Copyright Litigation & Counseling
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It is a powerhouse firm in trademark and copyright. - Chambers USA, 2019
Our lawyers have been engaged in some of the most important fair use cases of the last decade and are deeply involved in the questions of copyrightability and the scope of copyright protection in software. Our lawyers have a wealth of experience in handling high-profile matters involving copyright law, and were centrally involved in myriad ground-breaking cases such as Oracle v. Google (copyrightability of software), and high-profile district court victories such as Warner Bros. and Rowling v. RDR Books (copyright/fair use) and Shepard Fairey v. Associated Press (copyright fair use).
Kirkland provides a one-stop shop for all copyright, trademark, internet and social media, and false advertising needs, and we manage these practices as an integrated whole. For more information, please see our Copyright, Trademark, Internet & Advertising (CTIA) brochure.
Experience
Nike
IBM
Take-Two Interactive
Kirkland represents both of Take-Two’s video game brands, Rockstar and 2K, in various matters. For instance, Kirkland is representing Take-Two in a lawsuit brought by Solid Oak Sketches, LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Solid Oak has accused Take-Two of infringing copyrights in tattoos inked on NBA players rendered in Take-Two’s NBA 2K video game series. In August 2016, the court granted Take-Two’s motion to dismiss Solid Oak’s statutory damages and attorney’s fees claims, holding that Solid Oak’s registration of the tattoos-in-issue was untimely. Take-Two then counterclaimed seeking declaratory judgments of de minimis and fair use, as well as fraud on the Copyright Office. Solid Oak moved to dismiss, but the court denied the motion holding that Take-Two’s counterclaims served a useful purpose in the litigation.
Kirkland also is representing Take-Two in a copyright, breach of contract and unfair competition lawsuit involving computer programs that alter Take-Two's Grand Theft Auto video games, allowing users to cheat and perform unauthorized actions in the well-known games. In 2018, Kirkland won a first of its kind, precedent-setting injunction for Take-Two.
J.K. Rowling
Damien Hirst
The Associated Press
Tier 1 for Copyright
The Legal 500 United States, 2017 and 2018
Tier 1 for Copyright
IP Stars, 2013–2018
Nationally Recognized Copyright Practice
Chambers USA, 2018–2020