mmccabe@vanfeliu.com
PRACTICE AREAS:
Intellectual Property Law, Entertainment Law
EDUCATION:
B.A. Fordham University, 1981
summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
M.A. University of Chicago, 1984
J.D. Georgetown University Law Center, 1985
cum laude, editor: Law and Policy in International Business
BAR ADMISSIONS:
1986, New York; 1987, Washington, D.C.;
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York;
U.S. District Court Eastern Districts of New York;
U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit.
Monica McCabe is a partner at Vandenberg & Feliu, LLP, specializing in Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law. Her practice encompasses a wide variety of entertainment-related practice areas including copyright, trademark, contract and litigation issues. Ms. McCabe has developed client relationships in these areas and has represented record companies, media companies, apparel manufacturers and distributors, musical performers, writers, book publishers, illustrators, photographers and non-profits.
Ms. McCabe began her legal career at Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett, was a partner at Reid & Priest where she was a Project of the Year Finalist in 1994, and was most recently Of Counsel at DLA Piper where she was awarded the Pro Bono Partner/Of Counsel of the Year Award in 2003. She completed a judicial clerkship with the Honorable Arthur L. Burnett of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Ms. McCabe is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
During her 25-year legal career, Ms. McCabe has directed copyright and trademark litigation including the application for emergency injunctive relief; supervised the prosecution and maintenance of hundreds of trademarks; and she has advised and represented clients regarding the protection, assignment and licensing of copyrights, trademark portfolios, and domain names.
Ms. McCabe has represented clients in numerous matters involving entertainment-related issues such as rights of publicity and privacy, breach of recording agreements, celebrity bankruptcies, and royalty disputes; she has negotiated and drafted license, royalty, trademark, music recording, music publishing, producer, copyright, illustrator, film (including animated film), computer software, Internet, trade secret, non-disclosure and other intellectual property agreements.
Other entertainment-related transactions include: celebrity endorsement and special event performance agreements, music industry deals, film finance deals, book publishing and distribution deals, and film option and television programming deals. Ms. McCabe has also handled a number of high-profile entertainment-related lawsuits, including litigation regarding Prince’s guitar and copyright ownership of the Jimi Hendrix Estate.
Additionally, Ms. McCabe has counseled clients regarding and analyzed existing intellectual property agreements and assets, including consideration of new media issues; represented clients and drafted agreements in purchase and sale of intellectual property assets; and she has assisted clients regarding litigation avoidance for copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition, trade dress and trade secret violation.
Ms. McCabe is a current member of the Board of Advisors of the World Media Law Report and a past member of the Board of Advisors of the World Copyright Report. She has authored a number of articles and presentations at conferences regarding trademark, copyright and trademark issues. She has served as Assistant Counsel of the New York State Governor’s Judicial Screening Committee for the First Judicial Department and she has been a member of various Association of the Bar of New York City’s Committees. Ms. McCabe is a member of The Copyright Society and INTA. She was a 2007 and 2008 honoree of the New York State Bar Association Empire State Counsel Pro Bono Service Award.
Ms. McCabe is a Trustee of the Staten Island Children’s Museum. She is Board Secretary and Executive Committee member of the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, founded by Russell and Danny Simmons.