Adam C. Sherman
Practice Areas
- eControl
- Intellectual Property, Entertainment, and Technology Protection
- Litigation
Industries
Education
- New York University School of Law, J.D., 2001
- University of Michigan, B.A., 1997, with High Honors
Bar & Court Admissions
Adam is a partner in the Vorys Cincinnati office and a member of the technology and intellectual property group. His practice focuses on helping companies address the problems and harness the opportunities created by ecommerce and online marketplaces. He helps his clients identify and solve their online distribution issues, including pricing, product diversion, counterfeit, unfair competition, and false advertising issues. Adam designs and implements efficient enforcement strategies to identify and remove online sellers that are causing the most problems for his clients. These comprehensive strategies combine investigation, technology and legal.
As part of the Vorys eControl team, Adam works with clients to implement agreements and policies to help gain control of the marketplace by providing the foundation to remove unauthorized sellers. He has worked with clients that have a variety of distribution strategies, tailoring his recommendations to fit his clients’ needs.
A significant part of Adam’s practice focuses on helping direct seller and network marketing companies manage and contain unauthorized online sales. He understands the unique challenges unauthorized online sales pose for these companies and the challenges these companies have in effectively addressing the issues. He helps these companies approach the problem from both an internal business perspective and outside enforcement on the marketplaces.
Adam is an adjunct professor at Northern Kentucky University, where he teaches intellectual property law.
Adam received his J.D. from the New York University School of Law and his B.A. with high honors from the University of Michigan.
Honors & Awards
- Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Stars, General Litigation, 2012
News
- 2/12/2020Adam Sherman, a partner in the Vorys Cincinnati office and a member of Vorys eControl, was quoted in an Adweek article titled "How Brands Are Battling Knockoffs on Amazon."
- 7/8/2019The rapid growth of Amazon and other online marketplaces has created a new ecosystem in which brands struggle to control their product sales. Brands now find their products sold by anonymous online sellers and face new challenges on an unprecedented scale. The eControl360 Summit is a first-of-its-kind event that will bring together thought leaders in each of the disciplines necessary to tackle these challenges and allow brands to retake control of their online sales.
- 8/28/2017The College of Law Practice Management, an international organization that recognizes excellence in law practice management, announced today that Vorys was a recipient of a 2017 InnovAction Award. Vorys was one of just two recipients of this year’s award.
- 7/11/2016The Vorys online seller enforcement practice has developed a program that combines technology, expertise of cyber investigators and legal tactics to help stop unauthorized sellers.
- 9/9/2015Vorys announced the launch of the firm’s sixth blog, Stop Unauthorized Online Sales. The blog focuses on providing tips and solutions to help businesses stop unauthorized sales and product diversion online, including on e-commerce and auction websites.
- 1/1/2014Vorys is pleased to announce that Rajeev K. Adlakha, Patrick M. Hagan, Joseph W. Harper, Megan L. Hoelle, Laura A. Kulwicki, Kenneth J. Rubin, Adam C. Sherman and Kristin L. Woeste have been named partners of the firm.
- 12/16/2011
Events
- 11/6/2019The rapid growth of Amazon and other online marketplaces has created a new ecosystem in which brands struggle to control their product sales. Brands now find their products sold by anonymous online sellers and face new challenges on an unprecedented scale. The eControl360 Summit was a first-of-its-kind event that brought together thought leaders in each of the disciplines necessary to tackle these challenges and allow brands to retake control of their online sales.
- 4/26/2018Vorys attorneys Whitney Gibson, Adam Sherman, Anthony Ehler and John Landolfi presented Trends in Internet and Ecommerce Law: What Every In-House Counsel Should Know on April 26, 2018.
- 6/6/2017Vorys attorneys Whitney Gibson and Adam Sherman were speakers at the Direct Selling Association Annual Conference on June 6, 2017.
- 1/12/2017Vorys attorneys Whitney Gibson and Adam Sherman were speakers at the Direct Selling Legal & Compliance Summit hosted by Momentum Factor on January 12, 2017.
Insights
- 9/6/2016Manufacturers implement minimum advertised price (MAP) policies to control the prices at which retailers can advertise their products.
- 8/11/2016We have published various posts on our blog about implementing an effective enforcement system to stop unauthorized sales, including our recent post featuring a video about our online seller enforcement program. As mentioned in numerous posts, an ideal enforcement program combines technology, legal and investigation tactics.
- 8/10/2016Ordinarily, serving a subpoena to identify an anonymous internet poster requires first filing a lawsuit. In fact, we have published several posts about using subpoenas to identify unknown authors of internet defamation and have explained that the first step in the process is filing a complaint against the unknown poster.
- 7/19/2016Adam Sherman, a partner in the Vorys Cincinnati office and a member of the technology and intellectual property group, authored an article for Technology Law360 titled “VPN Dilemma: Anonymous Expression Vs. Anonymous Defamation.”
- 6/28/2016A California appellate court recently affirmed a lower court’s decision to require Yelp to remove three defamatory reviews. The First Appellate District did, however, remand the case to the trial court to narrow the terms of the removal order, which ordered Yelp to also remove potential future reviews.
- 6/17/2016For businesses and professionals defamed on the internet, most simply want the false content removed. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to obtain removal, one of which is through a court order.
- 3/1/2016Companies from many industries have long been contracting with distributors to sell products on an exclusive basis. As technology has evolved, however, it has become easier for anyone to sell products on the internet, and the diversion of products to unauthorized online sellers poses a serious threat to companies.
- 9/25/2015Many businesses today are finding their products being sold online without their permission, often on third-party websites. While the First Sale Doctrine generally permits buyers to resell others’ trademarked goods without incurring any liability, it does not apply when a reseller sells goods that are materially different from the genuine goods sold by a trademark owner.
- 3/18/2015Adam Sherman, a partner in the Vorys Cincinnati office and a member of the litigation group, authored an article for Law360 titled “Not All That Is Public Should Be Publicized.”
- 6/26/2014The Federal Trade Commission mandates that material connections between endorsers and advertisers be disclosed. Yet there are countless misleading review websites out there, masking payments received in exchange for positive publicity.