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Home - Warner Norcross + Judd LLP

Warner attorneys have secured, protected, managed, licensed and enforced copyrights for a wide range of clients, such as advertising agencies, software companies, publishers, photographers, artists and educational institutions.

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Our practice encompasses all phases of copyright law, including:

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Augmented Legality

Website Owners Beware — Ignoring This Rule Could Leave You on the Hook for Someone Else’s Copyright Infringement

Webinar: Back to School–Preparing for Legal Challenges in Higher Education

Aerospace and Defense

Warner Ranked Top-Tier Law Firm by Best Lawyers, U.S. News & World Report

Warner Ranked Top-Tier Law Firm by Best Lawyers®, U.S. News & World Report

Three Warner IP Attorneys Appointed to INTA Committees

Warner Attorney Chuck Burpee Volunteers at the Grand Rapids Expungement Fair

Fourteen Warner Partners Named Lawyers of the Year in 2018

Warner Copyright & Trademark Litigation Victory Featured on Technology & Marketing Law Blog

Warner Partners Named Trademark IP Stars by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine

Warner Partners Named IP Stars by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine

Warner Ranked Top-Tier Law Firm by Best Lawyers, U.S. News & World Report 2020

Brian Wassom Named Chair of AIPLA Copyright Law Committee

21 Warner Attorneys Rated 2021 Top Lawyer by DBusiness

Brian Wassom Joins Warner

Charles E. Burpee Elected Chair of Grand Rapids Civic Theatre Board

SCOTUS Agrees to Hear Copyright Case Filed by Warner

Warner Welcomes Three New Attorneys

Partner

Mary C. Bonnema

Paralegal

Julie A. Dawes

Senior Counsel

Jeremy J. Gajewski

R. Scott Keller

Senior Paralegal

Kimberly A. “Kim” Niebling

James L. “Jim” Scott

Associate

Amber M. Underhill

Raquel M. VanOeveren

Brian D. Wassom

Prepares and files U.S. copyright applications

Intellectual Property

Copyright Applications

Reviews licensing agreements and identifies risks associated with copyright  infringement issues

Copyright Licensing & Infringement Issues

Warner served as counsel of record for AIPLA as amicus advocating the prevailing position in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc.&nbsp;that the State of Georgia&rsquo;s official commentary to its state code is a government edict and not entitled to copyright protection.
Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., 140 S.Ct. 1498 (2020),

Litigation - IP

Copyright Protection of Commentary for State Code

Warner attorney Brian Wassom obtained a unanimous victory defeating a copyright infringement claim on the grounds that the digital images in question were not original images.
This case outcome was named one of the &ldquo;Top Verdicts and Settlements&rdquo; of 2006 by Crain&rsquo;s Detroit Business and a &ldquo;Top Intellectual Property Case of 2008&rdquo; by The Colorado Lawyer.
Meshwerks v. Toyota Motors Sales USA, Inc., 528 F.3d 1258 (10th Cir. 2008).

Copyright Infringement

A Warner attorney helped client defeat copyright claims against de minimis use of artwork in a television commercial.
Gordon v. Nextel&nbsp; Communications&nbsp;(6th&nbsp;Cir. 2003).

Copyright Claims – De Minimuis Use of Artwork

Wargin v. FineEye Color Solutions, Inc. of Grand Rapids (W.D. Mich. 2016). Enforced photographer’s copyrights against infringer.

Copyright Law

Photographer’s Copyrights

A Warner attorney defended a music distributor against copyright and Lanham Act claims by an artist.
Best Hand Entm&rsquo;t LLC v. Wideawake-Deathrow Entm&rsquo;t, LLC&nbsp;(E.D. Mich. 2014).

Copyright and Lanham Act Claims Against Music Distributor

A Warner attorney defeated copyright and publicity rights claims against an author and publisher.
Chambers v. Ingram&nbsp;(E.D. Mich. 2012).

Copyright and Publicity Rights

Synthetic Scents, Ltd. v. Old Faithful Outdoors, LLC (E.D. Mich. 2012). Defeat trademark infringement claims over hunting products.

Trademarks

Trademark Infringement

Provo Craft &#038; Novetly v. Make the Cut (E.D. Wis. 2010) Enforce software copyrights against infringer.

Software Copyrights

Mackinac Island Press, Inc. v. Toybox Innovations, Inc. (W.D. Mich. 2010). Enforced publisher’s trademark and copyrights.

Publishing Trademark and Copyright Enforcement

Warner attorney defended a client against claims of architectural copyright infringement.
Visbeen Associates, Inc. v. Johnson Home Builders, Ltd. (W.D. Mich. 2009)

Architectural Copyright Infringement

A Warner attorney defeated a copyright infringement lawsuit against a famous artist.
Johnson v. Jamie Foxx (E.D. Mich. 2007)

Copyright Infringement Against Jamie Foxx

Integrated Bar Coding Systems, Co. v. Wemert (E.D. Mich 2007). Defended against software source code copyright infringement claims.

Software Source Code Copyrights

Mike’s Cigars Distributors, Incorporated v. Byelick (E.D. Mich 2006). Defeated request for preliminary injunction in trademark case.

Trademark Litigation

Warner served as local counsel for Vice News in a pro se copyright dispute.
Dankovich v. Keller&nbsp;(E.D. Mich. 2017).

Copyright Litigation

A Warner attorney helped ASCAP members enforce music copyrights against food service establishments.

Copyright Enforcement for ASCAP Members

Adlife Marketing &#038; Communications Co. Inc. v. The Goodies Factory, Inc. (W.D. Mich. 2019). Defeated claims asserting unauthorized use of photograph on website.

Unauthorized Use of Photo

Warner served as local counsel for TurboSquid in a pro se copyright dispute.
Williams v. 3D Export&nbsp;(E.D. Mich. 2020).

Update Your Contact Person Designation Under the DMCA by December 31, 2017

The CARES Act Cares for IP Owners Too

Supreme Court Redraws the Boundaries of Copyright Law for State Governments and Agencies

Will Google’s Fair Use Victory Be Computer Programmers’ Loss?

Will Software Copyright Protection Control the Future Development of Vehicles?

Intellectual Property Enforcement and Litigation

Intellectual Property Transactions and Counseling

Patent Counseling, Prosecution and Portfolio Management

Privacy, Defamation, Media and First Amendment Litigation

Trademarks and Brand Management

Copyrights

The Warner Norcross + Judd LLP lawyer responsible for the contents of our advertising and this website is managing partner <a href="/people/mark-j-wassink/" aria-label="Mark Wassink">Mark Wassink</a> who can be reached at <a href="mailto:mwassink@wnj.com" aria-label="email Mark Wassink">mwassink@wnj.com</a> or 616.752.2189. Please read our full <a href="/privacy-policy/" aria-label="see privacy policy">privacy policy</a> available on our website.

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