An innovative provider of sophisticated legal services in over 45 practice areas.
Intellectual Property
Copyrights
Weintraub’s copyright attorneys advise clients on a wide range of issues including copyright registration, assignment, licensing, and strategy. Our experienced attorneys also handle a broad scope of copyright litigation, from representing copyright owners whose works have been infringed to defending those accused of copyright infringement.
To that end, Weintraub copyright attorneys are intently involved in the complex issues surrounding computer software and the high-tech industry, including issues relating to the scope of copyright protection, enforcement, acquisition, and licensing. Weintraub has also represented and advised clients in licensing and litigation matters relating to copyright protection for a wide variety of commercial items such as toys, electronics, and educational materials.
Weintraub brings extensive experience protecting copyrighted works for the entertainment industry, including protecting literary works, television and film works, visual artwork, video games, sound recordings, and multimedia products. We represent clients from industries such as television, film, music, publishing, websites, video games, and software. The firm has assisted clients in all forms of media and copyrightable works, including digital content, audiovisual presentations, software, film, literature, images, photography, and recorded music and sounds.
We register copyrights, expedite applications, record documents, and perform title searches. We also draft and negotiate agreements involving copyrighted works, including joint-development agreements, licenses, assignments, rights clearance, and distribution agreements. We advise on copyrightability, fair use, infringement, ownership and title, notice, security interests, and foreign protection. We have extensive experience in social media and other on-line issues and guide our clients through constantly changing best practices in this field.
Our services include:
Preparing and negotiating licenses and transfers, including for software and entertainment content
Litigation of copyright infringement cases
Copyright registration and protection
Fair use, open source counseling, and other software related issues
Ownership and work-made-for-hire counseling
Derivative works, distribution, and public performance rights
In an August 22, 2023, article for The Information, Weintraub shareholder and IP attorney Scott Hervey provided guidance on what can be copyrighted under existing U.S. Copyright Office rulings when it comes to AI-generated material. Only the human-created portion of work containing AI-generated material can be copyrighted. – Scott Hervey…
Jo Dale Carothers was recently quoted in a Law360 article after a recent Precendential Opinion Panel decision for patent petitions for inter partes review (IPR) on whether copyright and ISBN are sufficient evidence for printed reference material as having been “publicly available”. Jo Dale speaks about the ruling stating, “I…
Weintraub is pleased to announce that Jo Dale Carothers has been recognized as a 2019 San Diego Super Lawyer and Eric Caligiuri as a 2019 Rising Star. Jo Dale Carothers is a shareholder and chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property group. An intellectual property litigator and registered patent attorney, Jo…
Weintraub is pleased to announce that Jo Dale Carothers has been recognized as a 2019 San Diego Super Lawyer and Eric Caligiuri as a 2019 Rising Star. Jo Dale Carothers is a shareholder and chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property group. An intellectual property litigator and registered patent attorney, Jo…
Download: WTWB Merger Press Release FINAL.pdf Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin Law Corporation and Waldron & Bragg, a professional corporation, have jointly announced the merger of their business law and litigation firms. The combined firm will be named Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin and have offices in Sacramento, Calif., San…
For a third year in a row, Weintraub Tobin is working to raise funds for cardiovascular diseases and stroke by partaking in the American Heart Association Heart Walk on Saturday, September 21 at William Land Park. Our attorneys and staff work hard during the summer months to gear up for…
OpenAI, Inc. develops artificial intelligence software involving large language models (“LLM”) known as ChatGPT. In 2023, several authors, including the comedian Sarah Silverman, filed putative class action lawsuits alleging various copyright infringement claims. On February 12, 2024, a District Court in the Northern District of California issued its Order and…
The Ninth Circuit recently addressed the issue of whether parties can contractually agree to shorten the statute of limitations period for bringing a copyright infringement claim. In an unpublished opinion in the case, Evox Productions, LLC v. Chrome Data Solutions, LP (filed Feb. 10, 2023), the Ninth Circuit held that…
In Jacobs et al v. The Journal Publishing Company et al, 1-21-cv-00690, District Judge Martha Vazquez of the District Court of New Mexico recently held Plaintiffs’ twenty-two-month delay in filing suit rebutted any presumption of irreparable harm for alleged copyright violations, and accordingly denied Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. In…
Administering a trust or probate estate is challenging enough—but what happens when you, as a private professional fiduciary, are tasked with managing a business interest? Whether you’re a professional trustee, conservator, or personal representative, stepping into the shoes of a business owner brings a host of unique legal and practical…
California Labor Code section 512 guarantees a thirty (30) minute, off-duty, meal period for employees after five (5) work hours, and a second thirty (30) minute, off duty, meal period after ten (10) work hours. Section 512 also provides that, for shifts between five (5) and six (6) hours, the…
The Hospital Price Transparency Law, codified at 45 CFR Part 180 and effective as of January 1, 2021, was implemented to provide the public with accessible hospital pricing information, aiming to eliminate hidden fees and empower consumers to make informed healthcare decisions. Under this rule, hospitals are required to disclose…
On April 7, 2025, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Member Gwynne Wilcox was again reinstated after initially being fired by President Trump in a short email on January 27, 2025, stating that he had lost confidence in Wilcox’s ability to lead the Board. Trump’s firing of Wilcox left the Board…
Shortly after taking office, President Trump signed Executive Order 14173 (“Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”) commonly referred to as the “Anti-DEI Order” (hereinafter simply referred to as the “Ex. Order”). Among other things, the Ex. Order directs federal agencies “to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs,…
In an article published by Law360 on March 18, 2025, Weintraub Shareholder Jeanne Vance discusses the implications of President Trump’s recent executive order relating to the costs and accessibility of in vitro fertilization (IVF.) While headlines about the order suggested protections for IVF, the executive order really signaled a policy…
Last year, we reported on the reforms to the Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) that Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law on July 1, 2024. The reform legislation was pushed through to avoid a ballot vote on a measure seeking to repeal PAGA entirely in the 2024 election. The legislation…
On March 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a major shift in its approach to the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). The Treasury Department stated that it will not enforce any penalties or fines related to the CTA’s reporting requirements against U.S. citizens, domestic reporting companies, or their…