The Cases that "Rocked" the Entertainment World in 2022

Pierre Pine is a partner at McPherson LLP, where he represents clients in complex entertainment and intellectual property matters, including copyright and trademark infringement, breach of contract, tortious interference, and legal malpractice claims. Practicing law since 2001, he has litigated cases from inception through trial in California’s state and federal courts and was instrumental in securing summary judgment for all defendants in a multi-million-dollar intellectual property dispute involving rights to the “Eleanor” automobile from Gone in 60 Seconds. Since joining McPherson LLP in 2006, Mr. Pine has continued to represent both plaintiffs and defendants in sophisticated entertainment disputes, including Labor Commission hearings involving the Talent Agencies Act.

Mr. Pine’s writing has been featured in leading publications, including the Los Angeles Daily Journal, Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, and the NYU Journal of Intellectual Property & Entertainment Law blog. A recognized leader in his field, he has received the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Distinguished Service Award for his work as Chair of the Entertainment Law Section and was repeatedly named a Southern California Rising Star by Super Lawyers. Mr. Pine is admitted to practice in California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He earned his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law, where he received numerous academic awards, and his B.A. in Political Science from Loyola Marymount University.

Aaron Moss is a Partner in the Entertainment, Intellectual Property, and Litigation practice groups at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, where he represents a wide range of content creators and media companies in copyright, trademark, right of publicity, idea submission, and contractual disputes. He has successfully argued significant First Amendment cases in courts across the country, defending media clients against defamation, invasion of privacy, and attempts to restrain speech. A nationally recognized expert in copyright law, Aaron is the publisher and editor of Copyright Lately, a prominent legal blog selected by the U.S. Library of Congress for inclusion in its archive of culturally significant websites. His commentary has been cited by courts, academics, and major media outlets, and he is a frequent speaker for the Copyright Society, the ABA, the Media Law Resource Center, and leading law schools.

In addition to his litigation practice, Aaron advises clients on intellectual property acquisitions and transfers, copyright termination and reversion, and emerging issues involving artificial intelligence. He conducts complex chain-of-title analyses, provides pre-publication review, and offers strategic counseling to film and television studios, video game publishers, digital media platforms, retailers, and consumer product companies. Widely regarded as one of the top IP litigators in the field, Aaron has been repeatedly recognized by The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, the Daily Journal, and Chambers USA, and was recently named “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers for both First Amendment and Intellectual Property law. Before joining MSK, he served as a partner at Greenberg Glusker, where he chaired the firm’s litigation department for more than twelve years.

A graduate of the Yale Law School and a U.S Marine veteran, Professor Kevin J. Greene is the John J. Schumacher Chair Professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, California, where he teaches Copyright Law and Entertainment Law. 

Professor Greene’s award winning scholarship explores copyright, trademark and publicity rights issues, including abusive trademark litigation, idea misappropriation as a Hollywood business model, and the impact of intellectual property law on African‐American creativity. Greene was the first legal scholar to analyze how IP doctrine facilitated expropriation of African‐American music and culture. 

Professor Greene practiced law in New York at the premier firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, representing companies such as Time Warner/HBO, and at a top New York entertainment law boutique firm, where his clients included film production companies, film director Spike Lee, and music artists including Harry Connick, Jr., Bobby Brown, and the seminal rap group Public Enemy. 

As an expert witness‐consultant in copyright and IP cases, Greene worked with funk music legend George Clinton in a landmark copyright case in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Christine Lepera is a Partner at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP. She focuses her practice on the entertainment and media industries as a litigator and strategic advisor. Christine is the Chair of the Music Litigation Practice Group and member of the firm’s Governing Board. Her practice covers the landscape of entertainment/media disputes and issues, including claims of copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition, right of publicity/privacy violations, and industry contract and commercial disputes.