Copyright Infringement Litigation

It can take months or even years to create valuable intellectual property. Digital media, television, photographs, music, video games and apps are all protected by the United States Copyright Act of 1976. The Copyright Act provides an incentive for the creation of artistic works by rewarding authors and artists with a set of exclusive rights - many of these rights have tremendous economic value and are often assigned or licensed. Copyright protection in the United States has a rich legacy reflected by the fact that it is memorialized in the Constitution. Despite the robust protections for copyright holders, and the time, effort and money that go into creating many forms of intellectual property, it only takes a simple click of a mouse to infringe most forms of copyright in today's digital media age.

Erik Syverson, at Syverson, Lesowitz & Gebelin, LLP, and our legal team handle a variety of copyright infringement litigation matters throughout California with a focus on California's Central District. We have experience and familiarity with most of the judges in California's Central District. Our copyright litigation practice focuses upon digital media and copyright infringement occurring online.

To schedule a confidential consultation, contact our Los Angeles office today at 310-270-6000.

From our law office in Los Angeles, we represent plaintiffs and defendants in a broad range of copyright infringement cases, including cases involving:

• Video games and mobile apps - we represent a large European video game publisher in infringement enforcement matters.

• Print media - represented the rights holder of a large consortium of national newspapers in appellate proceedings before the 9th Circuit.

• Sound recordings - represented a large national music publisher as a plaintiff against movie studios utilizing our client's songs without permission.

• Clothing and apparel - represented a sports apparel company bringing claims for infringement of particular designs and patterns.

• Digital Media - defended a number of photograph infringement claims, we are currently defending an international newspaper against claims brought by a group claiming ownership rights in a large pool of paparazzi photos.

• Software code - defended several web development companies against infringement claims brought by claimants in a number of industries, including health care.

There are a number of defenses that we deploy as copyright defense attorneys. Perhaps the most powerful copyright infringement defense is the doctrine of fair use. The fair use defense is composed of a sliding scale of various factors that are enumerated in the Copyright Act. The defense is an important check on the exclusive rights codified at 17 USC 106. The fair use defense has taken on significance in the digital media age where internet users frequently upload portions of copyrighted content onto social networks and message boards. If an alleged infringement is transformative (re-purposed from the original work), non-commercial and does not serve as a direct substitute for the infringed work, there is a likelihood that a complete defense is available to the infringement claim. We often raise the fair use defense via a mo tion for summary judgment.

Insurance carriers often retain our services to defend their policyholders in copyright infringement cases, particularly cases arising out of the internet and digital media. We recently obtained a complete dismissal of one such case in the matter of U.S. Healthworks Holding Company Inc. v. Prohealth Medical Group, Inc., (Central District of California). We also represented a national carrier in the matter of Denenberg v. Ruder, (District Court of Nebraska) whereby we obtained dismissal by way of a favorable confidential settlement. Currently, digital media clients such as the International Business Times rely upon our law firm to provide efficient and aggressive copyright litigation representation.

If you are involved in a copyright infringement dispute, contact us online or call 310-270-6000 to meet with a highly skilled digital media copyright infringement lawyer.