Matthew Kaplan’s practice is focused in the areas of copyright, trademark, and commercial litigation in state and federal courts and before arbitral panels.  He has litigated a number of UDRP domain name disputes before WIPO and has spearheaded the investigation and successful takedown of infringing photographs and movies from internet websites around the world.  He also advises clients in the entertainment, fashion, software and accounting industries on copyright and trademark prosecution, enforcement and anti-counterfeiting matters.

He also has experience counseling employers in the entertainment and financial software industries on numerous employment issues, including analyzing the enforceability of non-competition and non-solicitation clauses, assisting employers with hiring and termination issues, advising on wage and hour issues, and revising and drafting employment manuals. Prior to joining CDAS, he was involved with a number of employment litigations, including representing employers enforcing a non-compete agreement and defending against various discrimination and retaliation claims. 

EMPLOYMENT

• Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP, New York, NY 2004 - Present
• Associate at Epstein, Becker & Green, P.C., New York, NY 2000 - 2004
• Law Clerk to the Honorable Robert Muir, Jr., Presiding Judge, New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division

BAR ADMISSIONS

• New York (2001) and New Jersey (1998)
• Practice before the United States District Courts in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey

EDUCATION

• Washington University, St. Louis, MO 1994 B.A. in Political Science
• Rutgers - Camden School of Law, Camden, NJ 1998 J.D.

PUBLICATIONS

• Author, “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, But Are They Copyrightable? Protection of Literary Characters with Respect to Secondary Works,” 30 Rutgers L.J. 817 (1999)

ASSOCIATIONS AND ACTIVITIES

• New York City Bar Association, Fashion Law Committee
• New York State Bar Association
• Copyright Society of the United States of America
• Nassau County Bar Association

NOTABLE CASES

• Lyons Partnership, L.P. v. D & L Amusement & Entertainment, Inc., 702 F. Supp. 2d 104 (E.D.N.Y. 2010) (granting default judgment against numerous defendants for copyright and trademark infringement of children’s characters)
• Malibu Textiles, Inc. v. Carol Anderson, Inc., 2008 WL 2676356 (S.D.N.Y. July 8, 2008) (partial summary judgment as to copyright infringement liability granted in favor of the plaintiff client, a lace converter)
• Arista Records LLC v. Furia Sonidera, Inc., 2007 WL 922406 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 26, 2007) (granting default judgment against retail store selling counterfeit CDs and awarding $500,000 in enhanced statutory damages)