Copyright Expert Witnesses

copyright expert testimony

What is a copyright expert witness?

Copyright expert witness candidates typically have extensive experience in intellectual property law, and/or economic damages. Depending on the specifics of a copyright case, specialists such as a screenplay or publishing expert, software expert, product design expert, or music industry expert may be called upon to support a case. In a high-profile case, or litigation involving a significant financial stake, a law firm may require a testifying expert with prior expert witness testimony experience.

What types of cases require a copyright expert witness?

An intellectual property protection program stops others from using an owner’s intellectual property (e.g., trademark infringement, trade secret, trade dress, patent infringement, copyright) without a licensing agreement. Copyright law specifically protects authors of original creations such as poems, fictional characters, plays and other literary works, motion pictures, choreography, musical compositions, sound recordings, paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, computer software, radio and television broadcasts, and industrial designs. Copyright law encompasses both published and unpublished creations. There are many facets to copyright law, mostly due to the broad coverage areas and advancements in technology. The Music Modernization Act, as an example, was introduced in 2018 to address online music distribution and streaming services. In the U.S., reverse engineering of software is protected by the fair use exception in copyright law, and can be instrumental in software copyright cases. Landmark software copyright cases include the dispute over the Android operating system for smartphones in Google v. Oracle, the Apple II operating system in Apple Computer. v. Franklin Computer, and Microsystems v. Scandinavia Online which illustrated issues of reverse engineering and the need for copyright notices in code.

Litigation support by a copyright expert witness could include research, an expert report, expert opinion, expert testimony and/or testimony in court. An economic damages expert is often called on to opine on lost profits and damage analysis occurring from copyright infringement, from music to jewelry.

Copyright expert witness case examples

Cahn Litigation Services has placed copyright professionals to provide expert witness services for a wide variety of matters, including:

The firm is skilled and experienced at identifying expert candidates to provide support for all types of intellectual property matters and is frequently called upon by law firm clients to locate specialists for copyright cases.

What litigation support work might a copyright expert witness be expected to perform?

Litigation support by a copyright expert witness could include research, authoring expert reports, providing expert opinions, expert testimony and/or testimony in court. An economic damages expert is often called on to opine on lost profits and damage analysis occurring from copyright infringement, from music to jewelry.

Cahn Litigation Services has the experience required to turn a search for a copyright expert witness around quickly, providing the right balance of expertise and testimony experience.

Related Disciplines

Copyright Expert Witness - Representative Bios

Please Note: All Cahn Litigation expert witness searches are customized to attorneys' precise specifications and preferences. Attorneys are encouraged to discuss search parameters with a Cahn search specialist.

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The below expert witness bios represent a small fraction of those Copyright experts known by Cahn Litigation Services. These bios are provided to give lawyers a sense of the Copyright landscape.