Law Firm Overview

Paul D. Supnik practices copyright, trademark, entertainment law and related litigation in Beverly Hills. Mr. Supnik is a past president of the Los Angeles Copyright Society, a former Chair of the Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and a former Chair of its International Law Section. He is authored the chapter "Copyright Infringement" in the California Continuing Education of the Bar book, Proof in Competitive Business Litigation.  Mr. Supnik is a panel arbitrator on the Independent Film and Television Alliance (formerly AFMA) International Arbitration Tribunal.  He has served as the chair of the editorial board of the Los Angeles Lawyer magazine.  In addition to writing and speaking on copyright, trademark and entertainment law matters locally, he has spoken on these subjects in Cannes, Buenos Aires, Marrakesh, Bordeaux, London and Brussels.  He received his J.D. from UC Hastings College of Law in 1971 and his B.S. from UCLA in 1968.

Mr. Supnik has served as a vice-president of the International Visitors Counsel of Los Angeles (IVCLA).  IVCLA is a voluteer organization affiliated with the U.S. State Department.  The State Department sponsors visits to the United States for emerging leaders identified by U.S. embassies around the world.  IVCLA arranges for professional appointments and home hospitality for those State Department visitors when they come to Los Angeles.  See the IVCLA website at www.ivcla.org .  He has also served on the board of the British American Business Council Los Angeles.

Significant professional resources for lawyers on copyright, trademark, entertainment law, federal court litigation and international materials can be found at the supnik.com website.

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SERVICES OFFERED

Personal service is offered in selected legal areas. This office is suitable for matters where a large firm is not required, yet where problem solving can best be handled by one having a developed knowledge in specific areas of intellectual property and media. The practice incorporates a seasoned understanding of both domestic and international copyright and trademark matters that covers many industries. A network of lawyer contacts cultivated over years crosses national boundaries to help the corporate client and the business lawyer liaise with international colleagues abroad. A commitment to the legal profession and its institutions is an integral part of the practice.

Representation has included businesses and individuals in the entertainment, art, publishing, merchandising, Internet, e-commerce and new media, advertising, computer software, information services, financial, clothing, consumer products, consumer electronics, food, restaurant, medical products, eyewear, jewelry, sporting goods, furniture, leather goods and other industries, primarily limited to the specific practice areas identified below:

Trademark Law

•   Preliminary injunction and seizure proceedings
•   Anti-counterfeit enforcement/defense
•   Litigation and trials of trademark infringement and unfair competition matters. 
•   Trademark/service mark  selection and development
•   Trademark searches and interpretation
•   Federal registration
•   Foreign registration
•   Customs recordation
•   Opposition and cancellation proceedings
•   Counseling on appropriate trademark usage in advertising and commercials and on packaging
•   Internet domain name disputes
•   Assignments and recordation
•   Licensing of trademarks and service marks

Entertainment/Media Law

•   Counseling and representing producers, writers, actors and directors in the motion picture and television industries
•   Negotiating and interpreting contracts
•   Production and distribution agreements
•   Option agreements
•   Life story rights agreements
•   Rights clearance
•   Title searches and interpretation
•   Privacy, publicity and defamation issues
•   Reviewing material for E&O requirements
•   Union and guild matters
•   Litigation and trials of entertainment cases in federal and state courts and arbitration tribunals

Copyright Law

•   Registration of copyright
•   Assignments and recordation
•   Copyright searches
•   Interpretation of domestic and foreign rights
•   Licensing and contract negotiation
•   Preliminary injunction and seizure proceedings
•   Anti-piracy enforcement/defense
•   Litigation and trials of infringement and license disputes

Merchandising and Licensing

Merchandising licenses, protection of rights in merchandising properties, litigation of merchandising rights.

International Affiliations

Relations established with foreign lawyers in Canada, Western Europe, Africa, Latin America and Pacific Rim countries.

Areas of Practice

• Copyright 25%
• Trademark 50%
• Entertainment 25%
• International Law

Honors and Awards

• Association Internationale des Jenues Avocats, Honorary Vice President, 1993
• Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce Professional of the Year, 2001

Published Works

• "Protecting Trademarks Under the Madrid Protocol", Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, April, 2004
• "Check Marks--A Trademark Audit is a Useful Tool for Determining the Cost-Effectiveness of Maintaining a Client's Trademark Portfolio", Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, May, 2000
• "Copyright Infringement in Proof in Competitive Business Litigation", California Continuing Education of the Bar, 1993
• "Arbitration of Entertainment Industry Contingent Compensation Claims" in The Back End: A Look at Gross and Net Participations in the Wake of Buchwald v. Paramount, Los Angeles County Bar Association Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Section, 1990
• "Designations of Source -- Are They Necessary to Support Entertainment Industry Merchandising Rights?", Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal, 1986
• "Diluting the Counterfeiters: New Trademark Rights and Remedies in Dealing with Entertainment and Merchandising Properties", The Entertainment and Sports Lawyers, ABA, Fall, 1985
• Copyright: Selected Practical Aspects of Enforcement and Protection (Editor), Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association, 1984
• "The Bell and Howell: Mamiya Case--Where Now Parallel Imports", The Trademark Reporter, January-February, 1984
• "Works Made for Hire" in The Visual Artist's Business and Legal Guide, Beverly Hills Bar Association Barristers Committee for the Arts, 1981,1995
• "The Actors Manual: A Practical Guide to Your Career" (Co-Editor), Beverly Hills Bar Association Barristers Committee for the Arts, 1978

Classes and Seminars

• "Intellectual Property Rights Abroad -- How to Obtain, Maintain and Defend Them", State Bar of California International Law Section, 2005
• "Trademarks 101", Beverly Hills Bar Association, 2005
• "Damages in Copyright Infringement Litigation", Association of Independent Music Publishers, 2004
• "Fundamentals of Business Practices Litigation" (Panelist on Copyright Law), California Continuing Education of the Bar, 2000
• "Anatomy of an AFMA Arbitration" (Panelist), AFMA and Los Angeles County Bar Association Intellectual Property and Unfair Competition Section, 2000
• "Enforcement of Trademarks Abroad" (Panelist), Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats , Brussels, Belgium, 1999
• "Multimedia Production Agreements and Rights Clearances", Union Internationale des Avocats , Marrakech, Morocco, 1994
• "Discovery Issues and Trial Proof in Competitive Business Litigation: Handling Intellectual Property Issues" (Panelist), California Continuing Education of the Bar, 1994
• "Enforcement of Copyright and Related Rights Affecting the Music Industry" (Editor and Moderator), International Association of Entertainment Lawyers, Cannes, France, 1993
• "Production and Distribution of Motion Pictures" (Chair and Moderator), Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats, London, England, 1991

Representative Cases

• Brewer v. Hustler Magazine, Inc., 749 F.2d 527 (9th Cir. 1984)
• Poe v. Missing Persons, 745 F.2d 1238 (9th Cir. 1984)

West Practice Categories

Alternative Dispute Resolution, Arbitration, Mediation, Business & Commercial Law, Contracts, International Transactions, Communications & Media Law, Advertising, Internet, Print Media, Television & Film, Entertainment, Sports & Leisure Law, Art, Entertainment, Intellectual Property Law, Copyrights, International Intellectual Property, Trade Dress, Trademarks, International Law, International Arbitration, Litigation & Appeals, Federal Trial Practice