Kate A. Sherlock

Kate collaborates with clients to protect, develop, and enforce their intellectual property (IP) rights and data.  Serving as both a savvy business counselor and a strategic litigator, Kate represents companies of all sizes across major industries, including computer technology, automotive, biotechnology, entertainment, sports, fashion, and food and beverage.

With deep experience in commercial contracting, Kate drafts and negotiates a wide range of IP and technology-focused agreements, including master services agreements, software licensing and SaaS agreements, AI development and model-training agreements, data-use and data-sharing agreements, social media influencer agreements, name and likeness releases, publishing agreements, and other technology, media, and data-driven contracts. She has a strong understanding of AI models and the legal risks inherent in their development and deployment and regularly helps clients navigate these issues.

Kate counsels clients on the protection, commercialization, and enforcement of their IP portfolios, particularly trademarks, copyrightable software, and trade secrets. She prepares licensing agreements, conducts targeted IP due diligence, structures IP and technology transfer arrangements, and advises on the right to use and ability to register trademarks and copyrights. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Kate worked as a professional musician and in the entertainment industry, giving her unique insight into the creative and business challenges artists, licensors, and contractors face. Her creative background enhances her ability to draft, negotiate, and refine complex agreements with clarity and purpose.

As a member of the firm’s Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Group, Kate helps clients comply with evolving privacy regulations such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). She reviews and negotiates third-party vendor contracts and service-level agreements and drafts internal and customer-facing privacy and security policies, including data-processing agreements and privacy notices.

Kate also represents clients in litigation involving the full range of IP rights. She handles trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings before the TTAB, UDRP domain-name disputes, and federal and state court litigation involving trademark and copyright infringement, false advertising, trade-secret misappropriation, domain-name disputes, and contract and business tort claims. Her goal is always to guide clients through the litigation process efficiently and transparently, keeping them informed and empowered at every stage.

Clients value Kate’s empathetic and approachable nature. She strives to understand both the legal and business priorities that drive each decision and to craft solutions that align with each client’s goals.

During law school, Kate interned for the Honorable Joel Schneider, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey, and completed a five-month co-op with Comcast in Philadelphia. She was a member of the Drexel Law Review and contributed more than 100 pro bono hours to the Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. Before attending law school, Kate worked as a Media Licensing Coordinator in the Business and Legal Affairs Department of MTV Networks, where she negotiated third-party licensing agreements on behalf of MTV, VH1, and Comedy Central, and gained extensive experience licensing music for use in television and film.