Nathaniel L. Bach

Profile

Experience

Select Entertainment, Media & Technology Matters

Wolf v. NBCUniversal – Successfully defended NBCUniversal in a $150 million television profit participation licensing arbitration regarding a Law & Order series, including recouping arbitration fees.*

In re Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson – Successfully obtained rescission of a music licensing agreement and full return of funds for Universal Music Group in a deal with Prince’s estate.*

Herring Networks, Inc. v. Maddow et al. – Successfully obtained anti-SLAPP dismissal of a defamation claim brought by the owner of a television network against Rachel Maddow, MSNBC, NBCUniversal and Comcast.*

Optimum Productions v. Home Box Office, Inc. – Represented HBO against claims filed by Michael Jackson’s estate over the Emmy-winning documentary Leaving Neverland.*

DIRECTV, LLC v. Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. – Represented DIRECTV in a contract action in New York Supreme Court in a $12 million retransmission dispute.*

Trump v. Trump – Successfully represented Mary Trump in defeating Robert Trump’s effort to enjoin publication of her best-selling memoir, Too Much and Never Enough.*

Brown v. Giongco et al. – Successfully obtained full dismissal of singer Chris Brown’s claims against a Philippine arena owner over alleged extortion following a Manila concert.*

Select Intellectual Property Matters

Soundgarden et al. v. UMG Recordings, Inc. – Successfully represented Universal Music Group in a putative class action over master recordings allegedly destroyed in a fire on the Universal Studios backlot.*

Johansen v. Sony Music Entertainment – Represented Sony Music in a putative copyright class action brought by recording artists over Section 203 termination rights and related infringement claims.*

LMNO Cable Group, Inc. v. Discovery Communications, LLC – Represented Discovery in complex copyright, trademark, profit participation, contract and fraud litigation against a reality television production company.*

Estate of Hugh M. Hefner – Representing the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation in intellectual property matters, including trademark, copyright and right of publicity matters.

Kanye West and Yeezy Apparel – Represented West and his fashion brand in various IP, media, contract and regulatory matters.*

Square Inc. – Represented Square in its 2021 acquisition of TIDAL.*

Select Pro Bono Matters

State v. Martin – Representing a former death-row inmate in challenging a capital murder conviction in Alabama. Served as one of the lead counsel at a three-week murder trial in 2019, examining multiple witnesses on direct and cross-examination before a jury.

Garcia v. United States – Member of the litigation team that successfully blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to terminate the DACA program and that was honored with California Lawyer’s 2018 Attorneys of the Year award.*

Ramirez Medina v. DHS – Represented a Dreamer in litigation challenging denial of DACA benefits. Argued two motions for preliminary injunction, motion for summary judgment and motion to dismiss before the chief judge of the U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington.*

Partnered with the ACLU to successfully protect a homeowner’s association member’s free speech rights.*

Represented the Cayton Children’s Museum in various matters, including trademark and right of publicity matters.*

Designed and drafted Lawyers Without Borders’ 2014 Liberia Anti-Human Trafficking training program and its 2013 Kenya Anti-Corruption training program.*

Successfully obtained the release of $76 million in California state funding for educationally related mental-health services on behalf of a class of mentally disabled children.*

Led a litigation team in securing a settlement for the full amount of liability ($1.6 million) in a class action lawsuit on behalf of developmentally disabled foster children.*

_{* Denotes prior firm experience}

Memberships

Admitted to practice in the state of California

Trustee, Los Angeles Copyright Society

Member, LACBA, Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property Section

Board Member, ShareWell, which operates the Cayton Children’s Museum in Santa Monica

Member of Advisory Board, Citizens of the World Los Angeles Charter Schools

Publications

Nat writes regularly on cutting-edge developments in the media and entertainment industries, including on defamation, anti-SLAPP, copyright, trademark, music, sports, and NIL (name, image and likeness) issues. His articles have appeared in Business Law International, Law360, and MLRC’s MediaLawLetter.
.

10.27.22

Manatt Files Amicus Brief in State Election Laws Case Before the ...

A Manatt team led by Nathaniel Bach and including Matthew Bruno and Tina Lapsia filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Moore v. ...
09.07.22

Manatt Represents Francisco Partners in Majority Investment in Kobalt ...

A Manatt team led by Entertainment Leader Jordan Bromley and Partner Beau Stapleton advised Francisco Partners Management, a U.S.-headquartered ...
08.18.22

14 Manatt Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers’ “Ones to Watch” List

Fourteen Manatt professionals were named to Best Lawyers in America ’s 2023 “Ones to Watch” list, which recognizes ...
08.10.22

Manatt Represents Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) in Copyright ...

Manatt Entertainment Partner Nathaniel Bach and Litigation Associate Thomas Worger successfully represented Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) (Church of ...

08.09.22

What Vin Scully Taught Me About Life (and Law)

Manatt Entertainment Partner Nathaniel Bach wrote a column for the Daily Journal about lessons he learned from Vin Scully’s storytelling ...

09.19.22

Move Fast and Make (Break?) Things: IP-Related NFT Litigation Trends

Although NFTs (non-fungible tokens) have been around since approximately 2014, they exploded into the mainstream in early 2021, fetching eye-popping ...
05.19.22

Copyright Litigation and Recent Developments: Spring 2022

In our May 2022 copyright update, Manatt’s attorneys summarize recent decisions of interest from the U.S. courts and Copyright Office, and ...

05.06.22

Episode 18: Right of Publicity in the Digital Age: What Brands Should ...

While brands continue to innovate their advertising and marketing strategies in the ever-evolving digital age, right of publicity issues ...

Nathaniel L. Bach

Partner

Manatt Entertainment

Contact

Services

Industries

Contact

Services

Industries

Nat in the News

Nat's Articles

Nat's Newsletters

Nat's Events and Webinars