Robert A. Jacobs

With more than 25 years of IP experience, Robert Jacobs leads Manatt's entertainment litigation practice as one of the nation's foremost litigators in complex copyright and other intellectual property disputes.

"Artists have always inspired and held a special place for me," he said. "They are unique in how they simultaneously reflect and shape society. I've always wanted to do my part in protecting their work and legacies."

His expertise in intellectual property issues specific to the music industry, coupled with his extensive industry knowledge, has earned him the reputation of being a "true industry partner" among his clients. Jacobs credits his mentors, copyright law professor Robert Lind and Judge Gregory W. Carman, for instilling in him the values of passion, intellectual curiosity, humility, and respect -- qualities he considers strengths in his legal practice.

"We are fortunate to represent extraordinary creators and rights holders," Jacobs said of his clientele. "Our responsibility is to secure favorable resolutions at the lowest cost to them both in financial terms and in terms of disruption to their work."

Currently, he is lead counsel for the Estate of Pop Smoke against pre-litigation copyright infringement and accounting claims by the producer Ajani Benitez, who claims that Pop Smoke's song "Mood Swings" supposedly infringes Benitez's copyright and other rights in the song "Kiss & Tell." The estate is also facing a separate copyright infringement claim by the recording artist Tequan Whitlock, aka Danny Hundreds.

After formally rejecting the claims in their entirety, Jacobs has been engaged in ongoing talks with Benitez and Whitlock concerning possible nuisance settlements of the claims.

Jacobs also represented Downtown Music Group and its subsidiary DashGo in a dispute with artificial intelligence music company Boomy over payment of music royalties on AI-created musical works. The dispute was over whether Boomy was entitled to the payment of royalties derived from so-called inauthentic streams. The matter has since resolved, Jacobs said.
"Many also are significant because of the unique legal questions or interesting facts involved, but, overall, their importance lies more in the fact that our clients entrusted us to handle them in a manner that achieved their objectives and that we did so over and over again," Jacobs said.

Naturally, he added all things AI are among the main trends in IP.

"Beyond that, in the music space, we continue to see further jockeying by rights holders and digital service providers," Jacobs said. "In the film space, an ongoing and alarming slowdown in production continues to imperil the flow of new content."