Alexander (Alex) Kaplan is a partner at Oppenheim + Zebrak, LLP. Based in New York City, Alex is deeply experienced in copyright, trademark, advertising, right of publicity, and trade secrets law. A seasoned courtroom lawyer, Alex has two decades of experience litigating high-stakes cases in all of these disciplines, and in other complex commercial disputes. Outside of the courtroom, Alex provides daily counsel to his clients on legal questions that affect key business decisions. Clients turn to Alex for his unique blend of litigation skills and comprehensive knowledge of IP law, which allows him to effectively and efficiently bring value to his clients as the first and only call they need to make on rights-related legal and business issues.
In copyright and media-related matters, Alex has represented many music, sports, and entertainment clients in a wide variety of matters touching on all forms of copyrightable subject matter. He also represents media and publishing companies, both pursuing web-based piracy claims and defending against allegations of infringement. Alex has won multiple high-profile cases on summary judgment, often prevailing on the factually intensive issue of lack of substantial similarity. On behalf of Madonna, Warner/Chappell and Warner Music, he convinced the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to reject the Sixth Circuit’s controversial Bridgeport decision governing liability for music sampling. Alex has also successfully represented the following high-profile clients in copyright matters: SONY Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Lady Gaga, U2, the NFL, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Elsevier and Lexis/Nexis. Alex speaks and publishes frequently on noteworthy issues in copyright law and was featured in a Planet Money podcast discussing the knotty issue of fair use.
In trademark, false advertising, and right of publicity matters, Alex has represented clients in various industries, including consumer products, fashion, food & beverage, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare before the federal courts, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), and the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of the Better Business Bureau. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in numerous Lanham Act matters in courts across the country, including in multiple preliminary injunction hearings and jury trials. Beyond litigation, Alex frequently counsels clients concerning advertising and marketing claim substantiation and review, and he regularly appears before NAD. Alex is a frequent speaker at advertising law conferences and courses. Alex’s trademark, advertising, and publicity rights clients have included Church & Dwight, S.C. Johnson & Son, Colgate Palmolive, the NFL, Major League Baseball, Diageo, Hanesbrands, Ascena Retail Group, Henry Schein, and Fresenius Kabi.
Alex also litigates trade secret misappropriation and restrictive covenant cases and has served as an adjunct professor of law at Brooklyn Law School teaching trade secrets law and supervising the student-run Brooklyn Law School Trade Secrets Institute. Beyond intellectual property matters, Alex has represented clients in many commercial litigation matters, covering a range of industries, including professional sports, software, information technology, cellular communications, healthcare, and finance.
Alex spent the first 20 years of his career at Proskauer Rose, where he was a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department. He has been recognized by international legal rankings agency The Legal 500 United States for Copyright (2016-2019), Marketing & Advertising (2017-2019), Media & Entertainment (2018-2019), Trademarks: Litigation (2019), and Media, Technology, and Telecoms: Media & Entertainment Litigation (2019). Alex also received the 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award from Brooklyn Law School’s Intellectual Property Law Association and was named an Acritas Star Lawyer in 2020. Alex lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and two children.