Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, P.C.

James Weinberger is an accomplished litigator and strategic advisor who helps his clients protect, enforce, and manage their intellectual property rights. His clients include global entertainment brands, professional sports leagues, multinational personal care products companies, and pioneering cosmetics. For these clients and others, James advises on a range of IP and commercial issues, including copyright, trademark, and trade dress infringement; unfair competition and false advertising; right of publicity disputes; internet-related matters; and First Amendment rights.

As a litigator, James successfully argued an appeal before the Ninth Circuit on behalf of client DC Comics that resulted in the Batmobile being accorded full copyright protection as a character, and in which the Court set forth a new, three-part test for determining protection of a character appearing in comic books, television programs, or films under the 1976 Copyright Act, independent of any specific work in which it has appeared and irrespective of whether, like the Batmobile, it “lacks sentient attributes and does not speak.” James regularly represents clients through federal and state court litigation, mediation, arbitration, administrative litigation in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceedings in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). He counsels clients on copyright and trademark enforcement strategy, execution, portfolio management, and clearance, and negotiates and drafts trademark and copyright licenses, co-existence and settlement agreements.

James has been recognized by Chambers & Partners as a leading copyright and trademark lawyer for the past 16 years. He is a sought-after speaker and an active committee member on intellectual property for the International Trademark Association (INTA) and the New York Bar Association.