Steve Charles Vondran

Our law firm is a leader in intellectual property and piracy law. We have handled more software audits and torrent defense lawsuits than most other firms combined. We have a niche speciality practice in copyright infringement law and handle the following types of cases:

1. Software Audits and Licensing Disputes (Business Software Alliance, BSA, SIIA, Vero, Siemens, Solidworks, Autodesk, Adobe and Microsoft)

2. Torrent Defense Cases (ex. Malibu Media pornography, Flava Works and Strike 3 Holdings, LLC BitTorrent litigation cases in California Federal Court in the Southern, Central, Eastern and Northern District)

3. TV Signal Piracy cases (boxing match PPV infringement). Joe Hand Promotions, G&G Closed Circuit Events, Zuffa and J&J Sports Productions

4. Direct TV cases / Dish-Nagrstar piracy and IPTV defense (streaming media piracy)

5. Copyright infringement litigation (jewelry, photo infringement, DMCA anti-circumvention of software access control, p2p file-sharing defense, drone video footage)

6. Trademark infringement & registration (including domain name UDRP disputes with NAF, WIPO), IPR filings, Trademark Clearinghouse, and Cancellation and Opposition Proceedings.

7. California Right of Publicity Law / social media - celebrity endorsement agreements

8. UDRP domain name dispute arbitrations (WIPO, NAF, CIIRD)

9. New for 2022 - Metaverse, NFT, and Cryptocurrency arbitration and IP disputes.

We offer low flat rate legal fees in most non-litigation cases (ex. responding to ISP subpoena, or cease and desist or demand letters). We have appeared in over 300 state and federal litigation court cases since 2004.

Whittier Law School

J.D. (2000) | Law

CALI award for Excellence in the Intellectual Property Law; CALI award for Excellence in Legal Study; American Jurisprudence Award in Torts

California State University - Fullerton

B.S. (1994) | Kinisiology

Attorney

Vondran Legal

Current

2004-Current

President and Founder

Copyright Policy Institute

2018 - Current

Legislative Analyst

Identity Theft Resource Center

2003 - 2004

Information Privacy Consultant

Experian Information Solutions

2001 - 2002

Contract Administration

Epoch Internet

1999 - 2000

Product Manager

Timeledger.com / Equative

1998 - 2000

Legal Assistant

Law Office of Dracup & Patterson

1997 - 1998

Professional Baseball Player

Cincinnati Reds

1989 - 1991

Don't forget IP protection for your products and packaging

The Licensing Journal

2023

Understanding The Importance Of Trade Dress Protection For Your Distinct And Non-Functional Product Designs And Packaging

InventRight

2023

Inside tips of handling GoDaddy and Domains by Proxy subpoenas

Steve Vondran, Esq.

2020

The MOST IMPORTANT thing to know if you receive a subpoena from your ISP

Steve Vondran, Esq.

2020

Copyright "Fair use

Steve Vondran, Esq.

2019

• Being Pursued by Backgrid USA for Photo Infringement?
• ASCAP Calls Out Alleged Infringers Publicly Citing Lawsuits Filed
• Name, Image and Likeness ("NIL"), Right of Publicity ("ROP") and Social Media Influencer Agreements. Sports representation for amateur, college, Olympic, Paralympic, and professional athletes in all sports, including cheerleaders and coaches.
• Can You Register and Sell Trademarks Without Business Goodwill Attached? Short Answer, Probably Not.

Steve & Lisa Podcast, Apple Podcasts

2024

What every Doctor needs to know about Photo Infringement, MedicalJustice.com Medical Liability, Internet Seminar

2021

IP law for content creators, Queens Podcast Lab

2021

How to obtain a trademark WITHOUT a lawyer, InventRight Seminar

2020

How to obtain a trademark WITHOUT hiring a law firm!, InventRight Training Seminar, California

2020

Superb Rating

Avvo

2024

Client's Choice Award

Avvo

2023

2012, 2015-2023

Top 25 Copyright Infringement Law Firm in United States

Lex Machina

2021

Our firm has appeared in over 200 federal court cases (mainly dealing with copyright infringement defense and Strike 3 Holdings, LLC torrent lawsuit litigation. We are now moving close to top 20 in the United States and will update this when that happens, as it will. This is judged per cases handled.

#1 Copyright Infringement DefenseLaw Firm in U.S.

Unicourt

2020

Unicourt identified Vondran Legal® as the top copyright infringement defense law firm in 2020. We have handled many cases including photo, software, movie, video and jewelry infringement. This came as quite an honor.

Copyright Society of the USA

Member

Current

San Francisco Intellectual Property Law Association

Member

Current

American Intellectual Property Law Association

Member

Current

International Trademark Association

Member

Current

American Bar Association

Member

Current

Activities: Sports & Entertainment Forum, Intellectual Property Law Section

Arizona

State Bar of Arizona

Since 2007

California

State Bar of California

ID Number: 232337

Since 2004

• Free Consultation
  On Select cases and subject to availablity. Call us at (877) 276-5084 for more information.
• Contingent Fees
  We may agree to take all or part of your case on a contingency fee basis.
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  We offer low flat rate legal fees for most non-litigation cases. We offer tenacious legal representation and great customer support and responsiveness.

• Software Audits (BSA, Microsoft, Solidworks, Adobe, Oracle, IBM, Autodesk)
• Torrent Defense (Strike 3 Holdings, Flava Works)
• Copyright Infringement (federal court lawsuits)
• Fair Use Defense & Opinion Letters
• UDRP Domain Name Arbitration (WIPO, NAF, CIIDRC)

Q. I have a question regarding cybersquatting/domain name sales

February 7, 2023

A: The legality of selling domain names that are the trademarks of other companies is a complex issue and one that has been the subject of much legal debate. In order to understand the law on this matter, it is necessary to look at both trademark law and domain name law.

Trademark law protects the names, logos, and other identifying marks of a company or individual. This protection prevents others from using their mark to promote their own businesses or products. When a company or individual registers a trademark, they gain exclusive rights to the use of that mark. This means that they can prevent others from using their mark and can even seek damages if someone uses it without their permission.

When it comes to domain names, the law is slightly different. The domain name system (DNS) is a hierarchical structure that allows computers to locate each other on the internet (like an address). It also assigns domain names to particular websites and computers. Anyone can register a domain. name, but it is often not wise (and can be seen as cybersquatting) to register domains that contain the trademark of another company.

The legal question of whether it is legal to sell domain names that are the trademarks of other companies depends on the particular circumstances. Generally, it is not illegal to sell domain names that are the trademarks of other companies, as long as you do not infringe upon the trademark rights of the other company. However, if the domain name is confusingly similar to the trademark of the other company, or if you are using the trademark in bad faith, then you may face legal action for trademark infringement or possibly cybersquatting under the ACPA.

This can also lead to a potential UDRP action (ex. WIPO or NAF) where the owner can lose their domain name of the complainant can prove the three elements in a UDRP action:

1. Domain is confusingly similar to their trademark

2. No legitimate use

3. Registered and used domain in bad faith.

So, in these types of cases, you really need to get a legal opinion from a Trademark lawyer. All the best, see you at the top! Attorney Steve®

This is general legal information only and not legal advice. ... Read More

Q. Is it illegal for someone to take photos off of my Facebook account of my child to post on there account

January 25, 2023

A: If you took the image, it is your image (i.e., you own the copyright - even if you never registered it). Being that the use by the imposter would not appear to be commercial in nature, suing for copyright infringement may not be the most exciting option (especially since you cannot get attorney fees or "statutory damages" if the image is not registered. However, since you own the copyright, you could send Facebook a DMCA takedown (making sure to follow all the applicable rules to do that), and have them take down the photo since: 1. it appears to infringe your copyright and 2. It violates their terms of service (at least, that is what I would argue along the lines of posing as an imposter and possibly child endangerment). This is general legal information only and not legal advice. See you at the top! Attorney Steve® ... Read More

Q. I'm starting a video podcast. Can I use still images from various tv and movies?

January 16, 2023

A: Generally speaking, when it comes to using copyrighted images in a video podcast, it’s important to understand the laws surrounding copyright and fair use. In general, it is illegal to use copyrighted images without permission. However, there are certain exceptions to this rule, and one of them is fair use.

Fair use is a legal concept that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission or payment. In order to qualify as fair use, the use of the copyrighted material must meet certain criteria. The criteria are as follows:

1. The purpose and character of the use: Is the use commercial in nature, or is it mainly for nonprofit educational purposes?

2. The nature of the copyrighted work: Is the copyrighted work factual or creative?

3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used: Are you using the entire work, or just a small portion of it?

4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for the copyrighted work: Is the use likely to have an effect on the market for the copyrighted work?

If your use of a copyrighted image in a podcast, on balance, meets these four criteria, then it may qualify as fair use. Using an image for a very short duration (what I call the "minimum necessary" to make your point) then that may qualify as a fair use, but realize, some larger companies are very protective of their IP, so while its best to get permission, if you are within the 4 factors on balance (no one factor is definitive) and commenting on the photo, then you might be good.

This is not legal advice or a substitute for legal advice. All the best, see you at the top! Attorney Steve® ... Read More