Overview
(December 5, 2016, Washington, DC) — Law360 has named Michael Allan a 2016 MVP in Intellectual Property. The Law360 MVP series profiles lawyers who “have distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals” over the past year. The legal publication received more than 1,000 nominations for the 2016 class and selected MVPs in 38 practice areas. Mr. Allan was one of only five lawyers selected in the Intellectual Property category.
In a profile published December 2, the editors highlight Mr. Allan’s work for music publisher BMG Rights Management in a “cutting-edge” lawsuit aimed at holding Cox Communications accountable for repeated music piracy by its broadband subscribers. The article states the case is significant in copyright circles because of its potential impact on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s so-called safe harbor, which immunizes Internet service providers like Cox from potentially billions in copyright liability stemming from activity by their subscribers.
In November 2015, a federal district judge sided with BMG, saying there was no question that the Internet service provider had failed to implement the kind of repeat-infringer policy required to maintain safe harbor protection.
A month later, jurors found Cox liable for secondary infringement and awarded BMG $25 million in damages.
The Law360 editors write, “Coming away from a case like that with a win — and a precedent-setting one at that — is no small accomplishment.”
“This case was hard fought from the very beginning,” Mr. Allan tells Law360. “We had a great team and are pleased with the result.”
The full profile can be read at Law360 (subscription required).
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