Morningstar Law Group – Raleigh Law Firm – Durham NC Attorneys

A seasoned publishing lawyer, Mitch Tuchman helps authors and publishers develop mutually beneficial business relationships. He is a copyright attorney who has advised scores of authors, authors’ and artists’ estates, architects, photographers, filmmakers, educational and other nonprofit organizations as well as publishers of print and online books with respect to the value and enforcement of their intellectual property and has vetted manuscripts to identify legal risks associated with third-party claims.

When should an author consult a literary attorney?  Mitch counsels authors on a range of publishing matters including:

  • Evaluating the terms of publishing agreements, options or other subsidiary rights licenses
  • Weighing the risks associated with third-party privacy rights
  • Contemplating coauthorship
  • Engaging the services of publishing industry freelancers such as editors, designers, indexers and translators
  • Clearing rights in third-party materials
  • Resolving allegations of copyright infringement

Before becoming an intellectual property attorney, Mitch spent ten years as a freelance writer and editor and fourteen years as the publisher of exhibition and collection catalogues at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  As a publisher and writer himself, he understands copyright matters from the client’s perspective.

Mitch’s trademark clients represent the gamut of American enterprise.

Outside of work Mitch enjoys numerous community commitments, including membership on the boards of the Museum of Durham History, the Durham Literacy Center and Preservation Durham.  He collects 19th and 20th-century ceramics and is the author of several books, including one on pottery.  His dog Roxie is the world’s best…well, one of.


What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Begin at the beginning, and when you come to the end, stop.

Accolades

  • Best Lawyers: Lawyer of the Year – Copyright Law (2021, 2023)
  • Best Lawyers: Copyright Law (2018-2024)
  • Business North Carolina Legal Elite: Intellectual Property Law (2014-2015)

Representative Experience

  • Resolves copyright disputes involving authors, architects, photographers, fabric designers and others
  • Delivers opinions on a variety of copyright issues, including duration of copyright in works created by artists under the 1909 and 1976 Copyright Acts
  • Negotiates publishing agreements for authors and publishers
  • Negotiates copyright and trademark licenses, subsidiary rights agreements, joint authorship agreements, professional services agreements and talent agency agreements
  • Develops intellectual property policies for colleges and universities
  • Counsels clients on a variety of intellectual property issues

Presentations & Publications

Education

  • American University Washington College of Law, J.D. (2001)
  • Stanford Law School, Master of Legal Studies (1997)
  • Yale University, M.Phil., Ph.D., Sociology (1973)
  • Occidental College, B.A., Sociology (1967)

Admissions

  • North Carolina State Bar (2002)

Professional

  • Preservation Durham: Board of Directors (2023–present)
  • Durham Literacy Center: Board of Directors (2019–present)
  • Museum of Durham History: Board of Directors (2012–present)
  • NC Bar Association: Intellectual Property Law Section, past chair