Julia R. Haye’s entertainment practice includes successful resolution, at trial and in arbitration, of complex business disputes involving profit participation, motion picture production and distribution, rights ownership, copyright and trademark infringement, idea submission, and other entertainment-related conflicts and contractual disputes.

Her counsel and interests encompass every genre of entertainment and media, including studio and independent motion pictures, television, music, dance, and online and digital media. She has represented Marvel Entertainment in various matters involving intellectual property disputes and profit participation rights, the holder of the rights to The Beatles against Apple Computer, the owner of the Friday the 13th movie franchise in a dispute with a former producer, and has resolved a complex business partnership dispute involving the remake of Last House on the Left.

Entertainment Dispute and Trial Counsel
Through her extensive work in major profit participation cases on behalf of talent, artists and rights holders, including Marvel and the rights holders to Winnie the Pooh, Julia has become fluent in the unique language of Hollywood accounting.  She enjoys productive relationships with the industry’s preeminent accounting firms and regularly advocates advantageous positions for her clients as she guides them in untangling the convoluted web of deductions and income streams, including home video royalties, foreign television sales, digital distribution revenues, and other contractual clauses and complex accounting practices.

Julia regularly advises on copyright and trademark infringement disputes and matters involving idea submissions. Her background also includes working with music rights, such as identifying future royalty streams and advising clients with respect to royalties from digital distribution, and advising musical artists and choreographers on protection of their intellectual property assets.

Through her practice, Julia also has obtained significant, first-hand trial experience. Among Julia’s successful trial and litigation achievements are serving on the high-profile trial team that won a $104 million jury verdict against Exxon Mobile for polluting New York City water, and serving as second chair in a 4-week jury trial concerning a complex business dispute. She also successfully handled an arbitration in New York on behalf of the owners of the Friday the 13th movie franchise.

Entertainment Transactional Experience
As an adjunct to her litigation counsel, Julia also represents and advises actors, writers, directors, producers and sales agents in their transactional matters, and has handled the negotiation of agreements on their behalf. Julia has also negotiated distribution agreements, casting agreements, and other production-related agreements for independent films. Julia enjoys representing young filmmakers, writers and producers emerging from Southern California film schools, and counseling them on establishing sound practices to launch their careers.

As a former dancer, Julia maintains her passion for dance and all forms of the arts. She takes special interest in the intersection between dance and the law, including copyright protection for choreography, and has written several articles on this topic.

Professional Affiliations

  • Member, Women in Film

Bar Admissions

  • California

Court Admissions

  • United States District Court for the Central District of California

Education

  • University of California, Los Angeles School of Law  (J.D., 1998)
    • UCLA Law Review, Symposium Editor
  • University of California, Los Angeles  (B.A., cum laude, 1994)
    • Communications Study

Entertainment Experience

  • Currently representing the Cisneros Group of Companies in a multi-faceted, entertainment-related business dispute
  • Represented Marvel Entertainment, owner of the copyrights in Spider-Man, Iron Man and numerous other iconic characters in various matters involving intellectual property disputes, profit participation rights and general litigation
  • Regularly represents Epic Pictures Group in connection with the financing, production and distribution of independent feature films
  • Represented the owner of the Friday the 13th movie franchise in a dispute with the producer of the original film
  • Represented the producer of the classic horror film The Last House on the Left in a dispute with his business partner concerning the 2009 remake of the film
  • Represented screenwriting team in negotiation of screenplay sale and writing services agreement with major motion picture studio
  • Represented Gameloft, S.A., one of the world’s largest publishers of mobile phone video games, in a copyright and trademark dispute brought by Activision in connection with the video game “Guitar Hero"
  • Represented Apple Core, Ltd., the holder of the rights to The Beatles, in a trademark dispute with Apple Computer over the right to use the “Apple” mark in connection with Apple’s iTunes and iPod businesses
  • Represented the owners of the rights in Winnie the Pooh in their action against Disney for fraud and breach of contract relating to Disney’s obligation to pay royalties
  • Part of the litigation team that represented an Academy Award winning composer in a multi-faceted dispute with his long-time business partner
  • Part of the litigation team that represented and achieved favorable settlements on behalf of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman when their names and likenesses were used without permission by cosmetics company Sephora
  • Represented the heirs of motion picture director William Wyler in a contractual dispute with Wyler’s former business manager involving the motion picture Ben-Hur
  • Represented several screenwriters in connection with idea submission claims against major motion picture studios
  • Regularly represents young, up and coming filmmakers, writers and producers in connection with various film and television projects

Complex Business

  • Part of the high-profile trial team that won a $104 million jury verdict against Exxon Mobil for polluting New York City’s water supply
  • Represented a Los Angeles real estate developer in a dispute concerning the acquisition of two well-known, Los Angeles area properties worth over $500 million
  • Part of the litigation team that represented a Los Angeles real estate developer and his investment company in a hotel partnership dispute and obtained a $15.5 million settlement in favor of our client based on an approximately $2 million investment
  • Part of the litigation team that successfully represented a well-known real estate development client in defense of a $150 million claim for breach of a real estate partnership; after a three and a half month trail, the Court determined that our client was not liable
  • Represented an established salesperson in a breach of contract action against his former employer to obtain lost profits