On October 27, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the convictions of Neil Cole, the founder and former CEO of Iconix Brand Group, a trademark licensing company. The government had alleged that Cole artificially inflated Iconix’s reported revenue through secret side deals in which Iconix’s business partner agreed to overpay for certain licensing rights in exchange for Iconix’s promise to reimburse the overpayment later. At a 2021 trial, the jury acquitted Cole of the principal charge, conspiracy, but hung on counts charging substantive offenses that were the objects of the alleged conspiracy. Over Cole’s objection, the district court permitted a retrial on the substantive counts, which resulted in his conviction.
On appeal, Cole argued that the second trial violated his Fifth Amendment double jeopardy right. He argued that to acquit him of conspiracy, the first jury must have found he did not engage in secret side deals, and that finding barred a retrial on the substantive counts. The Court agreed. The Court held that, “[a]s a practical matter, Cole could not have made and concealed an overpayments-for-givebacks arrangement without persuading a co-conspirator to participate,” and so the conspiracy acquittal necessarily reflected the first jury’s finding that the government failed to prove secret side deals. Because “[e]vidence of his participation in those agreements was indisputably essential to Cole’s convictions” on the substantive counts, the Court held that the second trial violated the Double Jeopardy Clause and reversed Cole’s convictions with instructions to dismiss the indictment.
Partner Alexandra Shapiro argued the appeal and authored the briefs along with Daniel O’Neill and former associate Bronwyn Roantree. The Court’s opinion can be found here, the Second Circuit briefs can be found here and here, and oral argument audio can be found here.
Media coverage of the decision can be found here, here, and here.