Cheryl Burbach is a shareholder at Erise with more than 25 years of experience helping clients protect, enforce, and maximize the value of their intellectual property assets worldwide. Her practice focuses on trademarks, copyrights, trade dress, domain name and social media issues, branding strategy, and related intellectual property disputes.

Cheryl is known for combining deep trademark experience with practical business judgment and creative problem-solving. She does not approach IP issues with a one-size-fits-all strategy. Instead, she works closely with clients to understand their business goals, brand priorities, risk tolerance, and competitive landscape, then develops tailored solutions that are legally sound, commercially realistic, and often outside the traditional playbook. Whether clearing a difficult mark, resolving a dispute, structuring a coexistence agreement, addressing online infringement, or navigating a complex portfolio issue, Cheryl looks for strategic paths that preserve business value while reducing unnecessary friction.

Cheryl advises companies ranging from startups to established global brands across a broad range of industries. She regularly counsels clients on domestic and international trademark portfolio management, trademark clearance and registration strategy, enforcement matters, licensing, online infringement, and brand protection programs. She also assists businesses with IP issues arising in corporate transactions, marketing initiatives, social media, and emerging digital platforms, including critical IP review and negotiation support in asset purchase and stock purchase agreements.

An experienced advocate, Cheryl represents clients before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and in Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy proceedings. She has also represented clients in IP pre-litigation disputes and litigation, experience that informs her practical, resolution-focused approach to conflict.

Over time, Cheryl has developed a mediation practice in trademark, copyright, and related matters, helping parties move beyond entrenched positions and identify creative, business-driven solutions. She approaches mediation with the belief that the most effective resolutions are those shaped by the parties themselves. While litigation places the outcome in the hands of a judge or jury, mediation gives parties the opportunity to control the result and reach agreements tailored to their specific business or personal objectives. Cheryl’s strength lies in helping parties see options they may not have considered, including creative business terms, practical compromises, and nontraditional paths to resolution that address the dispute without losing sight of the parties’ broader goals.

Cheryl is recognized by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America®, Managing Intellectual Property, and Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers for her work in intellectual property law. She is a frequent speaker on trademark, copyright, and evolving IP issues and holds and has held leadership roles in numerous professional organizations, including the International Trademark Association and the Association of Intellectual Property Firms.