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Cindy's practice is concentrated in litigation involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and unfair competition, representing both plaintiffs and defendants.  She has litigated cases in jurisdictions throughout the United States in actions involving medical devices, software systems, glass, glass coatings, printer cartridges, food processing, printing systems, and various mechanical devices.  Cindy has successfully handled multiple Markman hearings before District Court Judges as well as Special Masters, and successfully obtained (or avoided) injunctions in trademark infringement actions in industries as diverse as clothing, food, computers, music, television and other industries.  She also represents clients in the licensing of trademarks, copyrights and patents; the preparation of opinions of validity and infringement in anticipation of litigation; and other intellectual property matters.

Cindy is active in shaping the direction of intellectual property law, is on the Council of the American Bar Association's Section of Intellectual Property Law, and is involved in many other intellectual property organizations.  She was one of the drafters of the Local Patent Rules for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

She has written extensively on and is regularly invited to speak regarding the pro bono litigation she championed to rescue the historically significant photographic archive of photographer Charles H. "Teenie" Harris from a Pittsburgh businessman who had misappropriated it.  The case garnered international media recognition because Mr. Harris' collection is widely considered to be one of the most significant and complete documentations of the African American urban community in the 20th Century.  Through Cindy's efforts, this collection was acquired and is being restored and preserved by the Carnegie Museum of Art.  Cindy encourages other lawyers to be generous of their time in doing pro bono work, and has recently presented a paper on "Building the Business Case for Having a Pro Bono Program as Part of a Law Firm's Practice."

Representative Matters

• The King Arthur Flour Company, Inc. v. Trader Joe’s Company, (W.D. Pa. 2009) – Successfully represented KAF in trademark and trade dress action involving KAF’s distinctive packaging for its flour products.

• American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. v. Lyle & Scott (W.D. Pa. 2008) – Summary judgment entered for declaratory judgment plaintiff AEO in a reverse confusion action involving AEO's trademarked eagle logo.  Affirmed on appeal.

• Highmark Inc. v. Allcare Health Management Systems, Inc. (U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, Ft. Worth Div. (CV-03-1384) – Represented declaratory judgment plaintiff Highmark, Inc. in a patent infringement litigation involving a health care management system.  Obtained summary judgment of non-infringement on two separate grounds.  Affirmed on appeal.

• In re: Nomination Paper of Ralph Nader and Peter Miguel Camejo as Candidates of an Independent Political Body for President and Vice President in the General Election of November 2, 2004 (Pa. Commonw. Ct.) – Represented multiple plaintiffs in a successful challenged Ralph Nader’s right to appear on the Pennsylvania Presidential Election Ballot in 2004.

• Harris v. Morgan (W.D. Pa.) – Obtained $4.3 million verdict and recovery of historic photograph collection on behalf of Charles "Teenie" Harris.

• View all...

Publications

• Contributing author to the ABA Section of Litigation Model Jury Instructions series, Copyright, Trademark and Trade Dress Litigation (2008)
• Authored the "Trial" Chapter for the BNA treatise, Patent Litigation Strategies Handbook (2nd ed 2005), and Supplements to this Chapter (December 2006, 2007, and 2008)
• "Protecting Your Intellectual Property: An Introduction," The Practical Lawyer (April 2007)
• "The Supreme Court: A Possible New Test for Obviousness?" IP Moves Newsletter (Winter 2006)
• "Has the Federal Circuit Said Enough to Save Its 'Motivation, Teaching, Suggestion' Test?" IPLaw 360 (Nov. 7, 2006)
• "eBay Aftermath--Proof of Competitive Injury Matters," 72 BNA's Patent, Trademark and Copyright Journal 718 (Oct. 10, 2006)
• "The eBay Aftermath," IP Moves Newsletter (Fall 2006)
• "Shades of Gray: Equity Prevails in the eBay Case," IP Moves Newsletter (Spring 2006)
• Co-authored "Feeding the Frenzy; Photographs and Film Stills in a Celebrity Obsessed World," 157 Copyright World 15 (February 2006)
• "A Lucky Circumstance," Spirit of a Community the Photographs of Charles "Teenie" Harris, Westmoreland Museum of Art (2001)
• Co-authored one of the first articles advocating insurance coverage for patent infringement, J. Restivo and C. Kernick, "Rejoinder: Insurance Coverage For Patent Infringement And Intellectual Property Claims Is Provided By The Advertising Injury Endorsement Of CGL Policies," Mealey's Litigation Reports: Insurance (Feb. 18, 1992)

Speeches / Presentations

• Moderated a panel discussing the pros and cons of litigating patent infringement actions in popular jurisdictions at the BNA/ABA IP Law conference on “Using Today’s Patent Laws to Protect Tomorrow’s Technology: New Litigation Strategies” in Washington, D.C. (October 2008)
• Participated as a panel member discussing trends in Federal Circuit damages decisions in the IPO conference on “Navigating Recent Decisions: How They Affect Your Corporate IP Practice” in Washington, D.C. (March 2008)
• Participated in a panel discussion entitled "Future Predictions and Strategies on the Obviousness Test" at the BNA and ABA IP Law section-sponsored conference "Patent Obviousness: The Still-Evolving Standard, or Is it Back to the Future?" (October 2007)
• Presented "The State of the Injunction in the Post-eBay Era" at the 3rd Patent Strategies Conference in New York (March 2007)
• Spoke at the American Conferences Institute's In-House Counsel Summit on Managing & Settling Corporate Patent Litigation in New York on "The Impact of eBay v. MercExchange on Non-Practicing Entities" (March 2007)
• Spoke on a panel, addressing the protection of intellectual property rights, presented by the ABA’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section at the ABA Annual Meeting (August 2006)
• Presented a paper on “Building the Business Case for a Pro Bono Program as Part of a Law Firm’s Practice” at the ABA IP Law Section Annual Meeting (June 2006)
• Presented the paper "Patents in the Crosshairs-Saving the Validity of Your Patent" at the American Bar Association Spring CLE in Washington, D.C. (April 2005)
• Discussed as part of a panel of speakers the newly adopted Local Patent Rules for the Western District of Pennsylvania (August 2005)
• Moderated a panel, which included Judge Jeremy Fogel, Judge Avern Cohn and Judge Rod McKelvie discussing patent litigation and Markman proceedings, at the AIPLA Spring Meeting in Dallas (May 2004)
• Spoke at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. on "Pittsburgh’s Hill District and The Photographs of Charles 'Teenie' Harris; An Historical Perspective" (February 2003)
• Presented "Recovering A Treasure: Saving the Photographs of Charles 'Teenie' Harris" at Bucknell University (January 2002)
• Spoke at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art on "Recovering a Treasure: Saving the Photographs of Charles 'Teenie' Harris" (March 2001)
• Presented the paper, "The Doctrine of Equivalents After Warner-Jenkinson Co., Inc. v. Hilton Davis Chemical Co.: A New Beginning or Business As Usual?" at a CLE conference for in-house counsel (October 1998)
• Presented papers at the Allegheny County Bar Association "Art and Internet" CLE Seminars on "Personal Jurisdiction in Cyberspace," "Introduction of Filtering Technologies for the Internet" and "Liability of Internet Service Providers for Direct or Contributory Copyright Infringement" (July 1997)

Experience

Legal Education

Graduate Education

Undergraduate Education

Professional Admissions / Qualifications

• Pennsylvania

Court Admissions

• U.S. Court of Appeals - Federal Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals - Third Circuit
• U.S. District Court - Western District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court - Eastern District of Michigan

Professional Affiliations

• Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County
• American Bar Association – Member of Council, Intellectual Property Law Section
• American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Federal Circuit Bar Association
• Pittsburgh Intellectual Property Law Association
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania – Member of the Local Patent Rules Committee
• University of Pittsburgh School of Law – Adjunct Professor; teaches a course in Patent Litigation
• Gateway to the Arts – former Board Member
• Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theater – former Board Member

Interests

Art
Photography
Quilting