Copyrights

Waller’s IP team provides clients with significant experience in sophisticated copyright matters involving global rights clearance, acquisition, protection and licensing. We help our clients acquire, register, maintain, protect, license and enforce copyrights across a variety of industries and media, including software, audio recordings, musical compositions and arrangements, literary works, photographs, and paintings and other artwork.

Copyright issues have become increasingly complex with the accelerating pace of technological changes in the methods of creating, distributing and exploiting creative works. Clients look to Waller's IP team to help them navigate this evolving legal landscape to maximize opportunities and overcome significant challenges. 

Associations, publishers, entertainment companies, manufacturers, nonprofit organizations, major retailers and other business entities work with Waller's IP team to protect their copyrights and licensing of third-party copyrighted works. 

Services include:

• Registering copyrights
• Completing applications
• Recording documents
• Performing title searches 
• Rendering opinions on copyrightability, fair use, infringement, ownership and title, notice, security interests and foreign protection
• Drafting and negotiating agreements involving the creation, protection and exploitation of copyrighted works, including joint-development agreements, work-made-for-hire agreements, licenses, assignments, rights clearance and distribution agreements

Litigation and Infringement Issues

Our copyright litigation attorneys represent clients in a wide array of complex copyright matters. We have been involved in some of the most sophisticated cutting-edge cases in the courts today, including matters related to software copyrights, database protection and screen scraping, secondary liability, compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and fair use. We also have experience in entertainment-related copyright disputes in book publishing, music, film and television. Drawing upon our decades of litigation experience, we represent clients in court as well as before the U.S. Copyright Office and the U.S. Customs Service.