Professional Experience
Mr. Kaufman’s practice focuses on entertainment and media law, copyright, content and music licensing, Internet law, social media, sports law, and the evolving new technologies in the entertainment and computer fields.
Mr. Kaufman represents a wide range of clients in the entertainment, computer, online, sports and communications industries, including television networks, computer and Internet technology companies, media and technology investors, private equity firms, music publishers, television and video producers, new media entrepreneurs, telecommunications companies, website operators, theatre producers, songwriters, recording artists and authors.
Mr. Kaufman has extensive experience as both in-house and outside counsel in the entertainment and communications industries. Immediately prior to joining the firm, Mr. Kaufman was a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel of Showtime/The Movie Channel Inc. (now known as Showtime Networks Inc.); as Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and General Counsel of PolyGram Records, Inc.; and as General Counsel of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In two of those positions, he was the first in-house attorney and organized the in-house legal department. In addition, for several years he served as a Visiting Lecturer at Yale Law School, teaching a course on copyright, entertainment and Internet law. He also served as assistant counsel of a U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee and as law clerk to Judge Warren J. Ferguson of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Mr. Kaufman is a frequent speaker and author on intellectual property, entertainment law, licensing, and issues involving the convergence of the entertainment, communications and computer industries. He has chaired programs and spoken at industry conferences for the Practising Law Institute, the American Bar Association, the Computer Law Association, the National Association of Broadcasters, the New York State Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the District of Columbia Bar, among others. He serves on the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries and on the Board of Directors of Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts. He is also a member of the Planning Committee for the annual Stanford E-Commerce Best Practices Conference, teaches an annual course on copyright law and litigation for the District of Columbia Bar, and has served as a Trustee of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A.
Mr. Kaufman has been profiled by Legal Times as one of the leading intellectual property lawyers in the Washington, D.C. area. He was also selected for inclusion in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2010 (for both intellectual property and media & entertainment), The Best Lawyers in America 2011 (for both entertainment law and intellectual property law), The Legal 500 United States 2009 (for entertainment law), Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers 2010 (for intellectual property), and Washingtonian Magazine’s 2009 Top Lawyers.
Education
Yale Law School, J.D., 1972.
Editor, Yale Law Journal.
Harvard College, A.B., magna cum laude, 1969.
Chair, Harvard Policy Committee.
Memberships & Activities
Trustee (2006-2009) and Chair, Webcasting Committee (2010-present), Copyright Society of the U.S.A.
Chair, Washington, D.C. Chapter, Copyright Society of the U.S.A., 2003-2005.
Chair, Music and Entertainment Law Committee, D.C. Bar Arts, Entertainment, Media and Sports Law Section, 1995-present.
Member, Board of Directors, Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts, 1996-present.
Member, Advisory Board, Washington Area Music Association, 1996-present.
Member, Planning Committee, Stanford E-Commerce Best Practices Conference, 2004-present.
Member, Copyright Committee, American Intellectual Property Law Association, 1991-present.
Member, Steering Committee, D.C. Bar Computer and Telecommunications Law Section, 1999-2002.
Co-Chair, Committee on Computer Networks, Federal Communications Bar Association, 1994-1997.
Chair, Subcommittee on New Technologies, Committee on Entertainment and Sports Law, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 1984-1987.
Honors & Awards
Named as one of The Best Lawyers in America, for both entertainment law and intellectual property law, 2008-2012.
Named as one of "America’s Leading Lawyers for Business," in both intellectual property and media & entertainment, Chambers USA, 2007-2011.
Included in Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers, for intellectual property, 2008-2010.
Included in The Legal 500 United States 2009, for entertainment law.
Named as one of "Washington’s 2009 Top Lawyers" by Washingtonian Magazine, December 2009.
Named by Legal Times as one of the leading intellectual property lawyers in Washington, D.C., 2003.
Publications
"Copyright Law and Litigation," District of Columbia Bar, 2010
"Issues in Entertainment Industry Transactions," Practising Law Institute, 2010.
"Television Production, Financing and Distribution," Practising Law Institute, 2010.
"Copyright and Content Licensing," Practising Law Institute, 2010.
"IP Issues in Entertainment Industry Transactions," American Bar Association, 2010.
"E-Commerce Commercial Contracts – A Checklist for In-House Counsel," E-Commerce Best Practices Conference, Stanford Law School, 2008.
"Music Composition for Film," Washington, DC Independent Film Festival, 2008.
"Copyright and Entertainment Law Issues Involving User-Generated Content Sites," New York State Bar Association, 2007.
"Copyright: The Year in Review," American Intellectual Property Law Association, 2006.
"US Supreme Court Hears MGM v Grokster Case," Legal Week, April 28, 2005.
"Online Content Licensing and Web Site Development Agreements," District of Columbia Bar, 2001.
"Content, Contracts and Convergence on the Internet: Current Legal and Business Issues," Law Journal Seminars, 2000
"Entertainment Law Meets the Internet: The Impact of the Internet and Digitalization on the Entertainment Industry," Law Journal Seminars, 1999.
"Legal and Business Issues for On-Line Publishers and Content Providers," Computer Law Association, 1996.
"Multimedia and Interactive Technology Licensing," Law Journal Seminars, 1994.
Speaking Engagements
Co-Chair, annual conference on "Counseling Clients in the Entertainment Industry," Practising Law Institute, 2005-present.
Speaker, "Copyright and Content Licensing," at annual conference on "Advanced Licensing Agreements," Practising Law Institute, 2003-present.
Faculty for annual CLE program, "Copyright Law and Litigation," District of Columbia Bar, 2002-present.
Speaker, "IP Issues in Entertainment Industry Transactions," American Bar Association, 25th Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference, 2010.
Speaker, "Recent Developments in Copyright Law," D.C. Computer Law Forum, 2009.
Speaker, "Distribution Strategies for Online Videos: What Does the Future Hold?," Future of Television Conference, New York, November 19, 2008.
Speaker, "An Insider’s Perspective: Current Issues in Sports and Entertainment Law," Howard University School of Law, Washington, DC, 2008.
Speaker, "Internal Copyright Controls and Management," American Intellectual Property Law Association Annual Meeting, 2007.
Moderator, program on "Current Issues in Music Licensing," Copyright Society of the U.S.A., 2007.
Speaker, "User-Generated Content," New York State Bar Association, 2007.
Speaker, "Copyright: The Year in Review," American Intellectual Property Law Association Annual Meeting, 2006.
Faculty for CLE course, "Copyright Law and Litigation in the Digital Era," Cognistar, 2003.
Speaker, "Music Rights on the Internet," South by Southwest Music Conference, 2002.
Speaker, "Drafting and Negotiating Agreements Involving Digital Rights," Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 2002.
Speaker, "The Future of Digital Music," National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, 2000.
Speaker, "Content, Licensing and Copyright on the Internet," Federal Communications Bar Association, 1999.
Speaker, "Creating and Licensing Content on the Internet," District of Columbia Bar, 1997.
Speaker, "Financing Television and Video Productions," Women in Film and Video, 1996.
Visiting Lecturer, "Music and the Law" course focusing on entertainment law, copyright and Internet law, Yale Law School, 1994-1999.