Nathaniel L. Bach

Nathaniel L. Bach was drawn to IP law due to its foundational role in the entertainment, media and technology industries and said he appreciates the importance of ownership and expression rules in fostering and protecting creativity.

"Now, with artificial intelligence posing new questions and challenges about how intellectual property can be used and exploited, IP protection is more important than ever," he said.

In recent years, Bach has led the defense in a high-profile fitness industry litigation, representing Megan Roup and The Sculpt Society against claims brought by Tracy Anderson's companies. He successfully obtained dismissal with prejudice of the Lanham Act and unfair competition claims and prevailed on an anti-SLAPP motion, defending his client's online speech.

"The copyright claim speaks to the question of whether dance-cardio fitness routines are copyrightable, which gets to the heart of the Copyright Act's idea/expression dichotomy, ensuring that no one can hold a monopoly over ideas simply by fixing them in a tangible medium of expression," Bach explained.

Another matter involved non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Bach said it was only a matter of time until NFTs became a lighting rod for litigation, which was the focus in a case where he represented the artist Diplo in a class action lawsuit concerning the promotion of Bored Ape Yacht Club digital collectibles.

Bach said the allegations against Diplo were notably weak and that he argued that Diplo's actions were protected under the First Amendment, and certain alleged facts were incorrect.

"So, through an aggressive early strategy, we were able to convince the plaintiffs' counsel to voluntarily drop him from the suit before even having to file a responsive pleading," Bach said. "We were confident of our defense on the merits, but getting out quickly and for the right reasons was a particularly sweet victory."

Regarding AI, he noted there are a number of new AI-related proposed laws meant to help protect artists and content owners protect their rights from misuse in the digital realm, from the NO FAKES Act, to the No AI FRAUD Act, to Tennessee's newly enacted ELVIS Act.

"It will be fascinating -- not to mention potentially challenging -- to determine how these laws interact with existing state and federal laws to help govern the creation and use (and misuse) of generative artificial intelligence-created materials," Bach said.