John M. Genga

John Genga has 40 years of experience advising clients and litigating cases, through trial and appeal, in a wide variety of legal and business contexts, with particular expertise in the following areas:

• Disputes arising from corporate activities and business transactions
• Copyright infringement and misappropriation of ideas in motion pictures, television, electronic entertainment, publishing and advertising
• Intellectual property and business disputes, including trade secrets and unfair competition, in both traditional and emerging industries
• Trademark and domain name infringement
• Exploitation of individuals’ names and likenesses
• Talent and other contract disputes in the entertainment industry

Mr. Genga has successfully resolved hundreds of such matters, often by preliminary injunction or summary judgment, for individual and institutional clients and on both the defense and enforcement side. He also devotes a significant part of his practice to alternative dispute resolution – worldwide – and to counseling clients on avoiding or reducing the risk of litigation. While John does not limit the scope of his practice – absent conflict, he will represent those for whom he believes he can obtain a favorable result in a reasonable time at a fair price – his typical clients over the years have included:

• Motion picture studios and production companies
• Electronic entertainment developers and publishers
• Software and other technology companies
• Other entertainment and media businesses and owners of intellectual property
• Manufacturers of electronic, biochemical, fashion and other specialized products
• Individual artists and business owners
• Importers and distributors
• Business and owners with internal disputes and securities laws claims

His work has involved such projects as the James Bond franchise, Die Hard, The Three Stooges, Spider-Man and other Stan Lee works, personalities Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Mariah Carey, Frank Zappa, Heart, John Travolta, Cheech Marin and Vanna White [White v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc., 971 F.2d 1395 (9th Cir. 1992)], and networks ICANN, Kazaa, Grokster and Bittorrent. John has the highest AV Preeminent* rating by Martindale-Hubbell, and graduated from Michigan Law School in 1986 and
Stanford University in 1983.

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer-review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.