Michael R. Blaha

Top rated Entertainment & Sports attorney in Santa Monica, California

Law Offices of Michael R. Blaha
Michael R. Blaha
Law Offices of Michael R. Blaha

Practice Areas: Entertainment & Sports, Intellectual Property; view more

Licensed in California since: 1979

Education: Duke University School of Law

Selected to Super Lawyers: 2012 - 2015, 2018 - 2024

Law Offices of Michael R. Blaha

2530 Wilshire Boulevard
3rd Floor
Santa Monica, CA 90403 Visit website

Details

Attorney Michael R. Blaha is the founder and owner of the Law Offices of Michael R. Blaha in Santa Monica, California. A top-ranked and award-winning trial and transactional lawyer with more than 42 years of total legal experience, Mr. Blaha provides exceptional counsel and support, to a diverse range of clients throughout his region who have legal needs involving any of the following:

  • Entertainment law
  • Intellectual property
  • First Amendment rights

A sole practitioner, Mr. Blaha has achieved remarkable success helping his clients obtain the favorable outcomes they seek for their contract negotiations, intellectual property and other issues as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. He has worked with producers, artists, entertainment companies and others in the industry, and he has served as production counsel to several television and film projects.

A leader in his field, Mr. Blaha has developed courses and taught classes regarding entertainment law at Southwestern Law School, and he has published articles and conducted lectures and seminars on a variety of topics. Honored for his remarkable professionalism and service, he has received consistent recognition from his peers as being among the top 5% of lawyers in the state, and he received the Spirit of the Fringe Award from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

A 1976 cum laude graduate of the University of Miami, Mr. Blaha obtained his Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law in 1979. The State Bar of California admitted him to practice that same year, and he is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Blaha is an active member of various local, state and national legal organizations, and he serves on the boards of New Musicals, Inc. and Impro Theatre.

Practice areas

Entertainment & Sports, Intellectual Property

Focus areas

Copyrights, Entertainment, Sports & Leisure Law, Intellectual Property Law, Trademarks

  • 60% Entertainment & Sports
  • 40% Intellectual Property

First Admitted: 1979, California

Professional Webpage: https://www.blahalaw.com/attorney/michael-r-blaha/

Other Outstanding Achievements:
  • Independent Film and Television Alliance Arbitrator
Pro bono/Community Service:
  • Board of Directors, Filmmakers Alliance, 2007 to 2012
  • Board of Directors, Impro Theatre, 2022
  • Board of Directors, New Musicals, Inc. - 2005 to 2022
Honors/Awards:
  • Recipient, Southern California Super Lawyer
  • "runt", Fringe First Award, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2001
  • Spirit of the Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
  • Annual award given by the Donald J. Biederman Media and Entertainment Law Institute, Outstanding Adjunct Professor in Media and Entertainment Law, Southwestern Law School, 2016
  • Best International Production, Hollywood Fringe Festival, 2012
  • "Chi Girl", Grand Jury Prize, Slamdance Film Festival, 1999
  • "The Legend of Beaver Dam," Honorable Mention - Best Short, Sundance Film Festival, 2011
  • Board of Directors, Filmmakers Alliance, 2007 - 2012
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:
  • Co-Author, Entertainment Law - 4th edition, Lexis Nexis Publishing, 2012
  • Financing and Distributing Independent Film, Southwestern Law School, 2008 to 2012
  • Capstone Entertainment Law, Southwestern Law School, 2010
  •  Editor, Law and Contemporary Problems, Duke University School of Law, 1978 - 1979
Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):
  • Elvis Presley Enterprises v. Passport Video, 349 F.3d 622 (9th Circuit 2003)
  • Kiss Catalog v. Passport Int’l Distribution, 350 F.Supp.2d 823 (USDC C.D. Cal 2004)
Bar/Professional Activity:
  • California, 1979
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 1998
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1996
  • U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1980
Educational Background:
  • Duke University School of Law, Juris Doctor, 1979
  • University of Miami, Miami, Florida, B.A. in Political Science and Accounting, Honors: Cum Laude, 1976, 1976
Representative Clients:
  • Underwraps Costume Corp. - Intellectual Property Litigation, 2017
  • Wright Productions and Entertainment, Inc., 2019
  • Flavor Unit Entertainment - Production counsel and litigation, 2017
  • Elvis Presley Enterprises v. Passport Video, 349 F.3d 622, 9th Circuit, 2003
  • Film and Stage Producer
  • Philippe Mora
  • Unity Pictures
  • Producer's Representative
  • Kiss Catalog v. Passport Int'l Distribution, 350 F.Supp.2d 823, USDC C.D. Cal, 2004
Transactions:
  • Production counsel, SALOUM Production counsel, ZERO Production counsel, APPLEWOOD, 2021
Industry Groups:
  • Motion Pictures
  • Music
  • Publishing
  • Television

Office location for Michael R. Blaha

2530 Wilshire Boulevard
3rd Floor
Santa Monica, CA 90403

Phone: 800-419-3013

Selections

11 Years Super Lawyers
  • Super Lawyers: 2012 - 2015, 2018 - 2024

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