Law Firm Overview

Richard J. Greenstone

Attorney at Law

Biography

Richard J. Greenstone is admitted to practice law in California.  He maintains his office in San Francisco, California.  Richard is a member of the American Bar Association serving as Division Chair for the Section on Visual Arts as well as the Forum's Publications Chair. Richard maintains an av rating (highest rating available representing legal ability and ethical standards) by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory on recommendation of attorney colleagues.

Richard's areas of practice within the computer and entertainment industries include copyright, trademark, trade secret, publishing, advertising, unfair competition, arts and general business law.  Richard frequently practices before the United States Patent and Trademark Office in registration, opposition and cancellation actions and the United States Copyright Office in registration and recordation matters.  Richard has handled the registration of all types of subject matter including computer programs subject to litigation or containing trade secrets.  Richard also consults to many law firms on copyright and trademark matters; he has acted as an expert witness for other attorneys engaged in copyright litigation.  Richard has directed a wide variety of transactions including the acquisition, sale or publishing of computer software (including appropriate assignments and source code escrows) and software companies, the licensing of all types of intellectual properties, employment agreements within the computer and entertainment industries, the acquisition of manuscripts and life story rights for motion pictures and television including attendant options and appropriate assignments, screen writer agreements, publishing agreements for fiction and non-fiction, agreements for publication of articles in magazines, advertising agency agreements, graphic artists agreements, synchronization and master use licenses, recording contracts, music publishing, music promotion, transfers of intellectual property (exclusive, nonexclusive and as security for loans) and advisory letters to clients outlining legal strategies with an emphasis on preventive law.  He has also defended and prosecuted domain name disputes before the World Intellectual Property Organization  (WIPO) and the United States District Court.  Richard frequently lectures on these subjects.

Richard is former Editor-in-Chief of Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, published by the American Bar Association, reaching 6,000 attorneys and law libraries in the United States and abroad, and now acts as Publications Chair for the Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries.  In 1996 Richard was appointed to the American Bar Association Technology Council which assists the ABA Coordinating Commission on Legal Technology.  In 1997 Richard was appointed to the ABA Standing Committee on Strategic Communications.  Since 1987 Richard has edited over one hundred articles for substance, content and style while making editorial, budget and art decisions affecting Entertainment and Sports Lawyer.  In his capacity as Publication Chair Richard serves on the Governing Committee of the Forum Committee on the Entertainment and Sports Industries.  In 1993-94 Richard supervised the redesign of Entertainment and Sports.  In 1994 Richard organized the plenary session for the Forum Committee's annual meeting covering multimedia law.  To this day, Richard continues to organize educational programs for the ABA's Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries.  In 2002 Richard acted as editor-in-chief and chief programmer for the CD-ROM containing materials for the Forum's annual meeting in Nashville.  Richard is currently preparing the CD-ROM for the 2003 Forum annual meeting in New York.  Richard has also lectured on trademark licensing and domain name disputes for the Bar Association of San Francisco. 

To date, Richard has authored over thirty articles on various aspects of copyright and trademark law, publishing, entertainment, unfair competition and the law of ideas as well as book reviews.  After publication of his highly acclaimed article on the colorization of black and white motion pictures, A Coat of Paint on the Past?  Impediments to Distribution of Colorized Black and White Motion Pictures, Richard presented a paper on that topic before the Copyright Society of the U.S.A.  His articles have appeared in Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, the Entertainment Law Reporter, The Los Angeles Daily Journal and Entertainment, Publishing and the Arts Handbook.

Richard currently writes a bi-monthly articles on licensing for Aspen Law and Press' The Licensing Journal.

Richard, born in 1955 in Pasadena, California, attended the University of Oregon where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in political science with a minor in art history.  He attended Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Washington, where he graduated in 1981.  While at Gonzaga University Richard served on the staff of the Gonzaga Canadian-American Law Journal; he also interned at the Legal Services Corporation practicing constitutional and poverty law.

Richard's clients include Citadon, Inc., Design Science, Inc., In World VR, Inc., Sausalito Brewing Company, The Cabana Group, Studio Seireeni, SummerWood Winery & Inn, Inc., Excel World, Inc., Sprout Designs, SharpResolutions, LLC, The BestWork People, Tin Can Mail, Aqua Dessa, Inc., CBG Enterprises, LLC,, Stars (San Francisco), Inc., Menagerie Productions, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, Inc., Video Nation, Inc., The Telecommuting Advantage Group, Internet Commerce Services, Inc., Forgent Corporation, Cybernet Entertainment LLC, The Ames Gallery, Sincerely, Kids Inc., Consensus Planning Group, Inc., PPROS, Inc., ActionWebMedia, Sweet Science, Inc., Advocate Software, Inc., Ukuva USA, The Children's Nature Institute, William Bridges & Associates, Verbum, Inc., Smart Communications, Inc., Hammer Capital Management, Inc., Matthew Rolston Photographer, and a large number of authors, programmers, actors and artists in their individual capacities.

Richard is an amateur photographer having displayed work in group and individual shows. 

Richard J. Greenstone

Attorney at Law

465 California Street, Suite 300

San Francisco, CA  94104

Tel 415/438-1890

Fax 415/438-1899

richard@rjg.com

Areas of Practice

• Entertainment, Sports & Leisure Law
• Intellectual Property Law
• Internet -- Cyberspace
• Science & Technology Law
• Trademarks

Published Works

• "A Coat of Paint on the Past? Impediments to Distribution of Colorized Black and White Motion Pictures,"
• Various Articles, Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, Entertainment Law Reporter, Los Angeles Daily Journal
• Various Articles, Entertainment, Publishing and the Arts Handbook
• Bi-monthly articles on Licensing, The Licensing Journal, Aspen Law and Press

Classes and Seminars

• Lecturer, Trademark Licensing and Domain Name Disputes, Bar Association of San Francisco

Representative Clients

• Citadon, Inc.
• Design Science, Inc.
• In World VR, Inc.
• Sausalito Brewing Company
• The Cabana Group
• Studio Seireeni
• SummerWood Winery & Inn, Inc.
• Excel World, Inc.
• Sprout Designs
• SharpResolutions, LLC
• The BestWork People
• Tin Can Mail
• Aqua Dessa, Inc.
• CBG Enterprises, LLC
• Stars (San Francisco), Inc.
• Menagerie Productions
• Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, Inc.
• Video Nation, Inc.
• The Telecommuting Advantage Group
• Internet Commerce Services, Inc.
• Forgent Corporation
• Cybernet Entertainment LLC
• The Ames Gallery
• Sincerely, Kids Inc.
• Consensus Planning Group, Inc.
• PPROS, Inc.
• ActionWebMedia
• Sweet Science, Inc.
• Advocate Software, Inc.
• Ukuva USA
• The ChildrenA's Nature Institute
• William Bridges & Associates
• Verbum, Inc.
• Smart Communications, Inc.
• Hammer Capital Management, Inc.
• Matthew Rolston Photographer

West Practice Categories

Entertainment, Sports & Leisure Law, Intellectual Property Law, Trademarks, Internet -- Cyberspace, Science & Technology Law