Tara A. Kastelic

Tara assists clients with the following:

• Counseling to effectively protect and enforce intellectual property
• Conducting right-to-use and non-infringement analyses and preparing opinions
• Conducting patentability analyses and preparing opinions
• Preparing, filing, and prosecuting patent, trademark, and copyright applications
• Maintaining and enforcing patents and trademark registrations
• Preparing cease and desist letters and responses

Tara is a member of the Cleveland Intellectual Property Law Association (CIPLA), where she has served in a variety of leadership roles in her more than 30 years of involvement, including president, vice president, director, and board member. She is also a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. Since 2008, she has been a co-chair of the All Ohio Annual Institute on Intellectual Property (AOAIOIP) and, since 1999, she has been a member of the planning committee for the AOAIOIP.

Tara previously completed the National Conference for Community and Justice’s (NCCJ) Lead Diversity program. NCCJ is a social justice organization focused on fighting biases and promoting understanding between people of different races and cultures.

In 2013, she was named a "Woman of Professional Excellence" by the YWCA of Greater Cleveland.

Tara was an associate with Calfee from 1991 to 1993 before joining the law firm of Seed & Berry in Seattle, Washington in 1994. She returned to Calfee in 1995 and became a partner in 2002.

Honors & Recognitions

• “Woman of Professional Excellence” award, YWCA of Greater Cleveland (2013)

Education

J.D., magna cum laude, University of Toledo College of Law, Law Review Editor, Order of the Coif, 1991

B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering, cum laude, University of Toledo College of Engineering, 1988

Experience

• Serving as primary IP counsel for a publicly traded, Fortune 500, global manufacturing client and its operating companies with responsibility for the client's worldwide IP portfolio, including 1,000+ patent matters and 2,000+ trademark matters. With regard to clearance, Calfee provides right-to-use and non-infringement analyses and opinions. With regard to procurement, we provide patentability and registrability analyses and opinions. We also prepare, file, and prosecute patent and trademark applications. Calfee assists in all IP litigation the operating companies are involved in.
• Serving as primary IP counsel for a publicly traded manufacturer and its operating companies with responsibility for more than 125 active patent and trademark matters for this client. With regard to clearance, we provide right-to-use and non-infringement analyses and opinions. With regard to procurement, we provide patentability and registrability analyses and opinions. Calfee also prepares, files, and prosecutes patent and trademark applications, and we represent the company in IP-related disputes.

Professional & Community

• Cleveland Intellectual Property Law Association, Member, Past President and Past Board Member

• All Ohio Annual Institute on Intellectual Property, Co-Chair, Planning Committee Member

• American Intellectual Property Law Association, Member