William Zac

Duffy

Shareholder
500 N. Akard Street, Suite 4000
Dallas, TX 75201-6605

Overview

Zac focuses his practice on commercial litigation and intellectual property law. He received his undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems (MIS) at the University of Oklahoma and spent several years working as a technical resource at a software company that served banks and other financial institutions. Zac counsels companies on a number of legal issues relating to intellectual property, technology and data privacy.

Zac’s technical background has been invaluable to clients in litigation that involves some form of technology, including copyright infringement, patent litigation and complex trade secret cases. He has also assisted clients with software contracts, including software as a service (SaaS) agreements and contracts to develop new software applications.

He also helps his clients protect their intellectual property by identifying relevant assets and then executing a strategy to protect those assets. He has filed a large number of trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and has represented clients in trademark opposition proceedings brought by competitors before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). In addition, Zac has worked with clients to seize internet domain addresses registered by competitors in bad faith pursuant to the Uniform Domain Name Registration Policy (UDRP) established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Zac provides counsel on data privacy and cyber security law, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). He has also assisted companies in responding to data breach incidents, and has represented clients involved in regulatory actions by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) related to data security and privacy, such as FTC enforcement actions under the United States Privacy Shield program.

Education

Admissions

Achievements

  • Thomson Reuters – Texas Rising Stars (2011-2018)
  • Woodward/White, Inc. – Best Lawyers in America, Litigation – Intellectual Property (2025)

Overview

Zac focuses his practice on commercial litigation and intellectual property law. He received his undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems (MIS) at the University of Oklahoma and spent several years working as a technical resource at a software company that served banks and other financial institutions. Zac counsels companies on a number of legal issues relating to intellectual property, technology and data privacy.

Zac’s technical background has been invaluable to clients in litigation that involves some form of technology, including copyright infringement, patent litigation and complex trade secret cases. He has also assisted clients with software contracts, including software as a service (SaaS) agreements and contracts to develop new software applications.

He also helps his clients protect their intellectual property by identifying relevant assets and then executing a strategy to protect those assets. He has filed a large number of trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and has represented clients in trademark opposition proceedings brought by competitors before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). In addition, Zac has worked with clients to seize internet domain addresses registered by competitors in bad faith pursuant to the Uniform Domain Name Registration Policy (UDRP) established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Zac provides counsel on data privacy and cyber security law, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). He has also assisted companies in responding to data breach incidents, and has represented clients involved in regulatory actions by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) related to data security and privacy, such as FTC enforcement actions under the United States Privacy Shield program.

Experience

  • Privacy Shield Program

    Defended a company in enforcement action by the FTC alleging it did not comply with the Privacy Shield program and made misleading statements in its website privacy policy.

  • Patent Litigation

    Represented local beauty supply company in a series of cases to enforce a patented hair styling device and method and assisted them in building their portfolio of 

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  • Trade Secrets

    Won summary judgment on behalf of an executive and his new company in a case alleging he had misappropriated trade secrets and violated a covenant not to compete by

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