Copyright in United States

The powerhouse team at boutique New York firm Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, PC remains a market leader, representing major multinational clients involved in high-value copyright prosecution and litigation across a broad span of industries. The practice is headed by Jonathan King, who manages complex disputes involving clients in the music and music publishing sectors with clients including Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Capitol Records, along with Thomas Kjellberg and Richard Mandel. Richard Dannay brings expertise to advising major book publishing clients such as Penguin Random House, navigating issues concerning fair use. Eric Shimanoff brings a long track record of experience acting at the state and federal levels, and in proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and UDRP panels, on behalf of clients in the cosmetics, fashion, financial services, food and entertainment industries.

The trial and global disputes group at global law firm King & Spalding LLP continues to be a dominant force in the practice area, coordinating with 23 locations across the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia to represent major household names in media and entertainment and tech such Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Zoom, Google and Warner Media in high-stakes litigation. Kenneth Steinthal in San Francisco heads the team, bringing deep trial experience and expertise on IP rights and licensing for multinationals engaged in audio-visual media content distribution. Global IP practice founding member Bruce Baber in New York office achieved a victory for Google in April 2021 in the long-running Google v Oracle case, with the Supreme Court clearing the company of infringement related to smartphone software. Austin-based Counsel Jason Blake Cunningham has successfully acted for media and tech clients like Amazon and The Orchard in complex infringement suits brought by the heirs of deceased songwriters.

With integrated expertise across the US, Europe and Asia, the team at Kirkland & Ellis LLP remains a leader in the copyright space, representing major multinationals such as Epic Games, Oracle, and Take-Two Interactive in high-profile litigations spanning the entertainment, fashion, video games, software and tech sectors. In New York, respected IP authority Dale Cendali, who represented Oracle in the Supreme Court and throughout the long-running Google v Oracle case, heads the practice, bringing deep experience to disputes involving motion picture studios and major celebrities. Claudia Ray handles copyright rate-setting litigation on behalf of clients in music and publishing in New York, while Joshua Simmons provides key support to Cendali on tech and software matters.

The intellectual property group at Loeb & Loeb LLP maintains a strong market position, marshalling the bench strength of locations across the US as well as in Asia to represent household names such as Sony, Netflix, Universal and Ford in high-profile copyright disputes. The team is led by fashion and luxury brand sector expert Melanie Howard in Los Angeles, and in New York by Barry Slotnick, whose music and entertainment clients have included such artists and creators as the Beastie Boys, David Guetta, and the J.R.R. Tolkien Estate. David Grossman in Los Angeles is a go-to for major clients in the motion picture industry and is currently defending Paramount Pictures against the Truman Capote Estate over the rights to the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. Jonathan Zavin brings extensive experience representing key recording and publishing clients to the New York office, where Wook Hwang also handles entertainment and automotive industry claims and senior counsel Sarah Schacter provides expertise in litigating music infringement cases at the federal and state levels.

Leveraging a strong multinational presence, the intellectual property group at global law firm Arnold & Porter specializes in representing sports leagues, broadcast and cable networks and major motion picture studios, defending their copyrights in high-stakes litigation. The practice is led  by experienced IP litigators Matthew Wolf in Washington DC and Chicago’s Dina Hayes. Safeguarding the property of household names Fox and Disney, Dori Hanswirth brings media and entertainment expertise to the New York office, along with Theresa House, who handles First Amendment issues and represents major clients in television production and tech. In addition to acting on behalf of film industry clients, Rhonda Trotter at the Los Angeles office currently represents consumer credit giant Experian in complex litigation involving such matters as the copyrightability of licensed databases.

The team at Fenwick & West LLP employs combined bench strength to represent major tech, software, automotive and video games multinationals involved in high-value copyright litigation. Additionally, it advises on issues of direct infringement, secondary liability, and safe harbors under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In San Francisco, gaming industry expert Jennifer Stanley, whose clients include Riot Games, heads the team, alongside consumer privacy specialist Laurence Pulgram, while New York's Andrew Bridges also co-heads the team, and represents automotive giant General Motors and online platform companies. Also in San Francisco, David Hayes handles multi-jurisdictional tech litigation.

The US copyright team of global law firm Mayer Brown represents top music, media, entertainment and tech multinationals involved in high-value copyright litigation. The practice is headed by Paul Fakler, who acts on behalf of streaming and broadcast companies and offers deep industry experience experience, music industry specialist Jacob Ebin, who regularly appears before the Copyright Royalty Board and various royalty rate setting venues, and new media dispute expert John Mancini, whose clients include tech majors Google and Spotify. Allison M. Aviki, who advises entertainment and publishing companies was promoted to partner in January 2022. All lawyers mentioned work in the New York office.

The copyright practice at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP leverages its national presence and the experience of its team to represent major tech, telecoms and media clients  involved in high-value litigation. Tech sector specialists Sten Jensen in Washington DC and Jared Bobrow in Silicon Valley head the group, which also counsels on issues surrounding the usage of digital content platforms. In San Francisco, Annette Hurst develops complex litigation strategies and currently represents LinkedIn against hiQ in a high-profile case involving website data ‘scraping’. David Hosp in Boston brings experience acting for media and tech companies such as Microsoft and Cablevision in district, appeals and Supreme Court proceedings.

Proskauer Rose LLP represents high-profile clients in music and entertainment involved in complex infringement litigation. The team is currently acting for Miramax in its high-profile copyright and breach of contract claim against director Quentin Tarantino concerning his intention to issue Pulp Fiction NFTs. In New York and Los Angeles, Sandra Crawshaw-Sparks leads the team, and has great experience litigating on behalf of clients in the music recording industry. Senior counsel David Munkittrick in New York represents clients in publishing, medical device, sports, and tech, and has acted for major entertainment figures.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP advises and litigates on behalf of major social media platforms, digital music streamers, book publishers and e-commerce companies, on a comprehensive range of copyright issues, including secondary liability, DMCA compliance, and infringement and licensing disputes. The team is led in New York by Benjamin Marks, who specializes in music copyright royalty cases and currently represents music streamer Pandora before the Copyright Royalty Board in a multi-billion-dollar dispute. Randi Singer works in New York and Silicon Valley, acting for publishing, social media and e-commerce, including giants Facebook/Meta and eBay, in complex infringement matters. Todd Larson offers music licensing expertise in the New York office.

With a global presence, Winston & Strawn LLP remains a destination firm for major entertainment and digital media companies, and household names such as Hasbro and Pepsi in the tech, financial services and food and beverages sectors involved in high-value copyright disputes. The practice is headed by Michael Elkin in New York, an authority in litigation involving motion picture, television, and music properties, tech and software matter expert David Enzminger in Los Angeles, and Jennifer Golinveaux in San Francisco, who defends internet service providers against secondary liability claims for infringement brought by their subscribers. Erin Ranahan in LA advises music and film copyright holders on infringement matters and the safe harbor provisions of the DMCA. IP licensing specialist Stephen Kong arrived at the LA office from Troutman Pepper in April 2021. Tom Lane departed in September 2021.

Baker & Hostetler LLP employs the combined bench strength of its team to provide comprehensive copyright counselling and registration advice to publishers, authors, designers and architects. In addition, the group represents domestic and multinational corporates including J.M. Smucker and Big Lots Stores, in high-value cross-border copyright disputes. The practice is headed by two veteran copyright litigators: firm-wide chair Mark Tidman in Washington, DC and national trademark and copyright team leader Deborah Wilcox in Cleveland, a specialist in the tech, manufacturing, technology, insurance and healthcare sectors. Nancy R. Frandsen offers copyright management and enforcement expertise in the Philadelphia office.

'A great firm for day-to-day copyright matters', the New York-based Davis+Gilbert LLP utilizes the experience of its IP and media practice to safeguard the copyrights of household name clients across a diverse range of industries. The team is led by Ronald Urbach, an advertising and marketing specialist representing agencies, media companies, brands and online platforms. Marc J Rachman manages complex copyright disputes involving music, photo, sculptural, pictorial and literary works. Veteran IP litigator Guy R Cohen acts for major corporates in the consumer products, advertising, automotive, entertainment and retail sectors. Content creation and fashion expert Sara Edelman advises on potential copyright liability issues. Ashima Dayal represents creative professionals, book publishers, authors, filmmakers, and designers, and defends their rights surrounding the usage of third-party material.

With a global reach, the intellectual property team at Katten utilizes its deep bench strength to advise on high-profile copyright claims involving household names in entertainment, music, fashion and cosmetics. The team is led in New York by global chair Deepro R. Mukerjee and Karen Artz Ash, a specialist in the fashion sector, representing luxury brand designers, retailers and apparel manufacturers, along with Floyd Mandell, a deeply experienced IP litigator who most recently defended music client Cumulus Media in two class-action suits involving pre-1972 royalties. In Los Angeles, David Halberstadter, who is currently acting for ViacomCBS, and Joel Weiner, whose clients include Will Smith and Sony Pictures, provide expertise on copyright disputes in film and television.

With ‘significant experience handling music copyright and platform liability matters’, Latham & Watkins LLP safeguards the copyrights of household names including Spotify and Live Nation, involved in high-stakes litigation. The practice is headed in San Francisco by copyright litigation group leader Andrew Gass, a music rights authority who represents tech companies in high-value federal cases concerning the use of ‘pre-1972’ sound recordings; Joe Wetzel, who assists streaming companies, radio groups and digital media stores with royalties and licensing matters; Washington DC-based Sy Damle, who brings a combined background as a software engineer former General Counsel and Associate Register at the US Copyright Office, and Allison Levine Stillman, who brings expertise to Digital Millennium Copyright Act litigation in New York.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP employs global bench strength to provide copyright management services and representation for major corporates across a broad range of industries. The practice is directed in Washington DC by firm-wide leader Karen Butcher and trademark/copyright litigation heads Josh Dalton, a veteran IP lawyer in Boston and Kevin Fee in DC, who represents content providers and retail leaders. In San Francisco, Carla Oakley advises on registration, fair use, and Digital Millennium Copyright Act compliance issues and Sharon R. Smith represents clients in biotech, tech and medical devices, while DC-based associate Rachel Fertig brings government and private sector experience to enforcement matters.

With offices across the US, Europe and Asia, O'Melveny & Myers LLP  represents entertainment household names including 20th Century Studios, Disney, and Warner Bros in copyright litigation at the trial court level and on appeal, leveraging its global reach to act on major international matters. The group, whose client portfolio spans the e-commerce, pharmaceuticals and consumer electronics sectors, also specializes in copyright tech matters involving computer software, microcode and databases. Experienced tech litigator Ryan Yagura in Los Angeles leads the team. David Eberhart handles infringement claims for software developers in San Francisco, where Daniel Petrocelli also  co-ordinates with Molly Lens at the Century City office to handle high-profile matters on behalf of major film studios.

Working closely with teams across North America, Europe, and Asia, the copyright litigators at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP manages major licensing disputes on behalf of clients in media and the music industry as well as online fashion retailers. Lynn Bayard brings litigation expertise to representing clients in the sports, media, entertainment, fashion and cosmetics sectors. Music royalties authority Jay Cohen specializes in the safeguarding of recording artists’ digital rights. All lawyers mentioned work in New York.

Washington DC-based Williams & Connolly LLP provides a fully integrated mix of litigation and counselling, providing pre-publication reviews of periodical publications, pre-production reviews of television shows and motion pictures, and representation in complex disputes at the trial and appellate levels. Thomas Hentoff heads the team, bringing experience in complex civil claims, IP disputes, and First Amendment and media law matters, including acting for several major broadcasters. Gerson Zweifach offers expertise from previous service as general counsel to the News Corporation and 20th Century Fox. All lawyers mentioned work in Washington DC.