Stephen Michael Doniger

Protecting your work and your business is as important to me as it is to you. I represent photographers, producers, musicians, authors, fine artists, and clients in the marketing, fashion, entertainment, real estate and hospitality industries with a focus on business disputes, and a specialty in copyright and trademark litigation.

In my nearly 30 years of practice, I have taken more cases to trial than most, realizing many six and seven-figure verdicts and settlement, including:

• [Confidential] $5+ million settlements for two tattoo artists against clothier.
• L.A. Printex Industries, Inc. v. Aeropostale, CV09-02449 (seven-figure settlement after 9th Circuit win)
• Unicolors v. H&M Hennes Mauritz, LP., 2:16-cv-2322 ($1 million judgment after SCOTUS win)
• A.V.I.D. LLC v. Exist, Inc., Case No. 2:10-cv-09383 ($1,754,272 verdict)
• Star Fabrics, Inc. v. Morex, Inc. et al., CV-10-7987 ($1.1 million day-of-trial settlement)
• One World Marketing v. MEK Int’l, BC 193556 – ($550,000 verdict)
• Desire LLC v. Manna Textile, et al., 2:16-cv-4295 ($480,000 verdict)
• TMB III Movie, LLC v. PFG Entertainment, 2:13-cv-04949 ($460,000 verdict)
• U.F.I. v. Lane Bryant, et al., 2:08-cv-6865 ($447,670 verdict)
• EKB v. Target Corp., et al., 2:10-cv-3334 ($389,638 verdict)

I have handled cases in the courts of CA, NY, IL, PA, TX, NV, CO, FL, IA, and NC, and overseen litigation in foreign jurisdictions including Canada and the United Kingdom through my firm’s network of local counsel.

In 2023 I was selected to receive a CLA IP Law Section Vanguard Award which "honors outstanding legal professionals in the judiciary, private practice, in-house practice, academia, and public policy advocacy for their contributions to the advancement of intellectual property law." I have been designated a California Super Lawyer for the years 2021-2024 and been honored with many other professional accolades. For the 2024/2025 year I have been appointed to the Executive Committee of the CLA IP Law Section.

I currently serve as advisory counsel for American Photographic Artists, and work with a coalition of trade groups to advance artist rights through legislative and other avenues. I regularly speak on intellectual property topics, and have been retained as an expert witness on handling of copyright litigation.

I am a graduate of the USC Law School and the Straus Institute's mediation training program, and have mediated cases both privately and for the Los Angeles Superior Court. When not lawyering, I can often be found discussing black holes, dark matter, and other things that lend perspective to the significance of our problems.