Maria Baratta concentrates her practice in the areas of client counseling, clearance, international and domestic trademark prosecution, enforcement and infringement litigation, and cybersquatting and domain name disputes (including handling disputes before WIPO and the NAF). Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Baratta worked at a law firm in London. During law school, Ms. Baratta was an Honor Board Member, Executive Editor of the Tulane Journal of International and Comparative Law, and earned the Highest Grade in European Community Environmental Law. She also studied comparative law at L'Università di Siena, Italy. She was a recipient of the Woodruff Arts Center's "Charles R. Yates Award" for Outstanding Volunteer Service. Ms. Baratta speaks fluent Italian. Professional & Community Activities Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, Rhodes Hall, Board of Governors Grady Health Systems, Volunteer Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. Woodruff Arts Center, Arts Center Friends, Steering Committee Clerkships Supreme Court of New York - Honorable Charles Ramos Experience Hurricane Katrina relief, Provide a variety of services and representation to victims of Hurricane Katrina and the organizations that assist them. Over a dozen firm lawyers have spent a week each at the New Orleans Pro Bono Project supervising law students who spend their spring and winter breaks working on domestic relations and successions cases for clients of the project. In Mississippi, a team of lawyers donated their legal skills to work with Mississippi Gulf Coast clients who suffered losses as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Others have accepted insurance claim cases from that organization. Another team of firm lawyers is working with the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights Under Law and in-house lawyers at Citi to advise a nonprofit organization that has designed and will produce green modular housing in Mississippi to replace homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The firm has provided advice in the areas of corporate, tax, intellectual property, construction, environmental, real estate and finance. Counsel to CLC International LLC on trademark clearance, brand management and other matters, Represents the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), one of the most successful licensing companies in the United States. CLC is the exclusive licensing agent for nearly 200 colleges, universities, conferences and bowl games. The firm is the only law firm advising CLC on its trademark matters and, as a result, the firm manages the trademark portfolios of more than 50 colleges and universities represented by CLC. The firm also advises the company's related entity, CLC International LLC, in connection with international clearance, brand management, enforcement and contentious proceedings. Guardian ad litem, Represent children and/or their best interests in a variety of settings and courts. Lawyers routinely serve as guardians ad litem, representing the best interests of children in a variety of contexts. In Atlanta and in Winston-Salem, lawyers have represented the best interests of hundreds of children whose parents are disputing their custody. The guardian ad litem is charged with getting to know the child, studying the circumstances of the child's life, interviewing witnesses, reviewing documents and ultimately, making an oral or written recommendation to the appointing court as to what is in the child's best interests. Trademark portfolio management for the American Cancer Society, Represents the American Cancer Society in trademark matters and in opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The firm also provides counseling regarding international and domestic clearance and brand management, licensing, and domain disputes and acquisitions. Services for education programs for schools and organizations, Represented a wide variety of schools and organizations whose focus is the education of children, ranging from elementary to high school education. Representation includes assistance to individual families, and a range of services to the entities, including corporate, tax, intellectual property, real estate and employment. *Experience gained by attorney prior to joining Kilpatrick Townsend Publications 18 October 2010, Preventing "heritage marks" from being abandoned
Source: National Law Journal, Articles 01 June 2009, International Trademark Protection
Source: NYSBA Bright Ideas, Articles 01 January 2009, International Trademark Protection
Source: Intellectual Property Desk Reference, Other Publications 01 January 2009, Inter Partes Litigation Before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
Source: Intellectual Property Desk Reference, Other Publications |