Marc Toberoff

Marc Toberoff is an intellectual property attorney specializing in copyright and entertainment litigation.

He represented the heirs of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in an unsuccessful effort to reclaim the rights to Superman from Warner Bros. and DC Comics.

Toberoff also represents the estate of comic book artist and creator Jack Kirby in litigation with Marvel Entertainment regarding the copyrights to Kirby's co-creations, including Fantastic Four, X-Men, Incredible Hulk, Mighty Thor and Silver Surfer. A petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court is currently pending.

In the music industry, Toberoff represents, among others, the children of Ray Charles. On their behalf, Toberoff prevailed in a suit in the Central District of California regarding the copyrights to fifty-one of his songs, including many of his most famous compositions (e.g., I Got A Woman, It's All Right, Hallelujah I Love Her So). The case is on appeal. Toberoff also represents most of the children of James Brown regarding his copyrights.

Toberoff has been recognized by Forbes Magazine,[10] The Hollywood Reporter,[11] Variety,[12] and the Los Angeles Business Journal[13] as among the most influential intellectual property attorneys in the entertainment industry.

In 2008, Toberoff persuaded the Ninth Circuit to affirm the copyrights of the daughter of Eric Knight in his novel Lassie Come-Home, a case that has helped shape authors' rights under the Copyright Act.[14][15] In 2005, Toberoff secured a preliminary injunction against the Warner Bros. release of its The Dukes of Hazzard movie on behalf of the owners of the indie film, Moonrunners, from which The Dukes of Hazzard television series was derived.[16] Toberoff has also represented writers and other creators in the television industry.[17]