I am a civil litigation attorney focusing on entertainment and intellectual property litigation and appeals. My clients have included Annie Leibovitz, the estate of Scott Weiland, Trunk Archive, the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. Notable cases that I have worked on include an idea theft case involving the hit BBC America television series "Orphan Black"; a trademark infringement case against R&B artist Chris Brown; and a right of publicity case involving Chris Soules of ABC's "The Bachelor". Prior to law school, I worked as a sports writer and web editor at Deseret Digital Media.
Relevant Coursework: Copyright, Trademark, Entertainment Law, Law and Practice with the Hollywood Guilds, Motion Picture Finance and Production, Litigating a Copyright Case, Reality TV and New Media Production and Distribution, Intro to Negotiations, Mediation.
Activities: Scott Moot Court Team, Entertainment and Sports Law Society, Certified Mediator - California Dispute Resolution Programs Act.
Activities: News and Sports section editor for weekly campus newspaper, tutor for public speaking courses.
Awards: Recipient of Newel K. Whitney Award for character, diligence, and pursuit of excellence.
State Bar of California, Admitted 2016
United States District Court for the Central District of California
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
United States District Court for the Southern District of California
United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
United States District Court for the District of Colorado
5th Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit Court of Appeals
Dennis Fugnetti v. Bird B Gone, Inc., Case no. 8:19-cv-00847-SK (C.D. Cal., 2022) | Press Release
Successfully defeated multiple counterclaims and obtained a $1.1 million jury verdict as lead trial counsel in a case determining whether a photographer had granted an implied license to allow his work to be used on the retail product packaging of a major corporation.
Great Bowery Inc. d/b/a Trunk Archive v. Best Little Sites, LLC et al., 609 F. Supp. 3d 1240 (D. Utah 2022) | PDF (Order)
Successfully argued personal jurisdiction existed in Utah over European defendants accused of infringing photographs from the set of Star Wars created by Annie Leibovitz.
Incredible Features, Inc. v. BackChina, LLC, 476 F.Supp.3d 1028 (C.D.Cal., 2020) | PDF (Order)
Successfully argued personal jurisdiction existed in California over Texas publishing company based in Texas accused of infringing 37 copyrighted works online.
Reed v. Ezelle Inv. Props., 353 F. Supp. 3d 1025 (D. Or. 2018) | PDF (Grant Of Summary Judgment)
Drafted successful summary judgment motion on issue of enforceability of alleged settlement agreement and copyright infringement by real estate company.
Jeffery R. Werner v. Evolve Media LLC, et al., Case no. 2:18-cv-07188-VAP-SK (C.D. Cal. 2020) | PDF (Damages Award) | PDF (Attorney's Fees Award)
After obtaining summary judgment on the merits, won $200,000 in statutory damages and over $50,000 in attorney's fees for photographer client arising out of infringement of four photographs by large media company.
Michael Grecco Productions, Inc., et al. v. BDG Media, Inc., et al., Case no. 20-55441 (9th Cir. 2021) | PDF (Opening Brief)
Drafted principal brief and argued successful appeal in front of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding whether a photographer copyright holder could invoke the "delayed discovery" doctrine and "relation back" to overcome the Copyright Act's three-year statute of limitations.
Jeffery R. Werner, et al. et al. v. Landon Dowlatsingh, et al., Case no. 18-56349 (9th Cir. 2020) | PDF (Opening Brief)
Drafted principal brief and argued appeal in front of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding novel issue of personal jurisdiction over foreign defendant served with process outside of California but within the United States.
Michael Grecco Productions, Inc., et al. v. Ziff Davis, LLC, et al., Case no. 19-56465 (9th Cir. 2020) | PDF (Opening Brief)
Drafted principal brief and argued successful appeal in front of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding whether a photographer copyright holder could invoke the "delayed discovery" doctrine to overcome the Copyright Act's three-year statute of limitations where reverse image search technology existed prior to the date of the discovery of the infringement.