Sahn, Michael Charles

Ms. Handler brings an innovative approach to complex copyright, antitrust, and new media cases. She has successfully tried landmark copyright, and antitrust cases in state and federal courts in California, New York and Pennsylvania as lead counsel, involving the application of copyright principles to new technologies, and constitutional and antitrust cases involving motion picture licensing and distribution. She successfully led Marvel Entertainment in its recovery of the rights to its signature property, “Spider-Man.”

Ms. Handler’s antitrust experience includes motion picture distribution and licensing, antitrust claims arising from intellectual property enforcement, energy, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other industries. In the sports antitrust area, she represented a sports league in a significant case involving the “single enterprise” doctrine. Ms. Handler also led a nine-week pro bono jury trial on behalf of noted Holocaust rescuer Irene Gut Opdyke, recovering the rights to her life story.

Ms. Handler is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California Law School, where she teaches two antitrust courses, one of which focuses on the entertainment industry, and a copyright course on characters and superheroes in old and new media. She has also taught at UCLA Law School. She speaks and writes widely on a variety of copyright and antitrust issues.

Ms. Handler has been rated AV, the highest performance rating, in Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review rating system. She has been named one of the "Top Women Litigators in California" by Daily Journal Extra every year since 1999. In 2001, Ms. Handler was named one of the "Lawyers of the Year" by California Lawyer. In addition, she is regularly selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and in 2006 was honored by AMIT as a Woman of Accomplishment.

Ms. Handler has organized and participated in over one hundred seminars for PLI, Aspen, private companies and law firms, the ABA, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Bar of the City of New York, and law schools in California and New York. She is active in numerous pro bono activities in addition to her Board memberships. Selected representations include:

• Represented Marvel Enterprises in its long-running battle to reclaim the motion picture rights to its signature character "Spider-Man" and in other litigation;
• Established the motion picture industry’s exclusive rights to control the distribution and performance of their copyrighted works in new media (Columbia Pictures Industries v. Redd Horne); 
• Represented a motion picture studio in having a state statute declared unconstitutional as in conflict with copyright law; 
• Successfully represented plaintiffs in antitrust litigation stemming from California’s energy crisis (Continental Forge v. Sempra Energy); 
• Succeeded in having the largest trademark verdict in history as of that point ($148 million in 1998) set aside, and in the new trial, successfully represented the client to win summary judgment and uphold the decision in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Trovan, Ltd v. Pfizer, Inc.; 
• Successfully represented the Fox Family Channel (since then sold to Disney) in a trade dress/copyright claim against CBS and others claiming that defendants had copied the "trade dress" of a prospective Fox program. She obtained a temporary restraining order against the defendants. Fox Family, Inc., v. CBS, Inc. Bertram van Munster, Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc., et .al.; 
• Represented a music publishing company in numerous copyright matters; 
• Represented a satellite retailer in a trademark lawsuit concerning the use of “800” numbers; 
• Represented an eyewear designer and manufacturer in a trade dress matter in which the precise identifying contours of the unique eyewear were copied and distributed under the defendant's label; 
• Represented a major weight loss company in advertising and marketing matters before the FTC; 
• Represented universities concerning their rights to make books available electronically, under copyright; and 
• Has been lead counsel in other significant copyright matters in such diverse industries as airport simulation, social networking sites, medical devices, and real estate listings.