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Catherine F. Hoffman

Shareholder

Catherine F. Hoffman is a shareholder in Baker Donelson's Fort Lauderdale office and a member of the Intellectual Property Group.

Professional Biography


Ms. Hoffman concentrates her practice on counseling clients, including brand owners and advertisers, in the protection of their intellectual property and litigates primarily in the areas of intellectual property, advertising, and unfair competition and related claims. Clients regularly turn to Ms. Hoffman for strategic global brand guidance and counseling on intellectual property in many contexts, including mergers, joint ventures, clearance, litigation, cancellation and opposition proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, as well as all other aspects of selection, protecting and growing brands.

Ms. Hoffman assists clients in a wide variety of industries, including investment management, financial services, technology, telecommunications, automotive, restaurants and entertainment venues, alcohol beverage, tobacco, non-tobacco, hospitality, consumer products, and the electric power industry. Ms. Hoffman's approach to protecting intellectual property for her clients focuses on achieving a proper balance between the return on investment for the client and managing the client's risk tolerance.

After earning her law degree, Ms. Hoffman served as a law clerk to the Honorable C. Clyde Atkins in the S.D. Florida and later served as a staff attorney for the Honorable John W. Dell and the Honorable George W. Hersey at the Florida Appellate Courts, Fourth District Court of Appeal. Ms. Hoffman was also managing partner of a boutique intellectual property firm for 12 years. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Ms. Hoffman was a software engineer for Burroughs Corporation and Electronic Data Systems focusing on software in the banking industry. Her experience in the public sector enriches her ability to counsel clients in litigation.

  • Represented a client on a patent infringement case in which the client was awarded damages and attorneys' fees of more than $24.5 million for intentionally infringing a radial arm saw safety device.

  • Successfully represented a German Trade Association representing manufacturers in Solingen, Germany, the "world's cutlery capital," to protect the "SOLINGEN" certification trademark.

  • Represented a developer and various restaurants and lounge venues on Miami Beach in international disputes over intellectual property rights.

  • Successfully won on summary judgment for a Danish client on false advertising claims.

  • Member – The Florida Bar, Intellectual Property Committee, Business Law Section
  • Member – Broward County Bar Association
  • Member – International Trademark Association
    • Appointed, Leadership Development Committee (2024 – 2025)
    • Subcommittee Task Force Leader, Enforcement Committee (2020 – 2023) 
    • Appointment, International Trademark Association (2010)
  • Former Member – International Network of Boutique Law Firms
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation (2021 – 2025)
  • Listed in Chambers USA as a leading Intellectual Property lawyer in Florida (2020 – 2024)
  • Selected to Florida Super Lawyers (2014 – 2019, 2023)
  • AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • "Baker's Trademark Developments of 2024" (September 2024)
  • "Misstatement of First Use Date is Not Fraud," International Trademark Association (INTA) Bulletin, Vol. 67, No. 8 (May 2012)
  • "COLOMBIANO COFFEE HOUSE Denied Registration Based on Certification Mark COLOMBIAN for Coffee," International Trademark Association (INTA) Bulletin, Vol. 67, No. 8 (May 2012)
  • "Not All Mangos are Alike or Smell the Same," International Trademark Association (INTA) Bulletin, Vol. 67, No. 8 (April 2012)
  • "HANGBOARD Mark Barely Glides Through for Approval for Supplemental Register," International Trademark Association (INTA) Bulletin, Vol. 67, No. 3 (February 2012)
  • "Although Foreign Equivalent, French Mark for Wine Wins," International Trademark Association (INTA) Bulletin, Vol. 66, No. 21 (December 2011)
  • "Court Says Consumers Know Havana Club Rum is Not From Cuba," International Trademark Association (INTA) Bulletin, Vol. 66, No. 17 (October 2011)
  • "TTAB Cuts Up Saw Manufacturer's Registration Arguments," International Trademark Association (INTA) Bulletin, Vol. 66, No. 16 (September 2011)
  • Host and Moderator – "Proper Use of Trademarks in Advertising and Product Packaging," International Trademark Association Roundtable (2011)
  • Moderator – "Relevant IP Issues for Corporate Counsel," Intellectual Property Law Society (IPLS) Corporate Counsel Luncheon (2011)
  • Panelist – "Design Patent Litigation – The New Frontier," American Intellectual Property Law Association (2010)
  • Keynote Speaker – "Protecting Your Intellectual Property in the United States," seminar to business owners and industrial companies in the Wuppertal, Solingen, and Remscheild regions of Germany (2007)

Education

  • University of Miami School of Law, J.D., 1989
  • Emory University, B.B.A., 1982

Admissions

  • Florida, 1989
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court for the Middle, Northern, and Southern Districts of Florida

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