Edwin deals with transactional, contested and rights clearance issues on behalf of motion picture companies and other entertainment and media clients. Producers of motion pictures and television programs need to secure rights in underlying properties requiring a search of the registration and recorded document records at the Copyright Office, a review of production file documents and an analysis in light of copyright law both in the U.S. and in other countries of the world. As such, Edwin is familiar with all aspects of the Copyright Act of 1976, its predecessor the Copyright Act of 1909 and all earlier U.S. Copyright Acts. He is also familiar with the Copyright Acts of foreign countries.
Edwin has also studied and written numerous opinion letters on the various international copyright treaties and how they interact with the various domestic copyright laws. These treaties include, among others, the Berne Convention of 1886 (and its various revisions including the Paris Act of 1971), the Universal Copyright Convention of 1952 (and as revised at Paris in 1971) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which includes the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Law (TRIPs). He has also reviewed the various bilateral copyright relations between the U.S. and many other foreign countries especially as they may supplement, expand on or otherwise modify the obligations of the various countries under the multilateral copyright treaties.
In addition to work with motion picture and television producers, Edwin represents clients from all fields of the intellectual property industry such as advertising, interactive software, online services, live theatrical productions, music publishing, record labels, architecture, photography, sculptural works, toys, apparel, textiles, carpets, industrial tools and products, automotive products and virtually any other product or service whose value substantially depends on copyright or trademark protection.
Edwin advises principally on transactional issues surrounding copyrights, trademarks and related matters encompassing the right of publicity, right of privacy, defamation and domain name registration. He also negotiates and drafts agreements on behalf of media and entertainment clients, and he often assists in preparing, prosecuting and securing copyright registrations.
Edwin represents and assists companies and individuals in securing, perfecting and marketing their copyright, trademarks and service marks both domestically and worldwide for use in all media and on all goods and services—beginning with a clearance search for availability of a trademark through issuance of a registration certificate. By working with a skilled staff of paralegals, he makes certain that trademark applications are properly researched, prepared and filed so that prosecution will flow as seamlessly and as efficiently as possible through the administrative process of review and approval before the USPTO. Where the trademark examiner declines to register or the application is opposed by someone with a contrary interest, Edwin has represented his clients before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the administrative tribunal within the USPTO which decides issues relating to trademark registrability.
Edwin also handles contested matters and often assists as co-counsel in complex intellectual property cases before the federal district and appellate courts, developing legal theories on copyright, trademark and related issues, preparing for oral argument and drafting briefs and other court papers. He has also appeared as an expert witness on both copyright matters and technical film issues based on his experience as both a legal and film professional.
Edwin is especially proud of his contribution to the panel of private attorneys that assisted the Register of Copyrights in preparing and reviewing the Compendium of Copyright Office Practices, III Edition that the Copyright Office released for comment on August 2014.
Edwin studied film at USC and subsequently served as a Peace Corps volunteer on the island of Yap, Micronesia, and was a professional film editor. He currently sits on the Advisory Counsel for the Film School at Montana State University in Bozeman.
