al. (Central District of California)
In a case where an Amazon seller’s product was taken down by a patent owner’s Amazon infringement complaint, John was retained by the Amazon seller to file a declaratory relief action against the patent owner for non-infringement and intentional interference with economic relations, which resulted in the patent owner ultimately withdrawing its Amazon complaint against the impacted ASIN# AND paying a confidential settlement amount to the Amazon Seller for the improper take down and interruption of Amazon Seller’s business.
JS Digital Brands (“JSAUX”) vs. Eagle Fan (Northern District of Illinois)
John is the lead trial counsel in representing the patent owner in a patent infringement case involving a highly successful phone cradle.
Lion Credit Card, Inc. vs. Upgraving, LLC et. al. (Central District of California)
Lead trial counsel representing the Plaintiff in a patent infringement case regarding a complex patented technology involving metal credit cards against several accused infringers located in Florida resulting in all Defendants agreeing to stop infringement and/or to accept patent licenses.
Twist It Up, Inc. vs. Annie International, Inc. (Central District of California)
John was the lead trial counsel representing the Plaintiff in a patent, trademark, and trade dress infringement case against an alleged infringer involving a popular consumer product that was featured on Shark Tank.
OC & Lau, Inc. vs. various defendants (Texas)
On behalf of the trademark owner, John enforced the trademark rights of a popular Vietnamese restuarant against multiple infringers of the trademark in Texas, resulting in all Defendants agreeing to immediately stop use of the registered trademark and change names without protracted litigation.
Riot Games, Inc. vs Suga PTD Ltd., et. al. (Central District of California)
John was the lead defense trial counsel and successfully represented several foreign Asian game developers in a copyright infringement case against Riot Games involving the League of Legends game, which resulted in a favorable settlement.
Paris Banh Mi, LLC vs. Paris Banh Mi & Tea Cafe, LLC, Bruce Tran et. al.; (Case No. 6:20-cv-1613-Orl-41EJK) (Federal District- Florida)
On behalf of the Plaintiff Paris Banh Mi, LLC, obtained a preliminary injunction against Defendants involving a hotly contested dispute over the trademark “Paris Banh Mi” between competiting cafe/restaurants. See Press Release
House of Lashes vs. KISS Nail Products, Inc. et. al., (Central District of California)
Served as lead plaintiff trial counsel in a federal trademark infringement suit against a large New York based cosmetic accessory company involving artificial eyelashes. Defendants agreed to stop all use of the infringing mark resulting in a complete victory for the firm’s client, House of Lashes.
Hole In 1 Drinks, Inc. vs. Michael Lajtay (Trademark Trials and Appeals Board/TTAB) Cancellation Case No. 92065860)
Won a trademark cancellation proceeding trial resulting in the cancellation of a trademark registration between two ex-business partners.
Pipeline Restoration Technologies, LLC; Ace Duraflo Systems, LLC et. al. vs. Coast Building & Plumbing, Inc. et al. (Central District of California)
In a complex patent infringement, false advertisement, and unfair competition case involving epoxy pipeline repair, John represented the Defendants and spearheaded a patent reexamination of Plaintiff’s asserted patent, which successfully narrowed the scope of the patent claims so drastically that Plaintiffs dropped its main patent infringement case against Defendants before Trial.
