Sheldon Mak & Anderson Successes

Litigation

A Counterfeiter Pays
The sales of a food product importer were threatened by a counterfeit product- a similar product in packaging identical to that of our client. We put an immediate stop to the counterfeiting via an ex parte seizure order. In one of the few anti-counterfeiting cases to actually go to a jury trial, the jury awarded our client damages in the six figures, including punitive damages, which were collected.

An Artist's Rights
We represented long-term artist client, Kent Twitchell, in his lawsuit against the U.S. Government and 12 other defendants for the desecration of his 70-foot tall landmark mural, which settled for $1.1 million. This settlement is believed to be the largest under the seldominvoked Federal Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) or the California Art Preservation Act (CAPA). It sets an important precedent benefiting other artists by making it clear that when it comes to public art, an artist's rights must be respected, or significant liability will ensue.

Successfully and economically resolving a license agreement dispute. A client was sued by its licensee with regard to a license agreement. We arranged for a prompt mediation, and as a result of the arguments we presented during the mediation, the plaintiff never served the complaint on our clients, instead dismissing the lawsuit.