Joseph C. Gratz
Clients turn to Joe Gratz to handle trailblazing litigation where copyright and trademark law meet new technologies. An experienced litigator, Joe draws on his strong technical background to distill complex issues into simple, accurate concepts for judges, juries, and clients.
Joe’s cases have set key precedents in Internet law, from the Google Books case that laid the groundwork for today’s generative AI innovations to key cases establishing the boundaries of intermediary liability. In addition to representing their interests in the courtroom, Joe helps his clients navigate their thorniest product counseling puzzles to reduce the risk of litigation.
His appellate victory in Long v. Facebook set the standard for platforms in carrying out DMCA removals of user-generated content. And Joe’s win in Stevens v. CoreLogic established limitations on DMCA 1202 claims that have since been adopted by numerous other courts. His amicus brief on behalf of independent booksellers was cited by the Supreme Court in its opinion in Wiley v. Kirtsaeng, and he has submitted amicus briefs in other copyright cases on behalf of Center for Democracy & Technology (in Oracle v. Google) and on behalf of art law professors (in Warhol v. Goldsmith).
A recognized commentator on copyright and internet law, Joe was selected as an advisor for the American Law Institute’s project to develop a Restatement of Copyright, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He frequently speaks on emerging issues in Internet law and was called upon by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020 to testify about the interaction between the DMCA 512 safe harbor and fair use.
Joe was the 2022 recipient of the California Lawyers Association’s IP Vanguard award, presented to one private practitioner each year for achievements at the forefront of emerging issues in intellectual property law.
Experience
Authors Guild v. Google, Inc.
(Southern District of New York; 2nd Circuit) Defended Google from claims of copyright infringement in a putative class action involving the Google Book Search project. Secured summary judgment in the district court and defended that win on appeal.
Hachette et al. v. Internet Archive
(Southern District of New York) Represents Internet Archive, a nonprofit digital library based in San Francisco, in copyright litigation brought by major publishers alleging that Internet Archive’s practice of digitally lending print books it owns to one patron at a time violates copyright law.
International Code Council, Inc. v. UpCodes, Inc.
(Southern District of New York) Represented UpCodes, a Y Combinator-backed legal information start-up, in copyright litigation about model building codes enacted into law. In its summary judgment ruling, the court adopted UpCodes’ legal positions as to its current business practices.
Stevens v. CoreLogic, Inc.
(Southern District of California; 9th Circuit) Represented CoreLogic in defeating a billion-dollar putative class action alleging wrongful removal of copyright management information in violation of § 1202 of the DMCA. Secured summary judgment in the district court and defended that win on appeal.
Long v. Facebook
(Northern District of California; 9th Circuit) Represented Facebook in asserting the safe harbor under § 512 of the DMCA against a copyright infringement claim. Won dismissal at the pleadings stage in the district court and defended that win on appeal.
Verifone v. Poynt
(District of Delaware) Defended Poynt against claims of trademark infringement involving the mark POINT. Defeated a motion for preliminary injunction, leading to a favorable settlement.
Atari v. Redbubble
(Northern District of California) Defended Redbubble, an online marketplace for artists, against claims of copyright and trademark infringement. Obtained a complete defense jury verdict at trial.
Does v. OpenAI et al.
(Northern District of California) Representing OpenAI in a class action challenging its use of publicly available material to train a generative AI model that writes code.
Various Online Platforms
Advising numerous online platforms regarding copyright and trademark intermediary liability, fair use, the DMCA safe harbor, application of § 230 immunity, and web scraping.
Rankings
Band 2, Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets, California
Chambers USA 2023-2024
Leading Lawyer in Intellectual Property: Copyright
Legal 500 2023-2024
Top Intellectual Property Lawyer
Daily Journal 2023
California: Enforcement & Litigation
World Trademark Review 1000, 2023-2025
IP Vanguard Award
California Lawyers Association - 2022
CLAY Award Winner
Daily Journal - 2022
“Top 40 under 40”
Daily Journal - 2019
California and US (Nationwide) Litigation Star, Intellectual Property and Commercial
Benchmark Litigation - 2023-2025
Under 40 Hot List
Benchmark Litigation - 2018
Top Intellectual Property Lawyers Under 40
Law360 - 2015
Global IP Star
Managing IP - 2018
IP Star
Managing IP, 2023-2024
Intellectual Property, Northern California; Litigation
Super Lawyers 2013-2022