Tom J. Ferber joined Pryor Cashman in 1982 and has been a partner at the firm since 1991. His major practice area is litigation, including commercial, intellectual property and entertainment litigation. Tom represents a variety of clients in the entertainment, publishing and other industries in copyright infringement, trademark, trade dress, false advertising, unfair competition, right of publicity, privacy and defamation actions. He also counsels clients in risk evaluation in these areas and strategies for minimizing exposure, particularly motion picture studios and errors and omissions insurers needing to determine the insurability of potential film and television projects.

Tom has recently served as counsel to an A-list motion picture producer in connection with a complex copyright claim concerning an Academy Award-nominated film, has represented two major television production entities and a major network on a misappropriation of idea claim in California, and has defended an international toy manufacturer in a copyright action in Illinois. He has also represented the rights owner of a major film franchise in a dispute concerning remake and sequel rights. 

Tom has served as counsel to film studios, production entities, networks and broadcasters on matters ranging from defamation and violation of the right of publicity to a claim of producer “attachment” to a film project. Tom’s reported cases include a Lanham Act and copyright action brought on behalf of best-selling author David Baldacci in which Tom won a preliminary injunction preventing a publisher from proceeding with the publication of a mystery anthology, including a story by Mr. Baldacci, based on the book’s misleading marketing.

Most recently, Tom contributed the chapter on New York law to the Oxford University Press, USA treatise Entertainment Law (2011), which analyzes New York state and federal authorities on subjects including copyright infringement, idea misappropriation, publicity and privacy rights, and defamation, among others. Tom also served on the faculty on PLI’s Advanced Seminar on Copyright Law and on bar association and other panels addressing current issues in intellectual property law. Tom was also named as a top intellectual property litigator in The Legal 500 and New York Super Lawyers.