Arnold Lutzker
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Senior Partner

arnie@lutzker.com

(202) 408-7600 ext. 1

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PRACTICE AREAS

Copyright
Trademarks and Unfair Competition
Litigation
Internet and New Media
Entertainment and the Arts
Small Business
Nonprofit Organizations

EDUCATION

Harvard Law School, J.D. (1971, cum laude)
City College of New York, B.A. (1968, magna cum laude)

BAR ADMISSIONS

District of Columbia
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

Building on decades of experience in intellectual property law, policy and education in Washington, D.C., Arnold Lutzker is as zealous and creative in helping clients protect and manage their traditional copyright and trademark portfolios as he is in addressing the constantly evolving legal issues presented by new media. On a daily basis he counsels clients engaged in a wide variety of pursuits (including film, television, publishing, photography, entertainment, arts and e-commerce as well as more conventional businesses) on the strategic exploitation of their intellectual property. When infringement and other disputes arise, he works to resolve them pragmatically and efficiently. In cases where informal resolutions are not possible, he is an ardent and effective litigator. Esteemed in the intellectual property field for his expertise and problem-solving skills (a long-time "SuperLawyer," as voted by his colleagues), as well as his background in drafting key copyright legislation, he is often brought into cases by other attorneys to provide specialized intellectual property services.

Prior to establishing Lutzker & Lutzker with his wife Susan Lutzker, he was a principal in the Washington law firm of Fish & Richardson, P.C. and a partner in Dow, Lohnes & Albertson, where he had a varied copyright and trademark practice. In the legislative area, Arnold Lutzker has represented a consortium of national library associations in the drafting of key copyright law provisions which are at the heart of many of the unresolved new media issues making headlines every day: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) and the TEACH Act. He also represented the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and The Film Foundation in connection with their effort to protect classic American movies by affording directors moral rights in their works.
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REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

  • Representing The Ellen G. White Estate in litigation in Maryland and coordinating with local counsel in litigation in Australia against an Australian citizen who hacked into the secure database of the Estate and stole previously unpublished and copyrighted works of Ms. White (1827-1915), a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

  • Representing religious television producers and syndicators before the Copyright Royalty Board of the Library of Congress in proceedings to determine the allocation of hundreds of millions of dollars in annual cable and satellite royalties.

  • Representing Crystal Cathedral Ministries in a copyright infringement claim in federal bankruptcy court by its founder, Reverend Robert Schuller, over ownership of the "Hour of Power" television series. The litigation resulted in a ruling that Reverend Schuller created the works as an employee of the Ministries and, that, therefore, the Ministries is their rightful owner.

  • Representing legendary soul singer Sam Moore in a trademark and right of publicity lawsuit concerning the use of Mr. Moore’s name, likeness and other indicia of persona in connection with the 2008 film Soul Men. An appellate brief is pending before the Sixth Circuit.

  • Defending Kardwell International, a family-owned entertainment company, against allegations that Kardwell sold casino gaming layouts which infringed the copyright and trademark rights of mega-corporation Shuffle Master International.

  • Representing 88 LLC, a D.C. area multi-media production company, in a copyright and breach of contract suit against the Army contractor which had engaged it to create video modules to educate soldiers, their families and medics about traumatic brain injuries.

  • Representing Ambrose Publishing Company and the Association for Informational Media and Equipment in a lawsuit in California against UCLA, alleging that the university’s streaming of Ambrose’s educational videos infringed its copyrights and was not fair use as the University claimed.

  • Counseling film and television producers on structuring and financing projects.

  • Representing Los Angeles screenwriter Yolanda Buggs in federal court against DreamWorks Animation and Paramount Pictures alleging copyright infringement of a screenplay she wrote as a graduate student at the American Film Institute.

  • Representing the creators of the award-winning STOMP ROCKET® toy in federal court against the manufacturers/importers and distributors of a knock-off, and also against national retailer Toys “R” Us, Inc. following that chain’s sale of a similar air rocket toy under an allegedly infringing name.

  • Dealing with anti-virus software companies on claims of potential abuse (distribution of malware, Trojan viruses and adware) stemming from online site downloadables.

  • Advising online game sites and contextual advertising services on issues such as permissible use of third party trademarks and user-generated content.

  • Defending a client’s contextual marketing program using “pop-up” ads from claims of trademark and copyright infringement.
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  • Defending a software company’s sale and distribution of innovative DVD backup and restoration software and the public’s fair use rights.

  • See Lutzker, A. and Lutzker, S., "Altering the Contours of Copyright: The DMCA and the Unanswered Questions of Paramount v. 321 Studios."
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  • Guiding litigation in Europe establishing the precedent of moral rights protection for American filmmakers.
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  • Forming and representing the Palace Arts Foundation in negotiating licensing, merchandising and publishing agreements for the international exhibition Palace of Gold & Light: Treasures from the Topkapi, Istanbul, which contained more than 250 precious and historic objects, including the famous Topkapi Dagger, the throne and sword of Suleyman the Magnificent and robes of Mehmed the Conqueror.
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  • Serving as special legal advisor to the national traveling art exhibition JEWELS OF THE ROMANOVS: Treasures of the Russian Imperial Court (1996-1998).

  • Testifying at the Library of Congress in connection with hearings to establish exemptions under Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
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    HONORS AND RANKINGS

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  • Recipient of the 2012 Larry Koltun Memorial award of the International Network of Boutique Law Firms (INBLF), given each year to the INBLF member who most exemplifies the spirit of congeniality and collegiality that characterized the late DC chapter president.

  • Washington, D.C. "Super Lawyer" in the field of Intellectual Property; including listing in Corporate Counsel edition of Super Lawyers

  • Treasurer and Board member, International Network of Boutique Law Firms (INBLF); Secretary INBLF; INBLF D.C. Chapter President

  • Vice-Chair and national Board member, FilmFest DC

  • General counsel and Board member of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington

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    PUBLICATIONS AND SPEECHES

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    BOOKS

  • Content Rights for Creative Professionals: Copyrights and Trademarks in a Digital Age (Focal Press, 2002), also published in Russian and Chinese editions, Author

  • Copyrights and Trademarks for Media Professionals (Focal Press, 1997), Author

  • Legal Problems in Broadcasting (Great Plains University Press, 1974), Author

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    DVD SERIES

  • “Copyright Compliance” (Chip Taylor Communications, 2006)

  • “Copyrights: The Internet, Multimedia and the Law” (Chip Taylor Communications, 1997).

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    ARTICLES

  • “Altering the Contours of Copyright: The DMCA and the Unanswered Questions of Paramount v. 321 Studios,” 21 Santa Clara Computer & High Technology Law Journal 561 (2005), Co-Author with Susan Lutzker

  • “Orphan Works: Defining the Problem, Finding a Solution, Marcasur.com,” 1/23/07, Author

  • Case study included in “Artists, Technology & the Ownership of Creative Content,” (Norman Lear Center, University of Southern California, 2003), Author

  • Primer on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 1998, Author

  • Testimony at Hearing on Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies, United States Copyright Office, Library of Congress, May 4, 2000, Author

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    REPRESENTATIVE SPEECHES

  • University of Maryland (UMUC) Center for Intellectual Property 2010 Symposium: “Sustaining Culture in Copyright – The Future of Fair Use”

  • D.C. Bar Fair Use Forum (2006)

  • D.C. Bar Forum on Pop-Up Ads (2004)

  • University of Maryland Distance Learning Seminars on IP (2003-2010)

  • U.S. State Department-sponsored trip to Thailand (2002)

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