About Our Intellectual Property Law Practice:
Alderman IP was founded in 1994 by Elliott Alderman with the goal of providing high-end and personalized counsel for the development, protection and monetization of our clients’ intellectual property. We work at the forefront of intellectual property law, often dealing with complex and nuanced IP, technology and corporate issues.
As a former general counsel and policy lawyer with four decades of legal experience, Elliott provides highly personalized services for all of his clients. To ensure quality representation and an optimal client experience, the firm is selective when taking on matters, often obtaining clients through direct referral. Eschewing the high-volume approach used by many law firms, we believe that quality representation stems from close client attention and continuous support.
The Diversity of Our Clients and Work
The firm works with a diverse range of clients, from entrepreneurs and funded startups to larger, established companies in software, internet, media / entertainment, sports, and technology.
We often work at the cross-section of different IP rights and industries, applying our business and technology acumen to minimize our clients’ legal exposure. We’ve worked as intellectual property counsel for an NBA championship team, assisting with legal issues in the technical development of their robust mobile application. We’ve also worked with a major technology company on an RSS-based search engine, advising them on both technology and copyright issues.
Alderman IP also works with creatives, entertainment, and media companies on traditional and new media issues, often involving mobile apps, web, and new distribution platforms — such as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and the metaverse. In the past, we’ve worked with a national opera company on copyright fair use matters, documentary filmmakers, nationally known authors, and internationally known musical composers. We’ve also advised several artists and collectibles companies on monetizing their intellectual property through NFTs.
Representative Clients and Matters
Advised national nonprofit on intellectual property policy for funding university technology transfers to advance the client’s mission.
Represented heirs of well-known Russian composer on music rights copyright issue; drafted Washing Post op-ed on matter.
Advised national opera company on fair use music matter.
Outside intellectual property and technology counsel for three-time NBA champion. Led multi-year project incorporating vendors into their functionally robust mobile application.
Advised technology company creating an RSS-based search engine, formulating a copyright-compliant functional model.
Provide trademark advice and portfolio management to several national and international nonprofits.
Assist several artists and collectibles companies with monetizing their intellectual property, often though non fungible tokens (NFTs).
Assisted with the rights clearance and contractual issues for several documentary films.
Negotiated publishing agreements for several nationally known authors.
Negotiated recording and other agreement for several nationally known performers.
Our Key Legal Services
Among the key legal services we provide:
- Intellectual Property Audits. Performing intellectual property and technology audits to ensure that clients’ branding, trademarks, copyrights, and content are properly protected, and to obtain that protection where gaps currently exist;
- Rights Clearance. Protecting client materials and ensuring that third-party clearances and licenses are in place;
- Advisory Work on Corporate IP Portfolios & Assets. Advising on intellectual property and entertainment issues for multimedia, Internet and other online environments, particularly evaluating and structuring business models to effectively monetize content, as well as consulting on client issues involving obtaining and enforcing intellectual property rights.
- Drafting/Negotiation of Complex Licenses & Agreements. Negotiating contracts, licenses, and other documents, particularly involving entertainment, software licensing, Internet, and technology transfer issues.
- Miscellaneous IP Agreements. Drafting and negotiating nondisclosure, content licensing, independent contractor, and related agreements.
Our advisory work also extends to national and internationally-known nonprofits – in the past, we’ve provided trademark portfolio management to several nonprofits and other organizations. Additionally, with our significant intellectual property, government, and public policy experience, we offer lobbying and policy consulting support to institutions and industry groups.
Regardless of the legal case or transactional matter, Alderman IP’s deep and extensive network of relationships allows us to call upon highly experienced specialist attorneys to provide additional assistance to our clients whenever necessary.
To learn more about how we can help your business, please contact us at +1-202-596-5682.
Our Legal Team:
Elliott Alderman is the founder and principal of Alderman IP, located in Washington, D.C. and serving clients in the United States and across the globe. Elliott’s practice focuses exclusively on intellectual property, entertainment, Internet, content, and media law issues, including e-commerce, electronic publishing, Internet of Things and other on-line and mobile environments.
For forty years, he has protected and enforced the intellectual property rights of businesses, creators and users. In private practice, Elliott has litigated copyright, trademark, and related intellectual property disputes, provided registration and enforcement advice, prepared copyright, and trademark applications, negotiated contracts involving entertainment, software licensing, the creation of websites and mobile applications, and technology issue; and performed intellectual property audits. Representative clients include several professional sports teams and large technology companies.
As the general counsel of Tax Analysts, a 200-person new media tax publishing company, he negotiated, drafted, and reviewed agreements related to content licensing, e-commerce, technology, and corporate legal issues; administered the company’s intellectual property portfolio; and supervised outside counsel in varied litigation and transactional matters.
Elliott also worked in the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Copyright Office, where he drafted policy decisions, rulemaking documents and legal memoranda on domestic and international copyright issues for the government and Congress, and represented the Office in litigation.
His experience also includes working as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the U.S. Attorney, District of Columbia, Civil Division and serving as a Law Clerk to the Associate Chief Administrative Law Judge at the U.S. Department of Labor.
Bar Admissions:
- District of Columbia, 1983
- Virginia, 2004
Education:
- J.D, American University, Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C., 1982
Honors: Dean’s Fellow, Research–Copyright; Summer Research Assistant - B.A, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1978
Honors: William V. Frankel Scholar; Root-Tilden Nominee to New York University Law School; Major: English
Professional Associations & Memberships:
- Member, District of Columbia Bar
- Third term member, DC Bar Practice Management Advisory Service Committee
- Former: District of Columbia Bar, Sections of Intellectual Property and Law Practice Management
- District of Columbia Member, Steering Committee, Law Practice Management Section
- D.C. Computer Law Forum Member
- Copyright Society of USA Member, Steering Committee, Washington Chapter
- National Computer Law Center (online service), Copyright Forum Leader
- District of Columbia Bar, Member, Steering Committee, Arts, Entertainment and Sport Law Section
- District of Columbia Bar, Chair, Music Section, Arts, Entertainment and Sport Law Section
Publications & Published Works:
U.S. Supreme Court Warhol Foundation Decision on Copyright Fair Use: Transformation Alone is not Fair Use of a Copyrighted Work, 5 Maryland Bar Journal 50 (December 1, 2023)
Copyright Questions, Washington Post, Outlook Section p. C6 (June 7, 1998) (GATT restoration and copyright term extension)
The Return of the Native Product: Supreme Court Will Analyze Reach of Copyright Owner’s Importation Right, Legal Times Intellectual Property Supplement (March 23, 1998)
Copyright Issues: Be Careful With Older Artwork, DC Bar Arts, Entertainment and Sports Law Newsletter (Spring 1995)
Resale Royalties in the United States for Fine Visual Artists: An Alien Concept, 40 Journal of the Copyright Society 265 (1993) (cited in Nimmer copyright treatise) (available on WESTLAW)
Droit De Suite: The Artist’s Resale Royalty, A Report of the Register of Copyrights (December 1992) (recipient of Special Achievement Award)
Copyright Liability of States and the Eleventh Amendment, A Report of the Register of Copyrights (June 1998) (legislation based on this report holding states liable for monetary damages in copyright infringement suits was subsequently signed into law by then-President Bush)
Honors & Awards:
International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers (Entertainment Law), 2013-2016
Martindale-Hubbell, Platinum Client Champion, 2020-
Martindale-Hubbell, AV Preeminent, 2020-
Super Lawyers, 2023-
Ruy Garcia-Zamor received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law and his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia. He is a member of the Maryland State Bar and the Pennsylvania State Bar. Mr. Garcia-Zamor is admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal and Third Circuits. He has more than two decades of experience helping clients develop and enforce their intellectual property portfolios.
Mr. Garcia-Zamor is a specialist in mechanical and electromechanical technologies including automated packaging and material handling equipment, consumer electronics such as storage devices, printers, toner devices, bottles and other food containers, food processing equipment, jewelry pieces and manufacturing, color photocopiers, anti-theft devices, shock absorbing materials, powered wheelchairs, oil extraction equipment, medical devices and medical device sterilizers, toys, including remote control vehicles and seasonal novelty items, and automotive components, such as brake systems, batteries, vehicle air conditioning, air bag design, two/four wheel drive shift mechanisms, combustion engine design, and anti-theft systems.
Mr. Garcia-Zamor has prepared patent applications for software and business methods implemented over computer networks in the areas of casino operations, management of medical accounting including patient accounts, education, and more.
As part of his practice, Mr. Garcia-Zamor regularly advises clients on infringement matters and prepares thorough patent opinions in connection with both routine product clearance studies and infringement lawsuits. He advises clients of infringement risks for products currently in development, conducts detailed studies of the public record and prior art literature, and evaluates competitors’ patents to identify defects.
Mr. Garcia-Zamor also counsels clients on trademark, cybersquatting, and unfair competition issues. In addition, he has advised clients on various issues relating to doing business on the internet, including domain name registration strategy for new products and services, policing brand abuse and domain name registration scams, online copyright infringement, and website linking. Mr. Garcia-Zamor has also negotiated and drafted trademark licenses, domain name transfer agreements, and other internet-related documents.
Mr. Garcia-Zamor regularly advises clients on business law matters, including business entity formation and various contractual matters. He regularly prepares manufacturing agreements, teaming agreements, sale of business agreements, distribution contracts, SBIR agreements, software development agreements, privacy policies, terms of use agreements, operating agreements, and the like.
Mr. Garcia-Zamor is active in the US District Court for the District for Maryland. He has represented clients in patent infringement litigation before the court and taken on pro bono clients on behalf of the court. Mr. Garcia-Zamor represents clients in business disputes. He has also litigated trademark and unfair competition issues in the federal courts. He has also handled domain name disputes.
Mr. Garcia-Zamor was Chairman of the Patent and Trademark Office Coordination Committee of the Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association from 1999 to 2001. He was an adjunct professor at Temple University, where he taught in the area of law, technology, and e-commerce.
Mr. Garcia-Zamor is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA). He is also a member of the MSBA’s Entertainment & Sports Law section, Business Law section, Litigation section, and its Intellectual Property section.
Mr. Garcia-Zamor is a member of, and active in, Networking Maryland, the Howard County chapter of LeTip, and participates in the Howard County Chamber of Commerce which represents businesses in Howard County, Maryland on issues that affect budget and taxes, economic development and positive business climate (regulatory climate, redevelopment, etc.), education and workforce development, environmental issues and legislation, health care and transportation. Mr. Garcia-Zamor was the president of Networking Maryland from 2017-2019, past president from 2019-2021, and is currently serving as vice-president of the chapter.
Mr. Garcia-Zamor is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business program in the Baltimore region. He is active in the GS10K alumni network.
Mr. Garcia-Zamor has been an active member of the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, which helps businesses bridge differences in legal, regulatory, and economic systems, as well as language and culture. The United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce is the leading binational business organization working to build mutually beneficial trade and investment relationships in the Americas. The organization’s mission is to promote business between the United States and Mexico.
Mr. Garcia-Zamor is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. At various times, Mr. Garcia-Zamor has been a member of the American Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society.
Prior to starting Garcia-Zamor Intellectual Property Law, LLC, Mr. Garcia-Zamor spent more than nine years representing numerous clients, including electronics manufacturer Samsung. Mr. Garcia-Zamor was driven to start Garcia-Zamor IP Law by his vision of a firm where clients are treated as partners rather than accounts, where attorneys are treated as team members rather than employees, and where teamwork and a singular dedication to clients yield superior results.
Mr. Garcia-Zamor is a supporter of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Survivors Benefit Fund (SBA) to support the families of agents and task force officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Ruy has been happily married for over 26 years and loves spending time with his wife, three children, Rosie, the laziest Golden Retriever ever, and Holly, a Golden Retriever puppy whose main job is chasing Rosie.
Contact us for an experienced District of Columbia technology and Internet attorney.
To schedule a consultation, contact us online, or call us at +1-202-596-5682.
