New York, NY, August 19, 2024 -- Phillips Nizer LLP is pleased to announce that 8 lawyers have been included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America^®. Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America list are reviewed by their peers based on professional expertise and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing.

Phillips Nizer litigation partner, Helene M. Freeman participated on a panel, “Blurred Lines – Five Years Down The Line” discussing copyright infringement in music, hosted by the New York Chapter of The Copyright Society, on November 1.

Phillips Nizer LLP is pleased to announce that 12 lawyers have been selected to the 2023 New York Super Lawyers list. No more than five percent of the lawyers in New York are selected by Super Lawyers.

Best Lawyers® recognized Alan Behr, Jan L. Bernstein, Regina E. Faul, Helene M. Freeman, Michael W. Galligan, Donald P. Perry, Evan J. Spelfogel, Martin B. Wasser and Elliot J. Wiener.  

Best Lawyers® recognized Alan Behr, Jan L. Bernstein, Regina E. Faul, Helene M. Freeman, Michael W. Galligan, Marc A. Landis, Donald P. Perry, Jeffrey Q. Smith, Evan J. Spelfogel, Martin B. Wasser and Elliot J. Wiener. 

Helene Freeman will speak on a panel at the Music Business Association’s Conference, which will be held on May 9-12 in Nashville, discussing, “What's Your Fight Song?: Alternative Dispute Resolution and the Copyright Claims Board in Music Cases.”

Best Lawyers® recognized Alan Behr, Jan L. Bernstein, Helene M. Freeman (Copyright Lawyer of the Year), Michael W. Galligan, Marc A. Landis, Donald P. Perry, Jeffrey Q. Smith, Evan J. Spelfogel, Martin B. Wasser and Elliot J. Wiener. 

U.S. News - BestLawyers® recognized Phillips Nizer LLP as one of the nation's "Best Law Firms" for 2021. The annual rankings are presented in three tiers. A total of eleven areas of the firm's practice were recognized nationally and in the New York City metropolitan area.  The rankings were announced on November 5, 2020.

We are proud to congratulate our selected attorneys.

Best Lawyers® recognized Alan Behr, Jan L. Bernstein, Helene M. Freeman, Michael W. Galligan, Marc A. Landis, Donald P. Perry, Jeffrey Q. Smith, Evan J. Spelfogel, Martin B. Wasser and Elliot J. Wiener. 

The full Ninth Circuit sided with Led Zeppelin on Monday and rejected a high-profile copyright lawsuit accusing the band of stealing the intro to "Stairway to Heaven" from a little-known song, landing the group’s attorneys at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and Phillips Nizer LLP on this week’s legal lions list. Led Zeppelin and its affiliated music companies are represented by Peter J. Anderson of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and Helene Freeman of Phillips Nizer LLP.

“There have been many cases by graffiti artists, and they’ve generally prevailed...I don’t think fair use is a claim that can be articulated here. Mercedes used the art for what it was.”

Helene will addresses the Copyright Act of 1909 that was involved in the "Stairway To Heaven" and "Blurred Lines" cases at this NYSBA CLE program on Friday, November 16, 2018.  

The program will be held at New York Law School, 185 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013.  

Register at:  www.nysba.org/EASLMusicConference18 

Licensing Intellectual Property can offer a practical and efficient strategy for companies looking to expand into a new market, enhance an existing product line, reduce costs or accomplish other business goals. The IP under consideration for license could be a patent, copyright, or trademark, software or any combination of these properties.

As this approach becomes increasingly common across industries, counsel who are new to licensing
IP must understand the complex range of issues that may arise when licensing a mix of intellectual
property types. 

This program is designed for intellectual property specialists, corporate counsel and general practitioners who are interested in learning how to license and protect various forms of intellectual property.

DETAILS AND REGISTRATION HERE

Seventeen Phillips Nizer attorneys were announced on September 13, 2018 as selected for inclusion on the 2018 New York Metro Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists. Attorneys represented a cross-section of several practice areas and industry teams.

Best Lawyers® recognized Alan Behr, Helene M. Freeman, Michael W. Galligan, Donald P. Perry, Evan J. Spelfogel,  Martin B. Wasser and Elliot J. Wiener.

Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law partner Helene Freeman addresses copyright issues in the music business at TIPLA's Spring Seminar in Nashville, Tennessee.  

The panel presentation, "Entertainment Litigation Update" will be held on Friday, April 6th from 10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. For full details and to register for the ABA Symposium, see here.

U.S. News-Best Lawyers® announced on November 1, 2017, Phillips Nizer's recognition as one of the nation's "Best Law Firms" for 2018. The listing is presented in ranking tiers from 1 - 3. We ranked highly, Tier 1, nationally in Copyright Law, Trademark Law and Trusts & Estates Law. We were also ranked in the New York City Metropolitan listings.

It was announced on September 20, 2017, that sixteen Phillips Nizer attorneys were selected for inclusion on the 2017 Super Lawyers list. Alternative Dispute Resolution, Banking, Business Litigation, Entertainment, Intellectual Property, and Trusts & Estates practices were represented.  

Helene's panel on Monday, June 5th is entitled, "Sound + Vision: Challenges in Evaluating Substantial Similarity of Musical Works."  More info here.

• Paul McCartney Sues To Win A Battle Duran Duran Lost (Forbes)
• 56 Years Later, Paul McCartney Wants His Beatles Songs Back… (Digital Music News)

• "Duran Duran Case Shouldn't Affect Paul McCartney Contracts" by Helene Freeman (Law360, January 30, 2017)

The case is number 5 on the list.  We were extremely pleased – and so was the band – with our victory this year thanks to our litigation and entertainment law partner Helene Freeman. Through our entertainment law partner, George Fearon, we have proudly represented Led Zeppelin for over 40 years. | View the "Top 10".

The panel, "Winning Strategies & Ethical Boundaries for Persuading Judges and Juries in Entertainment Cases," will be held on Friday, November 11, 2016.  The Summit convenes in Riviera Maya, Mexico, November 9 - 13th. 

U.S. News-Best Lawyers® announced Phillips Nizer was recognized as one of the "Best Law Firms" in the nation for 2017 ranking highly nationally in Trusts & Estates Law. The firm was also ranked in the New York City Metropolitan area in Trusts & Estates Law, Copyright Law, Family Law, Intellectual Property Litigation and Trademark Law. 

The panel discussion will be held from 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 8th.  For registration and further details, click here.

In the article, “Attorneys Say Judge Made Right Call in Rebuffing Kesha,” Helene comments, "It's not unheard of for artists to claim they cannot work with a particular producer who has an exclusive contract to record them…But that is not grounds for the artist being excused from the financial obligations. Kesha could refuse to record with Dr. Luke; she cannot then refuse to furnish those recordings to Sony, and Sony cannot refuse to pay Dr. Luke royalties generated by Kesha's albums that she agreed to make for them."

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In an announcement on September 23, 2014, twenty-six Phillips Nizer attorneys were recognized on the Metro New York 2014 Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars lists. Twenty-two partners, senior counsel and counsel were selected as Super Lawyers.  Four counsel and associates were selected as Rising Stars.  The 2014 selections crossed all major practice groups.  The annual Super Lawyers® lists are a result of confidential peer review and independent research.

Nineteen Phillips Nizer attorneys were selected by Super Lawyers® and recognized in the 2013 New York Super Lawyers - Metro Edition publication.  As was the case in 2012, attorneys selected represented several practice areas. The Firm achieved a significant increase in the number of honorees, including one recognized as a "Rising Star".  Each year, attorneys are nominated across various legal practices and vetted through a process of confidential peer review. Independent research by the publisher is an important component before one can be selected as a "Super Lawyer".

Phillips Nizer was honored with the selection of twelve of its attorneys for the 2012 New York Super Lawyers – Metro edition. The attorneys were recognized across seven practice areas — Alternative Dispute Resolution, Entertainment Law, Environmental Law, Estate Planning & Probate Law, Family Law, General Litigation, and Real Estate Law.

Thirteen Phillips Nizer attorneys represented across seven distinct areas were recognized as 2011 "Super Lawyers". Super Lawyers®, a publication of Thomson Reuters, reviews nominations of attorneys across various legal practice areas.  Those ultimately selected as "Super Lawyers" were vetted through a process involving peer review and independent research by the publisher.

This Alert highlights a recent Third Circuit decision holding that the removal of a photographer's name from a photograph violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"). As interpreted by the court, the photographer's name on a physical copy of the photograph was protected "copyright management information" and its removal was a statutory violation even though the name was not part of an automated or electronic copyright management protection system. This decision is particularly important since many unsuspecting business owners and executives, company employees (such as in-house designers) or third-party contractors who may use photographic images readily available in print and on the Web for promotional purposes, may be violating the DMCA and the copyright law. These violations can be costly as both statutes provide for damages even if there is no actual injury or profit.