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.

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

• “Mercedes Case Reveals Integrated-Work Copyright Stopgap” Law 360.com (2019); revised as “Approach Mural with Caution,” Professional Photographer (2020)
• “Copyright Law Update: New DMCA Regulations Loosen the Reins for Internet of Things.” (2018)
• “Frequently Asked Questions – Publishing Agreements.” (2018)
• “Monetary Recovery in Copyright Disputes.” The Peacemaker, published by the Dispute Resolution Section of the NC Bar Association (2018)
• “Copyright Office Report on Software-Enabled Consumer Devices.” (2017)
• “Copyright Infringement,” N.C. Writer’s Network (2016)
• “Faster, Cheaper Designation of Agents to Accept DMCA Take Down Notices.”IP Watchdog (2016)
• “I Wrote That: A Look At The ‘Avatar’ Copyright Cases,”Law 360.com (2016)
• “DMCA: Loosening the Reins for Educators.” WCSR Client Alert (2015)
• “DMCA Take-Down Notice: Best Practices.”WCSR Client Alert (2015)
• “Rethinking Fair Use in the DMCA Context.”WCSR Client Alert, republished at Lexology.com (2015)
• “Want to Register Your Database Copyright? Use Paper-Based Application…For Now.”WCSR Client Alert (2015)
• “What Makes a Copy Cat a Copy Cat? The Complex case of Architectural Copyright.”Arch Daily (2014)
• “U.S. Copyright Office Raises Fees for Most Services.” (2014)
• “The Powder Room is on the Left.”Business Alabama (2013)
• “Insider Publishing Tips: Negotiating Your Publishing Agreement.” SC Book Festival (2013)
• “House Plan Copyright Questions Answered.”Design Lines (2013)
• “Lawsuit: What’s in a Design?”Professional Builder (2013)
• “Consumers 1, Publisher 0 in Recent Supreme Court Copyright Decision,” WCSR Client Alert, reprinted at Lexology.com (2013)
• “Not Coming to a Theater near You.” Georgia IP Litigation Blog, reprinted at Lexology.com and Law360.com (2013)
• “A Look At 4^th’s Take On Architectural Copyrights.”Law360.com (2013)
• “Copyright Year in Review.” Intellectual Property Law Section, NC Bar Association CLE (2011)
• “U.S. Copyright Office Permits Circumvention of Technological Measures Controlling Access to Certain Copyrighted Works.”com (2010)
• “Copyright Legislation Update: H.R.. 2601, Public Domain Enhancement Act. IP Links (2004)
• “Supremely Wilde.” Smithsonian Magazine (2004)
• “Judge Leval’s Transformation Standard: Can It Really Distinguish Foul from Fair?” Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA (2003)
• “Kelly v. Arriva Soft: The More Things Change…,” Southeast TechWire, reprinted in IP Links (2002)
• “The Case for Registration of Copyright: Optional or Not?” IP Links (2002)
• “Inauthentic Works of Art: Why Bridgeman May Ultimately Be Irrelevant to Art Museums.” Columbia-VLA Journal of Law & the Arts (2001)
• Also Bauer: Classic American Pottery (Chronicle Books, 1995); Magnificent Obsessions: Twenty Remarkable Collectors in Pursuit of Their Dreams (Chronicle Books, 1994); Painters Painting (with Emile de Antonio) (Abbeville, 1984); and articles in The Boston Phoenix, Chicago-Sun-Times, Esquire, Film Comment, House & Garden, Los Angeles Times, The Nation, The New Republic, Omni, Oui, Penthouse, Playboy, The Village Voice and others.

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