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NIC v. Wren, et. al.
Trade Secret, Unfair Competition, Interference
U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal. (2007)
The Firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of a corporate client, alleging that the client’s former vice president, responsible for over $30 million in annual sales, had unlawfully taken active steps to compete while still in client’s employ, and upon being discovered and terminated, continued to unfairly compete. The lawsuit alleged claims for injunctive relief, unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets and interference. The court granted the Firm’s emergency application for the right to conduct expedited discovery and set an expedited hearing on a motion for preliminary injunction. The case settled prior to the hearing.
Copyright Infringement
Gilbert Properties Partnership v. Baerwald
U.S. District Court, C.D. Cal. (2003)
The firm represented the heirs of the late singer/songwriter Kevin Gilbert in a lawsuit against David Baerwald alleging that Baerwald refused to give co-writing credit or royalties to Gilbert for the hit song "Come What May", which was featured as the sole original song in the film Moulin Rouge. Shortly before trial, Baerwald and other defendants agreed to settle, acknowledging Gilbert as co-author of the song and agreeing to pay Gilbert's heirs his share of songwriter royalties.
Mendler v. Winterland
U.S. District Court, ND Cal. (2001)
The Firm successfully defended at trial Winterland Productions, the world's then largest purveyor of music industry merchandise, in a copyright infringement action brought by a photographer. In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the copyright infringement claim on a closely contested issue involving the use of digital photo technology. Back in the trial court, the Firm successfully defeated plaintiff's six-figure damages claim, convincing the trial court to reduce it to less than $10,000.
Domain Name Partnership Dispute
Fashion On-Line v. Lipson
San Francisco Superior Court (2000)
The Firm represented the co-owner of various domain names, including fashion.com, in a lawsuit brought by the co-owners, alleging that the Firm’s client had permitted a portion of the portfolio of names to lapse and otherwise acted improperly. The Firm filed a counterclaim alleging various breaches by the plaintiffs. The case settled at mediation.
Digital Copyright Infringement
Newton v. Diamond, et al.
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal (2003)
Firm participates as counsel on amicus curie brief in ground-breaking case involving jazz musician James Newton’s claim of copyright infringement against the Beastie Boys and related parties. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals adopts many of the arguments firm makes on behalf of clients DJ Shadow, Om Records, legendary record producer Denzil Foster (En Vogue) and others in support of Beastie Boys’ position that digital sampling of three note music composition is not an infringement of Newton’s musical score, in the process establishing that sampling is not de facto infringement in all cases.
Copyright Ownership Dispute
Watts v. Watts
U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal. (2000)
The Firm represented the daughters of famed Eastern philosopher Alan Watts in an action brought by a disinherited sibling involving rights to the deceased’s literary works. The Firm successfully defended the clients' position, resulting in a victory before an arbitrator and an award of costs and attorney's fees. Earlier, the Firm prevailed in federal court against separate claims made by other disinherited siblings involving so-called "renewal" copyrights.
Maritime Hall v. KRS-One
U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal. (1998)
The Firm represented the renowned San Francisco live music venue Maritime Hall in a dispute over recordings made by it during a performance by rap artist KRS-One and later featured on one of the artist's gold-selling record albums ("I Got Next") released by Zomba Records. The Firm successfully defeated the artist's and record label's motion for summary judgment, in doing so establishing one of the
clearest statements by a federal court on rights in authorship deriving from the creative contributions of record producers in and to copyrighted sound recordings. The case settled soon thereafter.
Advertising “Sound Alike” Claims
Carlos Santana vs. Miller Brewing Company
U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal (1996)
Miller Brewing Company employed a “sound alike” of Santana’s distinctive rendering of Black Magic Woman in a Miller Lite beer commercial. Miller did not request Santana’s permission, nor did they obtain Santana’s consent to employ the “sound alike” of the sound and style of his guitar playing in the commercial. The Firm filed this then first-ever complaint based on the Lanham Act in a claim for damages for the commercial use of a “sound alike” of an artist. The action was quickly settled by Miller beer.
Right of Publicity
Winterland Concessions Co. v. Fenton
U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal. (1994)
Client, the holder of exclusive licenses to sell products exhibiting pictures of popular musical artists brought suit for damages under Lanham Act and California right to publicity law against unlicensed producers and distributors of poster books and calendars which contained photographs of the musicians. Trial was successfully concluded, with significant monetary award and permanent injunction granted.
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