Katherine P. Califa is an intellectual property lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP where her practice focuses on counseling clients on all aspects of brand management, including the selection, procurement, and enforcement of trademarks and other intellectual property assets in the United States and abroad, developing brand roll-out and protection strategies, and handling Internet and domain name disputes. She regularly negotiates intellectual property related disputes, represents clients before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and provides intellectual property counseling on business acquisitions, branding agreements, copyright, trade dress, right of publicity, and right of privacy matters. Ms. Califa has presented on a broad range of topics, including the unique IP issues facing startups, legal considerations associated with social media and mobile apps, and the protection of non-traditional trademarks. She is a member of the firm’s Trademark, Copyright & Advertising Practice and the Medical Devices Industry Team.

Ms. Califa has been recognized as a leading trademark practitioner in the 2016 and 2017 editions of WTR 1000, published by the World Trademark Review.

Prior to joining Foley, Ms. Califa served as a law clerk for the Honorable Deborah K. Chasanow at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Education

Ms. Califa is a graduate of Stanford Law School (J.D., 2006), where she was an editor of the Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and served as co-chair of the Stanford Latino Law Students Association. Ms. Califa earned her B.A. in economics from Wellesley College (cum laude, 2003).

Representative Experience

• Developed and implemented a successful trademark clearance and registration strategy for a product launch spanning 50+ countries, including negotiating a worldwide coexistence agreement with a competitor.
• Assisted client with reaching mobile app release targets in multiple jurisdictions by handling all aspects of intellectual property due diligence, including advising on trademark use and clearance, copyright and right of publicity clearance, compliance with internal branding guidelines, and compliance with app platform rules and guidelines.
• Developed brand strategies to assist clients in deriving the most value from existing marks and trade dress and prepared guidelines to help clients select intellectual property assets that are likely to provide value in the future.