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.
- California St Univ Fullerton
- Undergraduate Degree
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- Whittier Coll School of Law
- Law Degree
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- The Law Offices of Steven C. Vondan, P.C
- Current
- Business & Real Esate & IP & Entertainment Law.
- President and Founder
- Copyright Policy Institute
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- Oversee a Washington D.C. based copyright policy and advocacy non-profit organization and think tank. Focused on fair copyright policy and fair use rights.
- Inside tips of handling GoDaddy and Domains by Proxy subpoenas
- Steve Vondran, Esq.
- The MOST IMPORTANT thing to know if you receive a subpoena from your ISP
- Steve Vondran, Esq.
- Understanding Vero software "phone-home" IP protection technology
- Steve Vondran, Esq.
- Copyright "Fair use
- Steve Vondran, Esq.
- Copyright "Fair use" tips for video producers
- Steve Vondran, Esq.
- What every Doctor needs to know about Photo Infringement, Medical Liability, Internet Seminar
- MedicalJustice.com
- One hour podcast directed toward 50,000 medical professionals designed to highlight the key risk areas of photo infringement and provide practical tips to avoid costly infringement matters. Discussed Higbee & Associates and Pic Rights demand process, infringement rights and remedies, and other key aspects of responding to disputes over websites used on a medical professionals social media and corporate websites.
- How to obtain a trademark WITHOUT hiring a law firm!, InventRight Training Seminar, California
- InventRight
- This was a free webinar presentation that featured Steve Vondran, Esq. ("Attorney Steve®"" as guest speaker teaching patent licensing candidates how they can seek federal trademark protection on the USPTO principal register without having to pay for costly attorney fees.
- Top 25 Copyright Infringement Law Firm in United States
- Lex Machina
- 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.
- Recognized as #1 Copyright Infringement defense law firm in U.S.
- Unicourt
- 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.
- CALI award for excellence in the study of Intellectual property law
- CALI
- Top Grade Entertainment Law
- CALI award for Excellence in Legal Study
- American Jurisprudence Award in Torts
- Whittier Coll School of Law
- California State Bar  # 232337
- Member
- - Current
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- Arizona State Bar
- Executive Counsel for Intellectual Property Committee
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- Activities: Discuss and analyzed issues such as trademark, parody, copyright, and patent trolling.
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- Arizona
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- California
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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.
- Intellectual Property
- Communications & Internet Law
- Internet Law, Media & Advertising, Telecommunications Law
- Entertainment & Sports Law
- Trademarks
- Trademark Litigation, Trademark Registration
- 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)
- English
- Q. Is it illegal for someone to take photos off of my Facebook account of my child to post on there account
- 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®
- Q. I'm starting a video podcast. Can I use still images from various tv and movies?
- 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®
- Q. Is it legally permissible to use text from a public domain book for commercial purposes?
- A: In the United States, copyright law provides authors and other creators of original works with exclusive rights to their creations. Copyright protection prevents others from reproducing, distributing, or displaying copyrighted works without the permission of the copyright holder. This is an important protection for authors, as it ensures that their work is respected and their intellectual property remains secure. However, copyright law does not always protect works that have fallen into the public domain. Public domain works are those that are no longer under copyright protection, either because their copyright has expired or the holder of the copyright has chosen to make the work available to the public. These works can be used freely by anyone, without fear of violating copyright law. One use of public domain works is in the commercial sphere. Many companies and businesses make use of public domain works to produce products and services. For example, a company may use a public domain work to create a book, a movie, or another type of product. The company can then charge money for the product, thus profiting from the use of the public domain work. So, is it legal to use text from a public domain book for commercial purposes? The answer is yes. Under United States copyright law, it is legal to use public domain works for commercial purposes. This includes using text from a public domain book for commercial purposes, such as creating a book, movie, or other product. The company or business that uses the public domain work should, however, consider properly attributing the work to its original author. It is important to note that when using public domain works for commercial purposes, the user must ensure that the product or service does not infringe upon the rights of the original author. For example, if a company uses a public domain work to create a book, the company must ensure that the final product does not contain any copyrighted materials from the original work. If the company fails to do so, then the company can be held liable for copyright infringement. This is general information only and not legal advice. See you at the top! Attorney Steve®