Thompson Coburn again named best copyright firm in the nation
January 10, 2018
U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers (by BL Rankings) have again selected Thompson Coburn as the law firm with the best copyright practice in the nation for 2018. It’s the second time in three years that the firm has won the honor.
Only one law firm is chosen as the Copyright Law Firm of the Year, the highest ranking based on U.S. News researcher interviews with clients and other lawyers. The publications look for the firm with the highest rating for ability, professionalism and integrity.
Our railroad law practice was also named best in the nation in 2018, making Thompson Coburn one of only 10 law firms in the United States to receive two best-in-the-nation rankings.
Our copyright lawyers provide counseling, litigation and lobbying services to authors, publishers and businesses in various textual copyright claims. We also represent photographers, composers, software developers and hardware manufacturers on copyright issues.
Among the many copyright matters worked on this year, Thompson Coburn recently represented Illinois Tool Works Inc. and three of its divisions in defense of an action for copyright infringement, unfair competition, false designation of origin, and various state law torts. We prevailed on summary judgment, obtaining dismissal of four of the six claims and one of the two copyrights-in-suit. In addition, we obtained an order limiting maximum possible damages on other copyright-in-suit to $75,000. We also reached a settlement in principle on favorable terms following the summary judgment order.
Also, Thompson Coburn played an important role in a recent major 9th Circuit copyright ruling, assisting the court in an amicus filing with crucial background while protecting client ClearPlay’s interest in its own technology in the movie filtering market.
We also are a respected source for thought leadership on copyright matters. Mark Sableman was twice selected to speak on legal copyright issues at the Midwest Digital Marketing Convention, which draws 1,200 attendees; and Chip Fendell, David Jinkins, Tom Polcyn and Mark Sableman were listed in The Best Lawyers in America for copyright law, 2018.
In addition, over the past year, our In Focus blog has focused on a wide variety of interesting photo copyright issues involving, among others, Dr. Seuss, the Statue of Liberty, the Toronto Blue Jays and LeBron James’s tattoo.