Kent R. Raygor

Kent Raygor, a partner in the Century City office, practices in the Business Trial and the Entertainment, Media and Technology groups.

Areas of Practice

Complex business litigation and arbitration:  Handles complex litigation, including class actions and multidistrict litigation, appearing before state and federal trial courts around the country, arbitration panels, the California Courts of Appeal, California Supreme Court, Multidistrict Litigation Panel, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and U.S. Supreme Court.

• Complex business litigation:  Handled numerous consumer class actions, including cases for Gillette, Pier 1, and MillerCoors; complex, high-tech patent litigation in the U.S. for Honeywell, Northrop Grumman, and others; cases involving significant constitutional issues arising under the First Amendment, the Reserved Powers Doctrine, the Contracts Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and Privacy provisions; MDL litigation (multidistrict litigation) defending clients against numerous copyright, unfair competition, and consumer class action lawsuits consolidated before a single court.
• Media law litigation and counseling: Emphasis on First Amendment, privacy, defamation, and right of publicity litigation; pre-publication clearance analyses for films, documentaries, screenplays, advertising, books, and news reports; complex matters for many Fortune 500 companies, including Fox, Disney, ABC, ESPN, Lions Gate, CNET, and Sony Pictures; numerous right of publicity and invasion of privacy cases defending clients against claims by celebrities, including Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dianne Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cameron Diaz, Audioslave, Weezer, Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington, Kate Hudson, and Sandra Bullock.
• Intellectual property litigation and counseling: Handled numerous trademark, copyright, trade dress, trade secret, false advertising, patent, computer, and Internet litigation and counseling matters for UGG, Eddie Bauer, MillerCoors, Sprint, MGA Entertainment, Digital Domain, CompUSA, TigerDirect, Hurley, Billabong, Samsung, and many others.

Honors

• Named a "Litigation Star" (Benchmark Litigation, 2009)
• Recognized by "Film, Music, Theater & Television - Advice to Corporates" (Legal 500, 2009)
• Recognized as one of the "Top 10 Entertainment IP Lawyers" in California (Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 2008)
• Named a Southern California Super Lawyer, Intellectual Property Litigation (Los Angeles Magazine, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
• Recognized for digital rights management and digital convergence expertise (Los Angeles Business Journal, "Who's Who In Law—Intellectual Property" issue, 2006)
• Judge Pro Tem, Los Angeles Superior Courts (1996-2002)
• Board of Directors, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA)

Education

• J.D., Minnesota Law School (1984, cum laude)
• B.A., Music Theory and Composition, University of Minnesota (1976, summa cum laude)

REPRESENTATIVE LITIGATION EXPERIENCE

Complex, Multidistrict Litigation

Gillette M3Power Advertising Class Actions
Defended Gillette in seven class actions before several U.S. District Courts.  The plaintiffs in each case asserted false advertising and unfair competition claims arising out of performance assertions made in advertising for Gillette's M3Power razor.  Those cases, along with 23 other similar class actions filed around the country, were eventually transferred to the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts for consolidated multidistrict litigation (MDL) proceedings.

In re The Gator Corporation Software Trademark & Copyright Litigation
Defended Gator (s.k.a. Claria) in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) action in Atlanta, Georgia involving permission-based pop-up Internet advertising delivered to subscribers targeted at interests exhibited through their web-surfing behaviors.  The plaintiffs (UPS, Wells Fargo, Hertz, L.L. Bean, TigerDirect, Intercontinental Hotels, Holiday Inn Hotels, Overstock.com, LendingTree, PriceGrabber, and others) argued that the delivery of pop-up ads to consumers' home computer monitors, even when those consumers agreed to receive such ads, infringed the plaintiffs' trademarks and copyrights and constituted unfair competition.  The Hertz Corporation v. The Gator Corporation, 250 F. Supp. 2d 421 (D.N.J. 2003); In re The Gator Corporation Software Trademark & Copyright Litigation, 259 F. Supp. 2d 1378 (J.P.M.L. 2003).

University of Southern California, University Gateway Development, Urban Partners v. Conquest Student Housing, Brian Chen, Alan Smolinisky, Casey Smith, Mariano Baez, Julio Orellano
Defended Conquest Student Housing and the other defendants in ten separate lawsuits with USC, developer Urban Partners, financier The Blackstone Group, and Los Angeles property owners the Shammas family.  USC and Urban sued Conquest, asserting through RICO, antitrust, tort and other claims that Conquest, by filing objections with the City and the courts to a planned development USC and Urban wanted to build across the street from the University, was unlawfully interfering with their business interests.  Conquest filed a motion to dismiss and an anti-SLAPP motion to strike directed at USC's and Urban's attempt to use their lawsuit to try to bar Conquest and the public from exercising their First Amendment right to petition the City, the courts, and the public about development projects they believe violate environmental, health and safety, zoning, or other public interest restrictions.

Starz Entertainment v. Buena Vista Television
Defended Buena Vista Television (Walt Disney Company) in a breach of contract action arising out of Buena Vista's electronic sell-through of Disney films through Apple's iTunes service.  Starz asserted such sales breached its decades-long license agreement with Buena Vista, which gave Starz the right to exhibit Disney films through Starz' subscription-based pay television services.  The case settled just weeks before trial was to commence.

Ultimate Fighting Championship v. Dream Stage Entertainment (dba Pride FC)
Represented Dream Stage, a Japanese company staging mixed martial arts bouts at arenas around the world.  Negotiated pay-per-view agreements, worked with the California Athletic Commission to get new mixed martial arts rules enacted in California, and represented Dream Stage in disputes with UFC.   

Fresno Madera Farm Credit v. Open Solutions
Represented FMFC, an agricultural credit association within the U.S. Farm Credit System regulated by the Farm Credit Administration, in breach of contract, fraud, breach of warranty, unjust enrichment, and other claims against a software systems developer that provides data processing services to financial service providers across the U.S.

Luvdarts v. Sprint Nextel, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile
Davis v. Sprint Nextel, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile, TracFone
Defending Sprint against copyright infringement and antitrust claims filed against the major wireless carriers by a content provider asserting that the wireless carrier industry, by providing the means for peer-to-peer delivery of MMS audiovisual content, is infringing MMS content providers' copyrights in that content, inducing others to infringe those rights, or conspiring to eliminate competition in the marketplace.

Boyle v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Digital Domain
Defended Twentieth Century Fox and Digital Domain, an Academy Award®-winning special effects house, in a patent infringement suit involving the special effects in the film, Titanic. 

Northrop Grumman Systems v. Siemens Audiologische Technik, Siemens Hearing Instruments, GN Resound, Oticon, Phonak, Sonic Innovations, Starkey Laboratories, Unitron Hearing, Widex Hearing Aid
Represented Northrop Grumman in a multi-party patent infringement action against the leading hearing aid manufacturers.

Tavarua Island Resort, Fiji
Represented Tavarua Island Resort, Fiji, the world's top surf destination, in dealings with the Fijian government concerning access to the famous "Cloudbreak" reef, and in a dispute with a shareholder for misappropriation of company assets, breach of a contract with the company, and breach of his duty of loyalty to the company.

Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Cameron Diaz, Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Kate Hudson v. Systemax, TigerDirect, CompUSA, Global Gov/Ed Solutions, Global Computer Supplies, Hewlett-Packard, Westinghouse Digital, Lenovo, Acer, Gateway, Logitech
Represented the defendants against right of publicity claims asserted by Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Cameron Diaz, Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, and Kate Hudson arising from the use of movie stills owned by various film studios, showing characters these actors had played in various films, to advertise the sale of home entertainment products by the defendants.

Litton Systems v. Honeywell
Defended Honeywell for over 11 years in this extremely complex patent dispute, resulting in a 3-month patent infringement jury trial—the largest patent case in U.S. history at the time.  The technology involved thin film physics, laser optics, and materials science.  Following the trial, the Court declared Litton's patent invalid and overturned a $1.2 billion jury verdict, thus enabling Honeywell to continue its inertial navigation systems business.  The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Following remand, the court granted summary judgment in Honeywell's favor on all remaining claims.  The Federal Circuit affirmed the judgment in Honeywell's favor that no patent infringement had occurred, effectively ending the patent case after 11 years.  Litton Systems, Inc. v. Honeywell, Inc., 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 729 (C.D. Cal. 1995); Litton Systems, Inc. v. Honeywell, Inc., 87 F.3d 1559 (Fed. Cir. 1996); Litton Systems, Inc. v. Honeywell, Inc., 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 30316 (Fed. Cir. 1996); Litton Systems, Inc. v. Honeywell, Inc., 118 F.3d 747 (Fed. Cir. 1997); Honeywell, Inc. v. Litton Systems, Inc., 520 U.S. 1111 (1997); Litton Systems, Inc. v. Honeywell, Inc., 140 F.3d 1449 (Fed. Cir. 1998); Litton Systems, Inc. v. Honeywell, Inc., 145 F.3d 1472 (Fed. Cir. 1998); Litton Systems, Inc. v. Honeywell, Inc., 238 F.3d 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2001).

Constitutional Law

Private Developer v. Community Redevelopment Agency
Represented a developer against a Southern California Redevelopment agency concerning a conflict between the Reserved Powers Doctrine and the Contracts Clause.  The tension between these two provisions created a problem when, after creating vested rights through an enforceable development agreement, a municipality enacted new ordinances rendering the approved development impermissible.

CLP Investment v. United States of America; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Represented a developer in an Equal Protection violation action against the U.S. and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concerning bad-faith and discriminatory conduct in connection with repeated and pretextual refusals to confirm that a residential project proposed by the developer complied with flowage easements and related rights in favor of the U.S. 

Brad Pitt v. Playgirl
Defended a magazine in a First Amendment and Right To Privacy case following its republication of nude photographs of Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow taken by a paparazzo while they were on vacation, which others had previously published in European tabloids.   

José Solano v. Playgirl
Defended a magazine in a First Amendment and Right To Privacy case.  A former Baywatch actor sued because the magazine had used his headshot in an article, which included no nudity, about ten male actors in Hollywood, and used his publicity still on the cover.  The actor argued that he suffered a privacy invasion because the content of the magazine placed him in a false light.  The Court granted summary judgment in favor of the magazine and ordered the actor to pay its attorneys' fees.  That decision, however, was then reversed and remanded for trial in Solano v. Playgirl, 292 F.3d 1078 (9th Cir. 2002), after which the case settled.

Jennifer Aniston v. Man's World Publications
Defended two magazines in a First Amendment, Right To Privacy, and right of publicity case filed by Jennifer Aniston over the publication of a topless photograph taken by a paparazzo, ending in a settlement on the first day of a jury trial.

People v. Martin Scorcese, Universal/MCA Pictures, Cineplex Odeon
Represented Martin Scorcese, Universal/MCA, and Cineplex Odeon in First Amendment cases, successfully blocking attempted censorship of the film The Last Temptation of Christ under blasphemy, picketing, obscenity, and other laws.  

Copyright  

Mondane v. Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Rainforest Films
Streat v. Rainforest Films, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Defended Screen Gems, Sony, and Rainforest in two copyright infringement and idea submission cases, one over the film, Stomp The Yard and the other over the film, The Gospel.  The plaintiffs dismissed their suits just before the courts ruled on the defendants' summary judgment motions.  

McEvilley v. TigerDirect, CompUSA
Defended TigerDirect and CompUSA against claims of copyright infringement by a music composer of theme music for the TigerTV consumer electronics series.

Classic Concepts v. Pier 1 Imports
Defended Pier 1 Imports in copyright infringement suits over the design of kilims and other home decorating products sold by Pier 1.

iKindi v. STW Fixed Income Management
Represented STW in copyright and breach of contract claims against a software systems engineering company that developed software and database management tools for STW. 

Trademark

Hasbro, Inc. v. MGA Entertainment
Defended MGA (creator of the Bratz® dolls) in a trademark case brought by Hasbro.  Hasbro claimed MGA's Spider-Man & Friends 3-D Memory Match-Up game infringed Hasbro's rights in a card-matching game Hasbro had marketed as "Memory" since 1966.  After a 7-day trial, the Court ruled in favor of MGA, finding it had shown (through third-party memory games, dictionaries, encyclopedias, trade publications, expert testimony from linguists and game experts, federally issued patents and trademark records, Hasbro's own use of "memory" with other products in a generic sense, and other evidence) that, despite Hasbro's 40 years marketing the game, claimed $130,000,000 in sales, and an incontestable trademark registration, the term "memory" was generic for this type of game and could not function as a trademark.  Hasbro, Inc. v. MGA Entertainment, 497 F. Supp. 2d 337 (D.R.I. 2007).

Research In Motion (BlackBerry) v. Samsung
Defended Samsung against trademark infringement claims asserted by RIM, which claimed that Samsung's "BlackJack" and "Black Carbon" smartphones infringed RIM's trademark rights in the term "BlackBerry".   

Al Capp Enterprises v. The Walt Disney Company, ABC
Defended Disney and ABC in a trademark suit filed by the owner of rights to the L'il Abner comic strip and characters, over references in the Lizzie McGuire television series to a "Sadie Hawkins Day" and "Sadie Hawkins Dance."  Obtained a dismissal of the entire action.

Fuel Design v. Fox Extreme Sports Network
Fuel Clothing Company v. Fuel TV
Defended Fox Cable in two trademark suits filed by companies using the name "Fuel" (one a broadcast design company and the other an action sports clothing company) over the name of Fox's new 24/7 action sports network, Fuel TV.  One case ended in a settlement after a failed attempt to obtain a TRO enjoining the launch of the network; the other ended in a settlement just before trial was to commence.

UGG Holdings, Deckers Outdoor Corporation v. Koolaburra
Represented UGG and Deckers, manufacturers and sellers of the famous UGG® boots, against a manufacturer of sheepskin boots that was unlawfully using the mark.  The defendant argued that the term "ugg" was generic for such footwear in Australia and that the doctrine of foreign equivalents thereby mandated invalidation of UGG's trademark rights in the U.S.  Obtained summary judgment for UGG and Deckers, thereby defeating a genericness attack on the famous UGG® trademark.

AKA Clothing, Inc. v. Eddie Bauer
Defended Eddie Bauer in a trademark case filed by a clothing manufacturer who objected to a new line of Eddie Bauer clothing marketed under an "AKA" name.  Eddie Bauer prevailed and launched a national chain of AKA EDDIE BAUER stores.

Right Of Publicity

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington v. Fry's Electronics
Defended Fry's, a consumer electronics retailer, in a right of publicity suit filed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Denzel Washington, who claimed Fry's use of movie stills showing characters from the films Collateral Damage (Schwarzenegger), Hart's War (Willis), and John Q (Washington) in depictions of televisions in newspaper ads promoting the sale of DVDs of the actors' films, infringed the actors' rights.

Arnold Schwarzenegger v. Best Buy, Lions Gate Entertainment 
Defended Lions Gate in a right of publicity claim filed by Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Best Buy advertised the sale of the Terminator 2 DVD, released by Lions Gate.  Best Buy used a movie still from the film in depictions of television monitors in advertisements.   

Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston v. Casa Damiani
Defended Damiani, an Italian jewelry house, against right of publicity claims by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston over their wedding jewelry, which Pitt claimed to have designed and Damiani produced. 

Catherine Zeta-Jones v. Caudalíe, Neiman Marcus, Turnberry Estates
Defended Caudalíe, a French cosmetics company, in a right of publicity and false designation of origin suit filed by Catherine Zeta-Jones arising from Caudalíe's reference in marketing materials to reports Zeta-Jones had purchased and used Caudalíe products.

Chris Cornell, et al. [dba "Audioslave"] v. Miller Brewing Company, Young & Rubicam, Giannini Creative Imaging
Rivers Cuomo, et al. [dba "Weezer"] v. Miller Brewing Company, Young & Rubicam, Giannini Creative Imaging
Defended Miller Brewing in right of publicity and false endorsement suits filed by the bands Audioslave and Weezer over a Miller advertisement in Rolling Stone magazine celebrating 50 years of rock and roll history.  The ad's background consisted of a collage of many ticket stubs for rock shows covering a 32-year time span.  Two such stubs were for Audioslave and Weezer shows. 

Noah Johnson v. Hurley International
Defended Hurley International, the designer and wholesaler of HURLEY® brand clothing, against right of publicity, breach of contract, and false endorsement claims asserted by one of Hurley's sponsored professional surfers.  Prevailed after a full trial.

Trade Secret

Quarterdeck Office Systems v. Wollongong
Represented Quarterdeck against former employees who misappropriated software code for an Internet browser.  Conducted a search and seizure of the purloined software in conjunction with law enforcement agencies who raided the offices of the competitor to whom the former employees had brought the stolen software.

Litton Systems v. Sundstrand
Defended Sundstrand against trade secret misappropriation claims involving ring laser gyroscope-based inertial navigation systems for aircraft.

McDonnell Douglas v. Northrop
Defended Northrop against trade secret misappropriation claims involving misappropriation of technology used for the avionics and graphic user interfaces for the F-18 fighter aircraft.

Sysco Food Services
Harbor Truck Bodies
Represented Sysco and Harbor in separate actions involving managers and executives who left with company trade secrets and moved to their chief competitors.

Other Media, Entertainment Cases

Flying Mallard Productions, Scott Gurney, Deirdre Delaney v. ESPN
Defended ESPN in a trademark, idea submission, and right of publicity suit filed by two actors over ESPN's prime-time reality series, Totally Hooked, which the plaintiffs alleged appropriated their ideas and format for a series, Fish On!, earlier aired by ESPN.  ESPN defeated an injunction aimed at barring the airing of the series and the case settled.

Microsoft Corporation v. CNET News.com
Defended CNET in a First Amendment and Journalist's Privilege dispute over Microsoft's attempt to discover the identity of confidential sources who obtained Bill Gates' e-mail files. 

Abraham v. Lancaster Community Hospital
Represented a hospital director in a landmark defamation and judicial proceedings privilege case.  Abraham v. Lancaster Community Hospital, 217 Cal. App. 3d 796 (1990).

Randazzo v. Midori Entertainment, Longneedle Entertainment
Defended Midori and Longneedle against copyright, contract, and other claims brought by a former producer of the Animal Atlas television series against the production companies employing him.

KDN Sports, Don Nomura
Represented KDN Sports and its well-known sports agent Don Nomura in connection with antitrust, defamation, and RICO claims arising out of contracts with Dominican and Japanese baseball players (Hideo Nomo, Robinson Checo, Alfonso Soriano, and others) and attempts by the U.S. Commissioner of Baseball to keep them from playing in the U.S.

Playboy Playmate v. Manager
Represented a Playboy Playmate in a dispute with her music and business manager and her efforts to terminate that relationship.

Reality Television Star v. Agent/Manager
Represented a reality television star in a dispute with persons posing as her talent agents and business managers and purporting to act on her behalf, without her authorization.

Steinberg Moorad & Dunn, Inc. v. David Dunn, Athletes First, et al.
Defended agent and manager defendants against RICO, breach of contract, and trade secret claims filed by Leigh Steinberg's sports agency against employees who left the agency to set up a competing agency.  Prevailed with the court granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants on the trade secret claim.  Reported at Steinberg Moorad & Dunn, Inc. v. Dunn, et al., 2002 WL 31968234 (C.D. Cal. 2002).

Counseling

Advertising Advice
Counseled Fox Sports, Fuel TV, Fox Mobile Entertainment, Chrylser, MillerCoors, Gillette, ESPN, Herbalife, 3 Day Blinds, FrameStore, USBank, Cisco, advertising agencies, and many others in connection with proposed or already published advertising, aimed at avoiding legal liability or governmental sanctions.

Anti-Piracy Enforcement
Represented News Corp's Star TV and others in stopping piracy of its television programming through Internet streaming.

U.S. Olympic Committee
Counseled an internationally recognized client, which had endorsement deals with several athletes who participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, about avoiding claims from the USOC over allegedly infringing and improperly using USOC trademarks.

Domain Name Disputes
Conducted numerous domain name and cybersquatting dispute resolution actions before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) pursuant to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) adopted by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Title And Trademark Clearance Analyses And Opinions
Performed numerous title and trademark clearance analyses and litigation avoidance opinions for Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Cable, Sony Pictures Entertainment, StudioCanal, Focus Features, Overture Films, Batjac Productions, Lions Gate Entertainment, and many other studios involving broadcast and cable, television, film, website, and mobile properties.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Advised Mobile Messenger, Jamdat, Sprint, Samsung, and many others in the wireless communications industry concerning DMCA compliance and safe harbors.

Honors

• Southern California Super Lawyer, 2012

Memberships

• Media Law Resource Center (MLRC)
• Los Angeles Copyright Society
• American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
• International Trademark Association (INTA) (member of the U.S. Legislation Committee, 1990-94, 1999-2002; member of the Trademark Reporter Committee, 2008-present)
• American Bar Association (ABA)
• State Bar of California (Intellectual Property Section)
• Beverly Hills Bar Association

Articles

• K. Raygor (co-author), Media Libel Law, "Survey Of California Libel Law" (Oxford University Press, to be published in September 2011)
• K. Raygor (co-author), California State Antitrust And Unfair Competition Law, Chapter 12, "State Antitrust Law and Intellectual Property" (Matthew Bender, December 2009, 2010)
• K. Raygor and E. Komen, Limitations On Copyright Protection For Format Ideas In Reality Television Programming, Media Law Resource Center Bulletin, Issue No. 4, at 97-121 (December 2009)
• K. Raygor and V. Alter, Fair Use And The Right Of Publicity: A Search For A More Balanced Approach, Media Law Resource Center Bulletin, Issue No. 4, at 129-147 (December 2008)
• K. Raygor, Protection of Celebrity Rights: What You Need To Know Now, presented at the USC Gould School of Law - Beverly Hills Bar Association 2008 Institute on Entertainment Law and Business (October 18, 2008)
• K. Raygor and B. Bakhtari, Great Success! 'Borat's' Release Agreement Averts Liability, New York Law Journal (July 16, 2008)
• K. Raygor and V. Alter, It's Not Just Make-Believe Anymore: Fantasy Baseball And The Right Of Publicity, ABA Media, Privacy And Defamation Law Committee Newsletter (ABA, Winter/Spring 2008)
• K. Raygor, Perfect 10 Scores A Not-So-Perfect Rating By The Ninth Circuit, MediaLawLetter (Media Law Resource Center, May 2007)
• K. Raygor and D. Ryan, The Cost of Protecting California's Royalty: Assault Liability Under the Anti-Paparazzi Act, MediaLawLetter (Media Law Resource Center, January 2006)
• K. Raygor, Surviving The Matrix: Legal Pitfalls Of Blurring Fact And Fiction, presented at the Donald E. Biederman Entertainment & Media Law Institute (January 26, 2006)
• K. Raygor, Sanitizing Hollywood: The Family Entertainment And Copyright Act Of 2005, MediaLawLetter (Media Law Resource Center, May 2005)
• K. Raygor and O. Caglar, Snow Line: Understanding Dilution Claims Under The Lanham Act, California Law Business (September 1999)