Artist and streetwear designer Erik Brunetti has for years been trying to register the trademark “Fuct.” The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied registration in 2012, citing the mark's “scandalous” or “immoral” nature, and since then, Brunetti's case has been making its way through first the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and now the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Arguing the case for Brunetti is a seemingly unlikely choice: John Sommer, general counsel of clothing brand Stussy Inc.

Sommer, who has been at Stussy since 1998 and currently serves as vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel, is involved in matters one might expect an in-house attorney at a clothing company to take on. These include generally managing the company's trademark portfolio, fighting for domain names and dealing with trademark infringement claims as both a plaintiff and a defendant. Outside his role at Stussy, though, Sommer also helps out a small number of personal clients, he said in an interview Tuesday with Corporate Counsel.