Joel Rothman is an intellectual property litigator who focuses on copyright, synchronization rights, and personalityrights disputes in the music and entertainment industries. He has represented rights holders in cases involving the unauthorized use of music and audiovisual works on television, streaming platforms, and social media. He frequently advises labels, publishers, and producers on how to structure and police sync licenses in an environment where content is repurposed at scale.

Joel’s practice sits at the intersection of music copyright and the right of publicity, and he often handles matters where a single use implicates copyright in sound recordings and compositions alongside name and likeness issues for featured artists. He served as counsel to Thelonious S. Monk Jr., on behalf of the Estate of Thelonious Monk, in Monk Jr. v. North Coast Brewing Co., a right of publicity and trademark suit over the unauthorized commercial exploitation of the jazz icon’s name, image, and likeness on beer labels, merchandise, and promotional materials.

A former prosecutor and seasoned trial lawyer, Joel represented Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. before the United States Supreme Court in Fourth Estate v. WallStreet.com, a landmark case. Joel is comfortable moving between trial courts and appellate panels, and between negotiations with studios and platforms and litigation when those negotiations fail.

Joel is the managing partner and founder of SRIPLAW, a fullservice intellectual property law firm with offices in the US and Colombia. The firm handles patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret matters, as well as unfair competition, defamation, and commercial disputes. Joel is Board Certified in Intellectual Property Law by The Florida Bar, “AV” rated by MartindaleHubbell, and rated 10.0 (Superb) by Avvo, and he is admitted to practice in Florida, Georgia, Washington State, and New York, as well as numerous federal courts around the country. He can be reached directly at +1 561.404.4335 or by email at joel.rothman@sriplaw.com