Conquering film piracy would be biggest blockbuster of all.IN Hollywood, film piracy is like the weather. Everybody talks about it--even host Jon Stewart Not to be confused with John Stewart or John Stuart. Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz on November 28,1962) is an American comedian, satirist, actor, writer, and producer. made a crack about it in his Academy Awards monologue--but nobody seems to do anything about it. The intellectual property attorneys at Greenberg Traurig Greenberg Traurig LLP is an international law firm with approximately 1,700 attorneys and governmental professionals in 29 locations in the United States, Europe and Asia. Its presence in Europe is supplemented by strategic alliances with Olswang (offices in London, United Kingdom LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol are giving it their best shot, however. The Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. office has recruited attorneys with expertise in film, music, technology, transactions and litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. for its intellectual property battles. A major front will be the movie business, which is facing challenges as computers replace film as the preferred mode of distribution. "Once a work is digital, it can be copied," said Ian C. Ballon bal·lon n. Buoyancy or lightness in movement that allows a dancer to rise and fall smoothly. [French, balloon; see balloon.] . "And that represents a business problem." A recent IP department meeting at the firm offered an indicator of Ballon's status: Lawyers 30 years his senior listened raptly as he detailed industry developments. It's the nexus of computer advances and content that provides the bulk of the firm's IP cases. "Technology companies want to sell their technology for the reason that they facilitate the rapid movement and distribution of content," said Terence J. Clark. "That's the very reason that content companies want to protect their rights. The continued blurring of the enforceability of rights from copyrights to trademarks ... those are the issues which technology tries to unfold," Clark said. "And it keeps lawyers in business." The music industry's battles over downloading have provided a cautionary tale A cautionary tale is a traditional story told in folklore, to warn its hearer of a danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. for the movie industry. Jay Cooper, a music specialist in the IP department, points out that the recording industry--despite scoring some big wins against illegal downloading in court--has dropped from seeing $40 billion in retail sales to $26 billion and said that the film industry should take notice and act quickly. "They didn't have a good year, but it could have been much worse," Cooper said. He represents the estates of Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, helped Bob Geldof organize the Live 8 concerts and recently handled the sale of the rights to Fox's "American Idol American Idol is an annual American televised singing competition, which began its first season on June 11, 2002. Part of the Idol franchise, it originated from the British reality program Pop Idol. " TV show to New York-based CKX Inc. As the distribution platforms for illegal film copies are expanding, the market for pirated films is, too. From a New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of street corner to a dorm room in Beijing, willing buyers can find pirated versions of blockbusters days after--and sometimes even before--a film's theatrical release. "It's getting harder to pin down," Cooper said. "Are you going to go out and find them in back rooms all over the world?" The firm's entertainment media specialist, Vincent Cheiffo, said that the film business has a long history of enduring significant losses before its attorneys can turn the tide. "The home video business in this country got started primarily because the studios weren't licensing their films (for rentals)," he recalled. "And there was sufficient demand that people were taking risks." Seasoned movie industry lawyer Alan Schwartz Alan Schwartz is the President and Co-Chief Operating Officer of The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. He assumed that position on June 25, 2001. Schwartz has worked at Bear Stearns since 1976, and is a 1972 graduate of Duke University. said that studios should, in the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , lower their DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. prices and get what business they can. Schwartz, who came to the firm from Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP, provides old-style perspective to the firm. He pioneered "split fights" for films in the 1970s, in which one studio may own domestic fights and another may own foreign fights, a common framework for film financing today. Schwartz represents Mel Brooks, and worked with him to bring "The Producers" to Broadway and the big screen last year. The firm's recognition early on that IP issues were going to become important to the entertainment industry has paid off in a big way. After starting with six attorneys in 2000, Greenberg Traurig now has more than 100 lawyers in L.A. and has opened three more offices in California. Clients now include Fox Broadcasting Co., Universal Corp., EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference) An electrical disturbance in a system due to natural phenomena, low-frequency waves from electromechanical devices or high-frequency waves (RFI) from chips and other electronic devices. Allowable limits are governed by the FCC. Group plc, Hewlett-Packard Co. and Intermix in·ter·mix tr. & intr.v. in·ter·mixed, in·ter·mix·ing, in·ter·mix·es To mix or become mixed together. [Back-formation from obsolete intermixt, from Latin Media Inc.'s Myspace.com, now the second most popular Web site on the Internet. "(Entertainment) was a major industry out here and we wanted to serve it," said Cheiffo. "We're also in real estate, we're in corporate, there are needs for litigation here. We're serving California for what it is." GREENBERG TRAURIG LLP L.A. Lawyers: 100 L.A. IP Lawyers: 23 High Flyers: Alan U. Schwartz, shareholder, entertainment practice; Terence J. Clark, shareholder, intellectual property, co-chair of national media and entertainment litigation and intellectual property practices; Vincent H. Chieffo, co-chair, national media and entertainment litigation; Jay L. Cooper, chair, L.A. entertainment practice; Ian C. Ballon, intellectual property, entertainment and technology litigation Honor Roll for Entertainment Gary Hecker Partner Hecker Law Group L.A. Lawyers: 10 L.A. IP Lawyers: 10 Clients: Apple Computer Inc., Mark Burnett Productions Inc. Yakub Hazzard Partner Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan LLP L.A. Lawyers: 90 L.A. IP Lawyers: 24 Good to Know: The son of former UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX and NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= star Walt Hazzard handles contract negotiations and licensing issues David Stern Partner Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP L.A. Lawyers: 73 L.A. IP Lawyers: 10 Clients: Outkast, Jay Z, Blondie and Robby Krieger of the Doors Pet Peeve: "Bandwagonning," or when people come out of the woodwork claiming to have had a hand in writing or composing a song Jill M. Pietrini Partner, Litigation, Intellectual Property Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP L.A. Lawyers: 163 L.A. IP Lawyers: 7 Clients: Music groups and toy, promotion and apparel companies Good to know: handles a portfolio of more than 3,500 patents Katherine L. McDaniel Counsel, Intellectual Property Brian Cave LLP L.A. Lawyers: 64 L.A. Lawyers in IP: 10 Clients: Consumer magazines, international companies looking to crack U.S. market Lawrence Y. Iser Partner Greenberg Glusker LLP L.A. Lawyers: 115 L.A. IP Lawyers: 12 |
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