Find Lawyers in Los Angeles, California for Copyright Law
Practice Area Overview
Copyright applies to original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible medium of expression. An original work of authorship is one that is independently created and includes a minimum level of creativity. Examples of the types of works to which copyrights apply include literary works, drawings, paintings, sculptures, movies, music, video games, and other works of art. Copyright protection also applies to computer software.
Copyright protection does not protect ideas, but protects the expression of an idea. A work does not need to be registered with the Copyright Office to be afforded copyright protection. However, it must be registered with the Copyright Office to bring a lawsuit for copyright infringement. In addition, significant benefits arise from the timely registration of copyrights.
The author of a work is vested with a number of exclusive rights when copyright protection arises. These exclusive rights include, among other things, the right to reproduce (copy), adapt, display, and publicly perform the work. The author may transfer all or some of his or her exclusive rights in the work to another party. For example, the author of a novel may transfer the right to adapt a novel into a screenplay to a movie studio, while still retaining the copyright in the novel itself. Another significant component of copyright law is the area of fair use, which allows use of a copyrighted work without permission in certain limited circumstances (e.g., for the purpose of commenting on or criticizing the work).
Copyright lawyers assist clients with identifying materials that are protectable by copyright, registering copyrightable works with the United States Copyright Office, and counseling clients in the various ways in which copyrights may be acquired, protected, and exploited. Litigation also is a large part of a copyright lawyer’s practice.
Copyright law also addresses issues involving digital rights management, which are measures designed to manage digital copies of works. With the advent of digital copies, some copyright owners seek to restrict the ability to make copies of a particular work. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which is part of U.S. copyright law, prohibits circumventing measures that are designed to prevent copying of copyrighted works. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act also, among other things, provides a framework for online service providers for avoiding copyright infringement based on the acts of the online service provider’s users.
Joel D. Leviton, Co-Chair of Copyright Practice
Kristen McCallion, Co-Chair of Copyright Practice
Fish & Richardson
Vincent H. Chieffo is an entertainment and media litigator with significant trial and appellate experience. His practice also includes entertainment transactional work. His litigation experience encompasses disputes throughout the entertainment business, including those involving copyright and trademark infringement, right of publicity, defamation, the rights of estates and heirs in copyrights and other entertainment assets, idea submission, royalties and participations, and distribution and ...
Over more than 35 years of practice, David Halberstadter, the firm's deputy general counsel, has established a reputation among leading entertainment companies as a no-nonsense advisor and talented litigator. When other options fail, he aggressively pursues and defends lawsuits, with a focus on intellectual property-related disputes. Across all his work, clients value David's clear thinking, strategic wisdom and practical business sense. David represents motion picture studios, production com...
Ellie Heisler, Entertainment group lead, provides advice to individuals and companies around the world on brand building, licensing, intellectual property protection, and operations. Ellie works with traditional entertainment clients on their entertainment career and on diversifying their revenue streams. She is well versed in FTC advertising regulations and is regularly invited to speak on the topic and train in-house counsel and marketing executives. Additionally, as an entrepreneur in the ...
Melanie Howard’s practice focuses on the acquisition, protection, licensing, exploitation and sale of intangible assets for major brands and individual talent. Known for her business-minded approach, she represents clients across a variety of industries, including fashion and luxury retail, esports, automotive, technology, entertainment and media, and financial. Clients regularly turn to Melanie for strategic brand protection guidance and counsel on data privacy matters in the context o...
Diana Torres is an intellectual property and commercial litigation partner in Kirkland's Los Angeles and Bay Area offices. Diana focuses her practice on false advertising, unfair competition, trademark, copyright, and trade secrets matters, and has handled many high-profile matters for a wide variety of clients, including consumer product manufacturers, fitness service providers, entertainment and media companies, and Internet service providers. Diana also advises clients on compliance and co...
Annie Albertson focuses her practice on trademark and new media issues. Among her areas of expertise include handling contentious disputes involving U.S. and international trademark registry filings, conducting trademark clearance searches, filing and prosecuting U.S. trademark applications, providing strategic advice on managing global trademark portfolios, and advising on brand style guides and website compliance. Her clients include major brand owners in the technology and social media spa...
Vince assists clients in a variety of intellectual property and corporate matters, with a special focus on intellectual property transactions, including technology transfer and licensing, research transactions and operations, and global IP portfolio management. Vince draws on his doctorate-level education and litigation experience to advise innovators and growth-driven companies in various industries, including life sciences, high tech, and fashion. My focus IP TRANSACTIONS & RESEARCH My ...
Lindsey Shi is an intellectual property litigation partner in the Los Angeles of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Lindsey’s practice primarily focuses on patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation litigation. Lindsey has significant experience in key areas of intellectual property litigation, including fact and expert discovery, prior art and claim construction analysis, case-dispositive motion practice, and trial and witness preparation. Lindsey’s clients cover a wide range o...
Dorian Slater Thomas practices in the firm’s Interactive Entertainment Group and Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations Group, where he handles a wide range of transactional work for prominent agencies, brands, platforms, developers, publishers, and individual creative talent. The National Law Journal ’s 2022 Trailblazers list included him for Sports/Gaming/Entertainment Law and Variety included him as an “Up Next” honoree in their 2022 Legal Impact Report. The ...
Farrah Usmani advises recording artists, songwriters, entertainment executives and companies in the music industry. She is well-versed in helping artists grow their careers while maintaining creative control and ownership of their intellectual property. Further, she has substantial experience structuring tour deals in the concert business. Farrah is admitted to practice in Tennessee and is a provisionally licensed lawyer in California. She is not fully licensed in California and is supervised...
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