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Gina A. Hough
Partner
Washington, DC
Tel: 202.461.3107
Fax: 202.461.3102
[email protected]
Gina is a veteran intellectual property attorney with more than two decades of experience strategizing with clients on
the use and exploitation of their intellectual property assets. A former vice president and deputy general counsel at
Fannie Mae, she is considered a pioneer in the realm of intellectual property assets in the financial services industry.
Gina maintains a diverse IP practice, helping clients identify, develop, monetize and protect their intellectual property
assets and providing strategic counsel related to intellectual property analysis, planning, complex commercial
transactions and leveraging intangible assets.
Gina combines her strong business acumen with an eye toward promoting competitive advantage and managing risk to
provide clients with patent portfolio strategy and valuation analysis to identify and commercialize their IP assets to
achieve their short and long-term business goals. She regularly performs IP audits and handles trademark prosecution
and counseling, copyright (including Digital Millennium Copyright Act and fair use analysis), trade secret, and licensing
for a wide range of public and private entities.
In the areas of information technology, data security and compliance, Gina works with clients to structure and negotiate
a range of agreements, including product development, joint venture, strategic alliance, noncompete, confidentiality,
click-wrap, merchandise and distribution, reseller, media rights, website development, hosting, linking, content, cobranding and cross-licensing agreements. She also drafts online consumer alerts, privacy practices and procedures
and social media policies and procedures, and she advises on open source software use and licensing, Value Added
Reseller (VAR) and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) agreements, hardware purchase, sale and leasing
agreements and licensor-licensee disputes. Additionally, Gina counsels clients on consumer protection regulations and
guidelines regarding laws such as the Federal Trade Commission Act.
Representative Matters:
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Advised general counsel of a large real property appraisal tech company on the global distribution of mobile
apps and web-based solutions for appraisers.
Advising a financial services company on a dispute with a 20-year legacy database vendor; negotiating a
dispute to resolution in order to avoid multimillion-dollar litigation.
Advising a premier global consumer electronics corporation with respect to transferring all consumer nonpublicly available data to hosting in Korea.
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Counseled a multinational conglomerate on a patent portfolio strategy and phased-in implementation plan.
Structured and negotiated a $150 million, multiyear, global telecommunications agreement on behalf of
computer company.
Served as outside general counsel to Chief Information Officer of a $2 billion hedge fund.
Negotiated a nationwide services agreement with content providers for one of the nation’s largest electronic
jukebox manufacturers and distributors.
Counseled a patent owner on commercialization path for chemical compound and structured a product
development agreement.
Advised numerous Fortune 100 companies on data security and data breach policies and procedures.
Structured and negotiated a series of services agreements for the largest online consumer payment
processing company.
Drafted and negotiated a complex strategic alliance agreement to create the largest, most widely used
nationwide realtor-consumer online website.
Before Fox Rothschild
Gina is former vice president and deputy general counsel at Fannie Mae, where she served as IP chief, and she has
extensive experience working as in-house counsel for Fortune 100 companies. At Fannie Mae, she assembled a patent
portfolio containing nearly 300 assets, built and maintained a trademark portfolio of hundreds of domestic and
international trademarks, and managed a team of attorneys and other professionals charged with protecting the
company’s intangible assets.
Gina also formerly served as senior corporate counsel for Digital Equipment Corporation (now Hewlett Packard), where
she served as counsel to an international array of acquisition, telecommunications and advertising business teams.
Beyond Fox Rothschild
Gina is a frequent public speaker, both in the United States and abroad, at legal and business forums and conferences.
She has spoken on a variety of intellectual property law topics as well as on diversity issues in the legal profession.
Most recently, she addressed a consortium in Paris of European and Middle Eastern lawyers on the business
implications and legal issues born of the global explosion of social media.
Practice Areas
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Real Estate
Financial Services Industry
Real Estate and Housing Finance
Post-Grant Proceedings and Inter Partes Review
Bar Admissions
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District of Columbia
Massachusetts
Education
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Boston College (J.D., 1985)
Smith College (A.B., 1981)
Memberships
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American Intellectual Property Law Association (LGBT subcommittee)
International Trademark Association (GLINTA)
American Bar Association
National Bar Association
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Corporate Counsel Women of Color
Minority Corporate Counsel Association