Michelle P. Ciotola

As Partner and Chair of Cantor Colburn's Trademark & Copyright Practice Group, Michelle Ciotola concentrates her practice on counseling, protecting and enforcing trademark, trade dress, copyright, and related intellectual property rights, as well as counseling clients in unfair competition, Internet, advertising, and promotions law. She talks about trademarks on her podcast, IP Obsessed, with her colleague Tina Dorr, who talks about patents.

She assists clients in the development and exploitation of their trademark portfolios, including clearance of marks; prosecution of trademark applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; and identifying important overseas jurisdiction and filing or coordinating with local counsel for protection and enforcement of marks in those jurisdictions. Michelle develops strategies for the enforcement of her clients’ intellectual property rights, including preparing demand letters, negotiating settlement agreements, handling opposition and cancellation actions before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and coordinating and overseeing litigation with local counsel around the world. She also develops strategies for enforcement of her clients’ intellectual property rights online, including handling Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy proceedings. Michelle files and prosecutes applications for copyright registration with the U.S. Copyright Office and advises clients on copyright law. She represents clients in trademark due diligence. She drafts and negotiates a wide range of intellectual property agreements, including assignments, licenses, and trademark consent and coexistence agreements.

Michelle attends and speaks at the world’s leading trademark industry association gatherings, including the International Trademark Association (INTA), MARQUES, the European brand owner association, European Communities Trade Mark Association (ECTA) and the Asociancion InterAmericana de la Propriedad Intelectual (ASIPI).