Julia Haye

Julia R. Haye’s entertainment practice includes successful resolution, at trial and in arbitration, of complex business disputes involving profit participation, motion picture production and distribution, rights ownership, copyright and trademark infringement, idea submission, and other entertainment-related conflicts and contractual disputes.

Her counsel and interests encompass every genre of entertainment and media, including studio and independent motion pictures, television, music, dance, and online and digital media. She has represented Marvel Entertainment in various matters involving intellectual property disputes and profit participation rights, the holder of the rights to The Beatles against Apple Computer, the owner of the Friday the 13th movie franchise in a dispute with a former producer, and has resolved a complex business partnership dispute involving the remake of Last House on the Left.

Entertainment Dispute and Trial Counsel
Through her extensive work in major profit participation cases on behalf of talent, artists and rights holders, including Marvel and the rights holders to Winnie the Pooh, Julia has become fluent in the unique language of Hollywood accounting. She enjoys productive relationships with the industry’s preeminent accounting firms and regularly advocates advantageous positions for her clients as she guides them in untangling the convoluted web of deductions and income streams, including home video royalties, foreign television sales, digital distribution revenues, and other contractual clauses and complex accounting practices.

Julia regularly advises on copyright and trademark infringement disputes and matters involving idea submissions. Her background also includes working with music rights, such as identifying future royalty streams and advising clients with respect to royalties from digital distribution, and advising musical artists and choreographers on protection of their intellectual property assets.

Through her practice, Julia also has obtained significant, first-hand trial experience. Among Julia’s successful trial and litigation achievements are serving on the high-profile trial team that won a $104 million jury verdict against Exxon Mobile for polluting New York City water, and serving as second chair in a 4-week jury trial concerning a complex business dispute. She also successfully handled an arbitration in New York on behalf of the owners of the Friday the 13th movie franchise.

Entertainment Transactional Experience
As an adjunct to her litigation counsel, Julia also represents and advises actors, writers, directors, producers and sales agents in their transactional matters, and has handled the negotiation of agreements on their behalf. Julia has also negotiated distribution agreements, casting agreements, and other production-related agreements for independent films. Julia enjoys representing young filmmakers, writers and producers emerging from Southern California film schools, and counseling them on establishing sound practices to launch their careers.

As a former dancer, Julia maintains her passion for dance and all forms of the arts. She takes special interest in the intersection between dance and the law, including copyright protection for choreography, and has written several articles on this topic.