Stephen J. Strauss '83

Professor Strauss is a Shareholder and Chair of the Firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Entertainment Industry Group. For over 40 years, he has specialized in domestic and international trademark, copyright, and unfair competition matters, including licensing, Internet domain name disputes, and litigation.  He also provides various legal production services for documentary and narrative films and scripted and unscripted television projects (including development, rights acquisition, rights and title clearances, and IP protection and enforcement).

Professor Strauss represents a number of internationally recognized celebrities, sports personalities, recording artists, comic book creators, chefs, authors, social media influencers, and media and entertainment companies. He also represents a wide range of diverse clients including restaurants, banks and financial institutions, clothing and toy manufacturers, and magazine and book publishers.

Professor Strauss is a member of The Television Academy, the Recording Academy (NARAS), the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and the Visual Effects Society (VES), a non-profit professional, honorary society representing visual effects practitioners in all areas of entertainment. Professor Strauss, in addition to teaching Trademark Law at Southwestern, is a member on the Southwestern Law School Alumni Board of Directors and Co-Founder of the School’s American Inn of Court.. Professor Strauss lectures widely in the areas of entertainment intellectual property law and celebrity branding. He has lectured before the American Bar Association, the International Trademark Association, the International Intellectual Property Law Association, the USC Gould Institute of Entertainment Law and Business, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel, WME, SAG-AFTRA, and the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST).