Aaron J. Moss

Partner

Entertainment Litigation, Copyright & Intellectual Property

D: 310.785.6814
F: 310.201.2314

Profile

Aaron Moss handles a variety of entertainment litigation, intellectual property and general commercial matters, specializing in protecting the rights of owners and users of creative works.

Mr. Moss litigates high-profile copyright infringement actions for both plaintiffs and defendants, including studios, independent distributors, production companies, video game publishers, technology firms and individuals.  He also counsels clients on all aspects of copyright law, including chain of title and clearance reviews, ownership transfers, license termination, copyright preemption, fair use, music sampling and internet piracy.  Mr. Moss has particularly extensive experience with the Copyright Act’s statutory termination provisions, and has litigated cases involving numerous entertainment properties when authors’ heirs have sought to recapture copyrights under these statutes. He has also served as both an expert witness and a media commentator on copyright related matters.

Mr. Moss has represented award-winning celebrities (and their estates) in right of publicity actions involving the unauthorized use of their names, voices and likenesses, as well as in defamation, invasion of privacy and other media-related disputes. He was a member of the trial team that litigated Dustin Hoffman’s landmark lawsuit against Los Angeles Magazine when it published a computer-generated image of the actor. 

Mr. Moss has also successfully prosecuted and defended idea submission and other “breach of implied contract” claims relating to motion pictures, television shows, books and toys.

In addition, Mr. Moss has handled matters involving trademark and trade dress infringement, internet and domain name disputes, unfair competition, and contractual disputes across a wide range of industries.

Mr. Moss was named by the Daily Journal as one of the “Top 20 Under 40” attorneys in California in its 2011 report.  He has also been honored by the publication as one of the “Top 75 IP Litigators in California” on three separate occasions, and was named among the city's top IP attorneys in Los Angeles Business Journal's list of 40 Angelenos to Know in Intellectual Property Law.

Mr. Moss is an active member and speaker for the Los Angeles Copyright Society, a member of the Executive Committee of the Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property Section (ELIPS) of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and a member of the Law Firm Advisory Board for the Association of Media & Entertainment Counsel (AMEC).  Aaron is also the co-creator and a regular contributor to Greenberg Glusker’s award-winning Law Law Land Blog.

Entertainment Litigation & Intellectual Property Experience

  • Defended Ubisoft Entertainment, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, against copyright infringement claims brought by John Beiswenger alleging that Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed video game series infringed the author’s novel Link, resulting in Beiswenger dismissing his case at the pleading stage
  • Represents Costco Wholesale Corporation in the high-profile copyright case Omega v. Costco, defending Costco against claims that the retailer infringed Omega’s copyright by acquiring genuine watches imported from abroad without Omega’s consent and selling them for more than one-third less than Omega’s regular retail price; the case went to the United States Supreme Court in November 2010 on Costco’s “first sale” defense. Following the Court’s 4-4 deadlock, the case was remanded to a Los Angeles federal district court, where Mr. Moss obtained summary judgment for Costco on its “copyright misuse” defense
  • Represented Sugar Foods, a multinational food products company, in obtaining dismissal at the pleading stage of a federal consumer class action complaint alleging false advertising and unfair competition claims
  • Obtained a rare cover apology for actress Katie Holmes after bringing a defamation lawsuit against the publisher of Star Magazine
  • Represents Classic Media, LLC in various litigation and transactional matters involving rights to “Frosty the Snowman,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Batman” and other properties
  • Represents Marvel, owner of the copyrights in “Spider-Man”, “Iron Man” and numerous other iconic characters in various matters involving intellectual property disputes, profit participation rights and general litigation
  • Represents the estate of Rod Serling, famed creator of The Twilight Zone, in right of publicity and copyright matters
  • Represented the Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien in connection with rights issues arising out of “The Hobbit” motion picture and other intellectual property matters
  • Defended and advised owners of such entertainment properties as “Lassie,” “Casper the Friendly Ghost,” “Winnie the Pooh” and “Charlotte’s Web” in connection with attempts by authors’ heirs to recapture copyrights in these properties under the Copyright Act’s statutory termination provisions; in several cases, Mr. Moss has obtained summary judgment for his clients, establishing their continued right to own and exploit their copyrighted works
  • Regularly represents Toho Co., Ltd., owner of intellectual property rights in “Godzilla,” in numerous matters involving copyright and trademark infringement and licensing disputes; among many others, these cases have involved the unauthorized use of the Godzilla character in motion pictures and television commercials, the “sampling” of Godzilla theme music in sound recordings, and the infringement of Toho’s characters in connection with various internet ventures; all of these cases were resolved with the defendants ceasing their infringing conduct
  • Defended Health Communications, Inc., original publisher of the bestselling “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series in a trademark action brought by the books’ co-authors
  • Represents Gameloft, S.A., one of the world’s largest publishers of mobile phone video games, in numerous IP matters, including a copyright and trademark dispute brought by Activision in connection with the video game “Guitar Hero”
  • Regularly represents Tom Cruise in media-related matters, including defamation, invasion of privacy and the right of publicity
  • In a widely-publicized infringement action, part of the litigation team that successfully defeated a preliminary injunction motion seeking to prevent the release of DreamWorks’ motion picture Amistad
  • Achieved favorable settlements on behalf of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman when their names and likenesses were used without permission by cosmetics company Sephora
  • Represented Dustin Hoffman in a landmark right of publicity suit against a magazine that published an unauthorized computer-generated image of the actor
  • Obtained a preliminary injunction for toy manufacturer Mattel, Inc. against a producer of dolls that infringed the “Barbie” and “American Girl” lines
  • Obtained a preliminary injunction for a Fortune 500 company against a customer using the client’s copyrighted software beyond the scope of its license
  • Regularly represents well-known sports photographer Neil Leifer in connection with copyright issues
  • Successfully defended Brillstein-Grey Entertainment in a contractual dispute over alleged producing partnership
  • Represented Tom Skerritt against the manufacturer of a dietary supplement that used a photograph of the actor in an unauthorized advertisement
  • Represented R&B group Bloodstone when its members’ voices were used without permission in a beer commercial
  • Represented Universal Pictures in a case brought by a photographer who claimed to own the copyright in key art for a major motion picture

Published Articles

Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, "Termination Salvation: Do Artists Who Use Loan-Out Corporations Say Hasta La Vista to Their Termination Rights?" Los Angeles Copyright Society, 2013
  • Moderator, "New Media, Old Laws: The Role of Copyright in a Digital World," Variety's Content Protection Summit, 2012 
  • Speaker, “First Sale Fail: Supreme Court Deadlocks in Costco v. Omega – Now What?,” Los Angeles Copyright Society, 2011
  • Speaker, “Hot Legal Issues in Entertainment Litigation for the Talent, Studio, Network and Label Litigator,” ABA Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries Annual Meeting, 2010
  • Speaker, “Terminating Terminations: Defending Against Termination of Transfers after the ‘Winnie the Pooh’ Case,” UCLA Entertainment Symposium, 2008
  • Speaker, “Legal Aspects of Pitch Meetings,” Women in Film Annual Conference, 2006
  • Speaker, “What’s the Big Idea?: Creative Submissions After Grosso v. Miramax,” 2005
  • Regularly speaks to talent agencies, entertainment transactional firms and other organizations on developments in entertainment litigation and intellectual property matters

Media Commentary