Paul Supnik

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. Clients Represented 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 Termination of transfers Licensing and contract negotiation Preliminary injunction and seizure proceedings Anti-piracy enforcement/defense Litigation and trials of infringement and license disputes Internet Law • Internet domain name disputes • Website development agreements • Linking and sponsorship agreements • Content and trademark licensing 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. Education B.S. UCLA , 1968 J.D. UC Hastings College of Law , 1971 Professional Affiliations State Bar of California (admitted 1972) Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Chair, Editorial Board (1997-98) Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Section , Los Angeles County Bar Association, Chair (1979-80) International Law Section , Los Angeles County Bar Association, Chair (2002-03) Los Angeles Copyright Society, President (2001-02) Hastings Alumni Association , Greater Los Angeles Area Chapter, President (1984-85) Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats , National Vice President, United States (1990-92), Honorary Vice President (1993-) Union Internationale des Avocats , Vice President, Entertainment Law Commission (1997-2001) International Visitors Council of Los Angeles , Vice President (2001-06) United States District Courts, Central , Southern and Northern Districts of California; Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ; Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Beverly Hills Bar Association (President's Award, 2006; Beverly Hillls Bar Foundation Board of Governors, 2006-) American Bar Association Arbitrator, IFTA International Arbitration Tribunal British American Business Council Los Angeles , Member, Board of Directors (2001-06) International Trademark Association Presentations 'Cross Border Due Dilligence,' panelist on Intellectual Property Issues, State Bar of California sponsored by the International Law Section, Monterey, California (2006). 'The Legal Business of the Film Industry,' California Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (2006). 'Fair Use as a Cherished Copyright Defense,' Ventura County Bar Association Intellectual Property Section (2006). 'International Copyright Basics,' HalfMoon Seminars, (2006). “Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy,” Program Chair, State Bar of California International Law Section (2005). 'Intellectual Property Rights Abroad -- How to Obtain, Maintain and Defend Them,' State Bar of California sponsored by the International Law Section and the Intellectual Property Section, moderator and speaker on international trademark and copyright, Monterey, California (2004). “Damages in Copyright Infringement Litigation,” Association of Independent Music Publishers (2004). 'Protecting Your Client's Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets 101,' (available on streaming video) State Bar of California Solo and Small Firm Section (2002). 'Music on the Internet--The United States Perspective' Union Internationale des Avocats, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2000). 'What the Business Lawyer Should Know About Intellectual Property, Assignments and Licenses', American Bar Association Section of Taxation, Small Law Firms Committee, Fall Meeting (2000). 'Fundamentals of Business Practices Litigation,' panelist on copyright law, California Continuing Education of the Bar (2000). 'Anatomy of an AFMA Arbitration,' panelist, IFTA formerly (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). 'Entertainment Industry Arbitration: Domestic and International,' The Media District Intellectual Property Bar Association (1997). '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, Cannes, France, International Association of Entertainment Lawyers (1993). 'Production and Distribution of Motion Pictures', chair and moderator, London, England, Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats (1991). 'Resolving Contractual Disputes in the Entertainment Industry', UCLA Extension , program coordinator and moderator (1983). Publications '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 LawyerMagazine (May 2000). 'Mark of Distinction--A New Federal Law Protects Distinctive Trademarks Against Dilution Through Unauthorized Use' Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine (May 1997). 'Copyright Infringement' in Proof in Competitive Business Litigation, California Continuing Education of the Bar (1993). 'How to Stop Counterfeiting--A Practical Approach to the Industry's Biggest Problem' Licensing Today International (June/July/August 1993); 'Exploiting Entertainment Marks Internationally in a Downturned Economy' Licensing Today International (June/July 1992). '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, sponsored by the 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). Merchandising and Licensing , syllabus co-editor, sponsored by the Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association (1985). 'Diluting the Counterfeiters: New Trademark Rights and Remedies in Dealing with Entertainment and Merchandising Properties,' The Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, ABA (Fall, 1985). Copyright: Selected Practical Aspects of Enforcement and Protection, Editor, sponsored by the 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). 'Unions and Guilds' (coauthor) in Producing for Motion Pictures and Television , sponsored by the Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association (1983). 'Works Made for Hire' in The Visual Artist's Business and Legal Guide, Beverly Hills Bar Association Barristers Committee for the Arts, (1981, 1995), reprinted by Jerome Headlands Press, Prentice-Hall. The Actors Manual: A Practical Guide to Your Career, Beverly Hills Bar Association Barristers Committee for the Arts, co-editor (1978), reprinted by Elsevier-Dutton (1980). 'First Amendment and Freedom of the Press', Los Angeles County Bar Journal, Los Angeles County Bar Association , Co-Editor, symposium issue (May 1976).