Aaron J. Moss

Aaron J. Moss's passion for media and entertainment industries was ignited during his undergraduate studies in communication at UCLA. This interest led him to discover a niche that perfectly aligned with his passion.

"After I graduated, I was fortunate enough to begin handling entertainment-related copyright and trademark cases starting from day one as a first-year associate at my firm," Moss said. "That was over 25 years ago and I've been working at it ever since."

Mentorship played a pivotal role in shaping his approach to law. Moss credits Chuck Shephard, a seasoned lawyer with nearly half a century of experience at his firm.

"He's been at my firm for nearly 50 years, and in addition to teaching me how to litigate, he's also taught me that it's possible to be a zealous advocate for clients without also being a jerk," Moss said.

Among his recent clients is Ironmace, an emerging videogame developer. Moss navigated a complex copyright dispute with Nexon Korea Corp., securing a motion to dismiss in the Western District of Washington for forum non conveniens. This legal victory was crucial for Ironmace, allowing them to proceed with the launch of their game "Dark and Darker" without the looming threat of financially debilitating U.S. litigation.

The case presented unique challenges, given that all key witnesses and documentation were based in Korea, necessitating the navigation of language and cultural barriers.

"The very factors that made the case a good candidate for a forum non conveniens dismissal have also made it challenging to litigate," Moss said. "There are a lot of language and cultural barriers that we've had to navigate, but they've also kept things very interesting."

Noting recent trends, Moss said following last May's U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Andy Warhol case, he's seen an increased emphasis on commerciality in evaluating fair use under copyright law and an attendant de-emphasis on subjective assertions regarding a new work's "meaning or message."

"For years, judges and lawyers involved in fair use cases have trained their arguments on the content of a particular work, often performing feats of verbal gymnastics to explain a proffered meaning and message," Moss said. "As a result of the Court's opinion in Warhol, much of that effort is now shifting to arguments about whether the purpose of a particular secondary use is different enough to justify copying."