Paul D. Supnik

Paul Supnik practices trademark, copyright, and entertainment law. He advises businesses in the selection and use of brand identities, protects trademarks through registration strategies, enhances value through licensing, and litigates trademark and copyright disputes. Paul has spoken on these subjects in the U.S. and internationally. Industries represented include: Internet, apparel, cosmetic, restaurant, advertising, sporting goods, software, financial, arts, and media. As a bar association leader, Paul has served as president of the Los Angeles Copyright Society, chair of both the Entertainment/IP Law and International Law Sections of the Los Angeles County Bar, and chair of the Los Angeles Lawyer magazine editorial board. Paul has a Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating of “AV” and has been selected by SuperLawyers® in the field of Intellectual Property for the years 2010 through 2022. He served as an adjunct associate professor at Southwestern Law School from 2008-2011.

Practice Areas:

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 packaging
Internet domain name disputes
Assignments and recordation
Licensing of trademarks and service marks

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

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

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

Education:

B.S. UCLA: 1968

J.D. University of California Hastings College of the Law: 1971

Professional Affiliations:

State Bar of California (admitted 1972)

Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Chair, Editorial Board (1997-98)

Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property Section , Los Angeles County Bar Association, Chair (1979-80)

International Law Section , Los Angeles County Bar Association, Chair (2002-03)

International Law Section, State Bar of California, Executive Committee (2005-08)

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 Hills Bar Foundation Board of Governors, 2006-12)

American Bar Association

Arbitrator, IFTA International Arbitration Tribunal

British American Business Council Los Angeles, Member, Board of Directors (2001-06)

International Trademark Association

Adjunct Associate Professor, Southwestern Law School, (2008-11)

Publications:

Co-Edited worldwide survey of reports presented at the meeting of the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers at MIDEM 1993 in Cannes, Co-Editor, Enforcement of Copyright and Related Rights Affecting the Music Industry, IAEL, 1993

Authored chapter in Proof in Competitive Business Litigation, Author, “Copyright Infringement”, CEB, 1993

Law Journal article on interplay between trademarks and the entertainment industry, Author, “Designations of Source: Are they Necessary to Support Entertainment Industry Merchandising Rights?,” Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal, 1986

Article in The Trademark Reporter, Author, “The Bell and Howell: Mamiya Case — Where Now Parallel Imports,” International Trademark Association, 1984

Article in The Visual Artist’s Business and Legal Guide, Beverly Hills Bar Association Barristers Committee for the Arts, reprinted by Jerome Headlands Press, Prentice-Hall, Author, Works Made for Hire, Beverly Hills Bar Association Barristers Committee for the Arts, 1981

“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).

“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).

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).

“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).

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).

Presentations:

“Cross Border Due Diligence,” 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,” 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).