Leon D. Bass

Leon works with businesses large and small across multiple industries and has built an exceptional intellectual property practice that blends traditional IP and entertainment law counsel and assessment with IP and related business and entertainment litigation. Through nineteen years of practice, Leon has built a robust reputation locally and nationally for his legal counsel in trademark, copyright, trade secret, entertainment, sponsorship and sweepstakes law, as well as litigation in those arenas. Leon has also served as Adjunct Professor at Otterbein University, teaching a law class that focuses on copyright, trademark, and business law in the context of the music and entertainment industries. He regularly practices in the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Leon has built a unique practice that blends a traditional corporate intellectual property law practice with an entertainment practice that serves the needs of Fortune 500 companies to small local entities, as well as the unique needs of entertainment entities, concert promoters, festivals, film producers, authors, artists, record labels and musicians. Leon has a proven track record of managing and counseling on copyright, trademark and other IP issues, litigating IP and entertainment law disputes, and drafting and negotiating contracts in the IP and entertainment space, including licensing, recording and publishing, music venue, festival and concert, and manager and agent agreements.

• Successful defense of pop music star and actress in copyright infringement matter involving hit song (summary judgement granted in favor of client).
• Successful representation in defense of large healthcare company in a trademark infringement lawsuit.
• Represented international sporting goods company in securing a fraudulent USPTO trademark registration cancellation, injunction, and a more than $220,000 judgment.
• Representation of large craft brewery in trademark infringement matter.
• Defense of concert promoter in trademark infringement matter.
• Successful defense of trademark infringement and USPTO opposition proceedings brought by large corporation in federal district court (Texas) against local business client.
• Obtained judgment in favor of client invalidating Plaintiff’s long owned and well known industry specific registered trademark, receiving national trade press.
• Successfully obtained dismissal in defense of multi-million dollar breach of concert promotion agreement for U.S. national “Rock Never Stops” tour, featuring Quiet Riot, Ted Nugent, Night Ranger and Slaughter.
• Successfully defended multiple law suits for copyright infringement and breach of contract by national recording artist against our record label client.
• Successfully represented a large concert venue in a civil fraud case.
• Representation of commercial photographer in copyright infringement case against large national companies involving hundreds of copyrighted photographs.
• Served as Expert Witnesses in copyright and trademark cases against Microsoft and for another software company.
• Representation of Academy Awarding Winning film “Dallas Buyer’s Club” and other films in copyright infringement matters.

• Editor, “Making It” by Matthew Crumpton, Esq. and Tristan Kinsley (book on music industry)
• Author, “Everything You Need to Know about Trademark Protection and Registration”
• Author, “Why You Can’t Copyright Your Song If You Have Already Written It!”
• Author, “Takin’ Care of Business: A Band’s Basic Business Guide”
• Author, “Will You Face The Music? Music Downloading 101”
• Author, “Brand due diligence saves millions” Columbus Business First, May 14, 2010
• Author, “When to Consider Trademark Protection and Registration” CWS Newsletter, Vol. 1, 2009

Speaking Engagement Venues

• The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Sports & Entertainment Law Association
• Capital University Law School Sports & Entertainment Law Association
• Midpoint Music Festival
• AllBiz Music Conference
• Undercurrent Radio