Prior Work Experience

Representative Experience

• Defended music publishing company against a declaratory relief action by karaoke product manufacturer involving the scope of compulsory licenses and the fair use doctrine and obtained a dismissal with prejudice without leave to amend (Leadsinger v. BMG Music Publishing, 429 F.Supp.2d 1190 (C.D.Cal. 2005)); District Court decision upheld on appeal to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Leadsinger v. BMG Music Publishing, 512 F.3d 522 (9th Cir. 2008))
  
• Co-lead counsel for MPAA member companies in national anti-piracy litigation campaign related to peer-to-peer file-trading.
  
• Represented film studio in a copyright infringement action related to the DVD release of Rosemary's Baby resulting in settlement (Hatami v. Paramount Pictures)
  
• Successful defense through appeal of an idea submission claim related to the television series Ed (Hughes v. Buckland)
  
• Counsel for motion picture production company in a suit resulting in summary judgment dismissal of claims related to profit participation and the award of credits; affirmed on appeal (Melchior v. New Line Productions)
  
• Represented film production and distribution company in arbitration and related bankruptcy court proceedings arising out of financing agreements with German media companies; matter settled (Newmarket Capital Croup LLC v. Helkon International GmbH)
  
• Counsel for motion picture distribution company in an arbitration regarding theatrical release obligations and profit participations resulting in highly favorable result for client (The Funny One v. Lions Gate Films)
  

Publications/Speeches

• Panelist, 34th Annual Intellectual Property Institute: IP IN VOGUE, Dana Point, California (November 12-14, 2009)
• Speaker, Loeb & Loeb IP/Entertainment Law Conference, Century City, California (October 21, 2009)
• Speaker, Pursuing Pirates in 2009 - Litigation Trends, BayTSP Sixth Annual Conference, Online Trends & Insight, Los Gatos, California (October 15, 2009)
• Moderator, The Use of Digital Watermarking Technology to Protect and Monetize Content, Los Angeles, California (February 26, 2009)
• Speaker, Loeb & Loeb IP/Entertainment Law Conference, Century City, California (September 18, 2008)
• Speaker, Recent Developments Regarding the "Making Available" Right, BayTSP Fifth Annual Anti-Piracy Conference, Sainte Claire Hotel, San Jose, California (September 17, 2008)
• Speaker, Protecting Creativity: The Evolution of Intellectual Property Law, UCLA, California (May 21, 2008)
• Speaker/Moderator, Women in Entertainment Law, Loyola Law School, California (March 26, 2008)
more

Media Mentions

• Piracy and Illegal File-Sharing: UK and US Legal and Commercial Responses Aditi Mene, Practical Law Company Cross -border
• Ninth Circuit Harmonizes with IP Holders in Karaoke Case By Zusha Elinson, The Recorder
• Karaoke Device Required Synch License By Susan Butler, Billboard
• If I Write a Cookbook, What Copyright Issues Will Be Involved? Ask Rising Stars, Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars

Affiliations

• Barrister, Los Angeles Intellectual Property American Inn of Court (2009)
• Chair, 2008 Law Firm Advisory Board, The Association of Media & Entertainment Counsel
• Board of Trustees, Los Angeles Copyright Society (2008-2010)
• Member, Copyright Society of the United States (2005-2010)
• Co-chair, Litigation Section (2005–2006), and Member, Board of Governors of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles
• Member, Women in Film
• Member, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

Distinctions

• Named in Southern California Super Lawyers magazine in Intellectual Property Litigation by Law & Politics (2009 and 2010)
• Rising Star, Southern California Super Lawyers, Los Angeles magazine (2004-2007)
• Named "New Star" by Lawdragon 500 (2006)
• First Amendment Award, ACLU Foundation of Southern California (2003)