Alex Kaplan

Alexander (Alex) Kaplan is a partner at Oppenheim + Zebrak, LLP and head of O+Z’s New York office. Alex is deeply experienced in copyright, trademark, advertising, right of publicity, and trade secrets law. A seasoned courtroom lawyer, Alex has over two decades of experience litigating high-stakes cases in all of these disciplines, with particular focus in the music industry. Outside of the courtroom, Alex provides daily counsel to his clients on legal questions that affect key business decisions. Clients turn to Alex for his unique blend of litigation skills and comprehensive knowledge of IP law, which allows him to effectively and efficiently bring value to his clients as the first and only call they need to make on rights-related legal and business issues.

In copyright and media-related matters, Alex has represented many music, sports, and entertainment clients in a wide variety of engagements touching on all forms of copyrightable subject matter. Alex frequently represents record labels and music publishers in mass infringement cases against internet service providers and social media platforms. Representing defendants, Alex has won multiple high-profile cases on summary judgment, often prevailing on the factually intensive issue of lack of substantial similarity. On behalf of Madonna and Warner Music Group, he convinced the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to reject the Sixth Circuit’s controversial Bridgeport decision governing liability for music sampling. Alex has represented all of the major and many independent music publishers and record labels, recording artists including Madonna, Lady Gaga, and U2, and clients in academic publishing, including Elsevier, Lexis/Nexis, and STM. Alex speaks frequently on noteworthy issues in copyright law and was featured in a Planet Money podcast discussing the knotty issue of fair use.

In trademark and false advertising matters, Alex has represented clients in numerous industries, including consumer products, fashion, entertainment, food & beverage, and healthcare before the federal courts, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), and the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of the Better Business Bureau. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in Lanham Act cases in courts across the country, including in multiple preliminary injunction hearings and jury trials. Beyond litigation, Alex frequently counsels clients concerning advertising and marketing claim substantiation and review. Alex’s trademark and advertising clients have included Colgate Palmolive, Church & Dwight, S.C. Johnson & Son, ZeroWater, OK GO, the NFL, Major League Baseball, and Diageo.

Alex has been recognized by Chambers & Partners for Advertising Litigation (2023), Billboard as a Top Music Lawyer (2023), The Legal 500 United States for Copyright (2016-2019), Marketing & Advertising (2017-2019), Media & Entertainment (2018-2019), Trademarks: Litigation (2019), and Media, Technology, and Telecoms: Media & Entertainment Litigation (2019). Alex also received the 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award from Brooklyn Law School’s Intellectual Property Law Association and was named an Acritas Star Lawyer in 2020.

Alex spent the first 20 years of his career at Proskauer Rose, where he was a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and two children.