Allen Grodsky

ATTORNEYS

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    310.315.3009 allen@thegolawfirm.comvCard
    • Hobbies: Allen practices Iyengar yoga, plays guitar, sings in a choir, sees an average of 75 movies a year (all in the theater, no Netflix), and still reads Avenger and X Men comic books.
    • Top 5 Favorite TV Series: Game of Thrones, Twin Peaks, Friday Night Lights, Breaking Bad, and Six Feet Under.
    • Top 5 Authors: William Faulkner, Thomas Hardy, Mihkail Bulgakov, Frank Herbert, and Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Allen Grodsky

With three decades of experience, Allen Grodsky is a seasoned attorney focused on litigation in the fields of business, entertainment, and intellectual property. He has represented all kinds of talent in the entertainment industry, including actors, singers, composers, writers, directors, and producers, as well as companies in varied industries, including fashion, toy, cosmetics, comic book, and health care. Allen’s cases cover a broad spectrum of issues including copyright and trademark infringement, right of publicity, breach of contract, fraud, unfair competition, false advertising, defamation, wrongful termination, employment discrimination, bad faith, violation of the Talent Agencies Act, and misappropriation of trade secrets.

Allen has shared his extensive knowledge of intellectual property and entertainment litigation issues through numerous articles, interviews and speaking engagements. His insights have been published in the Los Angeles Times, Law360, and California Lawyer. Allen has spoken at numerous seminars for organizations including the Beverly Hills Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Media District Bar Association, and the Practicing Law Institute. He served for four years as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.

Allen received his J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law in 1983. He clerked for the Honorable Thomas G. Gee of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is married to a psychotherapist, has a son who is a cellist and composer, and has a number of cats who basically lie around all day and do nothing.

EDUCATION

  • University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, J.D., 1983
  • University of California at Santa Barbara, B.A. in Russian Language and Literature, 1980

HONORS AND AWARDS

  • Martindale–Hubbell AV Preeminent Rated

REPRESENTATIVE WORK

Intellectual Property Litigation

  • Won unanimous defense jury verdict for tattoo artist who was sued for copyright infringement by a photographer whose photograph was used as a reference in the making of the tattoo.  The jury deliberated for less than three hours before rejecting all of photographer’s claims in a decision hailed by the tattoo industry.
  • Obtained summary judgment in a multimillion copyright infringement case on behalf of the owner of the copyright to Julius the Monkey.
  • Represented the owner of the Russian Arm™ remote-operated camera crane (used in car commercials and high speed chase scenes in action movies) and obtained an arbitration award on a trademark infringement claim, including, injunctive relief, damages, and attorney’s fees.
  • Acquired partial summary judgment for liability on a trade dress infringement claim involving plush toys, leading to settlement of the case.

Entertainment Litigation

  • Representing iconic comic book writer and artist, won appeal of denial of anti-SLAPP motion, resulting in dismissal of defamation and other tort claims for which Plaintiff sought over $25,000,000. L'Heureux v. Miller, No. B322839, 2023 WL 4014484 (Cal. Ct. App. June 15, 2023).
  • Secured complete defense award and was awarded attorney’s fees in arbitration over profits to the Twilight franchise.
  • Obtained defense judgment for band against manager in case that was affirmed in a published Court of Appeal opinion that provided a landmark interpretation of the Talent Agencies Act.    
  • Attained defense award in arbitration of defamation claim brought by an actress formerly appearing on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air television series who accused an actor on the show of making false statements about why she was fired.
  • Obtained defense award in arbitration by a manager against his former musician client for a percentage of a major record deal the musician obtained.
  • Acquired permanent injunction in favor of music industry producer against defendant who was falsely impersonating him, and in so doing, was defrauding musicians who were paying him to “produce” their music.

Employment Law

  • Won defense award in arbitration of retaliation and religious discrimination claims brought by headmaster of high profile celebrity-owned private school who claimed to have been fired for religious reasons.

Published Cases

  • Park v. Deftones, 71 Cal. App. 4th 1465 (1999)

Publications