ANDREW H. BART (ANDY), Partner Publications · Professional Activities New York Office Office: (212) 891-1645 Fax: (212) 891-1699 Email: abart@jenner.com  Add to Outlook Contacts

Andrew H. Bart is a partner in Jenner & Block’s New York office.  He is a member of the Firm's Litigation Department and Co-Chair of the Creative Content Practice.  He is a member of the Firm's Management Committee and Co-Chair of the Marketing and Business Development Committee.  Mr. Bart is an experienced commercial litigator with extensive trial experience in state and federal courts as well as arbitration proceedings.  In recent years he has become one of the most prominent litigators handling cases affecting the entertainment industry; especially copyright and contractual disputes.  Mr. Bart is AV Peer Review rated, Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer recognition for ethical standards and legal ability.

During the course of his 28-year career, Mr. Bart has handled and tried a variety of complex commercial cases.  His experience runs from securities litigation and SEC proceedings to partnership and joint venture disputes to a wide variety of contractual disputes.  He has successfully handled bench trials, jury trials and arbitrations.  He has also conducted and concluded complex and multi-party mediations and settlement negotiations.

For over two decades Mr. Bart has focused on litigation in the entertainment industry, especially intellectual property issues and contractual disputes.  While the majority of this work has involved recording companies and music publishers, Mr. Bart’s experience in intellectual property and entertainment litigation is not limited to music.  He has handled and tried cases involving films, television productions, and physical products.  He has handled matters that have resulted in precedent setting decisions in copyright law, the law of privacy and publicity and artist-label relations.  Among his significant reported decisions were:

• Greenfield v. Philles Records Inc.  A seminal 2002 decision from the New York Court of Appeals confirming the right of recording companies to exploit performances created under recording agreements.
• Silvester v. Time Warner Inc.  A New York Appellate Court decision following Greenfield addressing the right of recording companies to exploit performances over the internet.
• ABKCO Music Inc. v. Stellar Records.  A Second Circuit decision affirming the rights of music publishers in audiovisual performances of their compositions.
• Broadcast Music Inc. v. Claire’s Boutique Inc.  A Seventh Circuit decision interpreting Section 110(5) of the Copyright Act.
• Preston v. Martin Bregman Productions, Inc.  Upholding a de minimis defense to a right of publicity claim under New York law.

He has successfully litigated and tried cases involving trademark and Lanham Act claims, claims of unfair competition, accounting claims relating to sound recordings and musical compositions and a variety of contractual disputes among labels, publishers, film studios, production companies, artists, managers and producers.  He has also successfully represented both plaintiffs and defendants in music copyright claims and has been involved in cases examining the interrelationship among musical similarities, independent creation and prior art.

Mr. Bart also has extensive experience briefing and arguing appeals in the New York Appellate Courts and several federal circuit courts.

He has also counseled clients in the entertainment and media industries on questions relating to copyright, evolving technologies, licensing rights, antitrust issues and contractual rights.

Mr. Bart received a B.A. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1975.  He received his law degree from Columbia University School of Law where he graduated as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.  He has lectured and published on copyright issues.  Most recently, Mr. Bart discussed recent trends in statutory damage awards at The Copyright Society of the USA's Annual Meeting in New York City.  Mr. Bart is a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court, the New York Bar and the Bars of numerous federal courts.