Steven Lowe

11

Steven Lowe

Mediator

Biography

With more than 30 years of experience, Steven T. Lowe is one of the entertainment industry’s preeminent attorneys. Known for, among other things, his groundbreaking work in the field of copyright law, championing the rights of artists, creators, writers, filmmakers, and other creative professionals in the entertainment industry, Mr. Lowe and the firm, Lowe & Associates (the “Firm”), continue to meet and surpass client expectations. The Firm continues to rack up rave testimonials/Google reviews from its clients with each matter the Firm handles, based upon the firm philosophy of providing highly personalized client attention.

As Managing Partner of Lowe & Associates since 1991, Mr. Lowe oversees all matters involving entertainment and business with an emphasis on dispute resolution from pursuing cases in court, to pre-litigation negotiation/mediation. Areas of focus include intellectual property (copyright and trademark) matters, business formation, contracts, and cases involving unfair and fraudulent business practices. Mr. Lowe has been selected as a “Super Lawyer” by Thomson Reuters, from 2009 to the present, signifying he is in the top 5% of the lawyers in California. He has also rated “A-V preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbel since 1998; an “A-V rating” signifies the highest competence and ethics in the profession.

Mr. Lowe is also a proud founding member, and current President, of the California Society of Entertainment Lawyers (“CSEL”) (2013), a not-for-profit organization of attorneys dedicated to artists’ rights. The organization is soon to become a national organization, the National Society of Entertainment and Arts Lawyers (“NSEAL”).

Recently, Mr. Lowe has been successful in litigating and/or settling lawsuits including a case involving “Pirates of the Caribbean” (Alfred v. Disney) (defeating motion for Summary Judgment in December 2021 and reversing a dismissal with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in July 2020); settling a copyright infringement/breach of contract case against a film distributor, (Good Deed V. Cinedigm); settling an “idea theft” case involving the television series “The Mick,” after defeating a Motion for Summary Judgment by FOX in November 2018 (Lewis v. Fox); and settling cases which involved trademark infringement, unfair business practices and misappropriation of trade secret claims among many others. In July 2019, Mr. Lowe chaired and moderated a panel of comedians, lawyers, and entertainment industry guests, on behalf of CSEL, on “Comedy and the Law.”, and in November 2021, Mr. Lowe chaired and moderated a panel for CSEL on “termination rights” in the entertainment industry. 

Over the course of the last few years, the Firm has won numerous motions, including multiple motions for summary judgment, motions to dismiss (in both state and federal court), motions to strike, and an anti-SLAPP motion. For example, in June 2015, the Firm defeated an Anti-Slapp Motion and multiple Motions to Dismiss in a high profile copyright infringement idea theft case (Jordan-Benel v. Universal City Studios, CV-14-5577-MWF, 2015 WL 3888149 (C.D. Cal. 2015); affirmed on appeal Jordan Benel v. Universal City Studios, 859 F. 3d 1184 (9th Cir. 2017)). The Firm has also received multiple district and appellate court decisions in its favor including the following:

  1. a) Kabehie v. Zoland, 102 Cal. App. 4th 513 (2002) (affirming grant of Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings)
  2. b) Sepe v. Sepe-Wiesenfeld, No. B23687, 2013 WL 1834735 (Cal. Ct. App. May 2, 2013) (reversing dismissal)
  3. c) Fontana v. Harra, No. CV 12-10708 CAS JCGX, 2013 WL 990014 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 12, 2013) (granting Motion to Dismiss)
  4. d) Van Dyke v. Lions Gate Entm’t, Inc., No. SACV 13-454-JLS ANX, 2014 WL 950765 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 11, 2014) (denying Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings)
  5. e) Van Dyke v. Lions Gate Entm’t, Inc., No. SACV 13-454-JLS, 2014 WL 12470017 (C.D. Cal. July 23, 2014) (denying Motion for Summary Judgement)
  6. f) Brittle v. Time Warner, Inc., 2017 WL 3047058 (E.D.Va June 20, 2017) (denying Motion to Dismiss)

In 2014, the Firm’s United States Supreme Court amicus brief, on behalf of CSEL, rocked the legal world in a very public victory against a major studio in Petrella v. MGM, 134 S.Ct. 1962 (2014). His article, coauthored with a colleague, about the case: “Raging Bull Impales Hollywood Circuit” was published in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals. Other recent articles by Mr. Lowe include “Death of Copyright 3: The Awakening” Los Angeles Lawyer (summer 2018). In addition, in May 2016 Mr. Lowe co-chaired, with Loyola Law Professor Jay Dougherty, a panel about Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Trends.

In 2012 and 2013, Mr. Lowe served as a panelist and chair for the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s seminars entitled “Death of Copyright” and “Death of Copyright: The Sequel,” respectively, (named after his articles of the same name). The articles examine the glaring inconsistencies within copyright law and have become required reading at UCLA and other law schools (copyright and entertainment classes). Mr. Lowe’s earlier published articles include: “Drafting Tips for Transactional Attorneys,” Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals (March 2010); “Royal Treatment,” Los Angeles Lawyer (June 2006); “Credit Where Credit Is Due,” Los Angeles Lawyer (December 2004); and “Pre-emptive Strike,” Los Angeles Lawyer (March 2003).

Mr. Lowe is admitted to practice in the State of California (1985), the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (1986), the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals (1989), and the United States Supreme Court (2014). He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law (1984), Vanderbilt University (1980), and Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT (1976).