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Welcome to The Law Offices
of Steven C. Vondran, P.C. ("Vondran Legal®")
We are a full-service IP, technology, entertainment & civil litigation law firm with offices in CA and AZ.
We handle federal copyright infringement cases nationwide* and are a leader in software licensing audits (ex. Microsoft, Autodesk, Vero, Solidworks, Simens, Ansys, Hexagon, Synopsis), BiTtorrent file-sharing defense (ex. Strike 3 Holdings, LLC), DMCA law (YouTube and App Store takedowns), online photo infringement, boxing piracy (ex. Joe Hand), IPTV streaming, internet piracy & counterfeit cases (ex. Apple infringement allegations), contract disputes and general civil litigation.
We also have a growing practice in the area of "fair use" entertainment (opinion letters and clearance) and Youtube law. We represent several very large YouTube channel creators. We have been in practice since 2004 and have taken on some of the biggest law firms and biggest companies in the world.
2022 Announcement - We Did It!!!
We are proud to announce that we have been identified by Unicourt as the top (#1) copyright infringement defense lawsuit in the United States for 2020. We are well on our way to repeating our championship!! In addition, as far as overall copyright infringement cases handled since 2017, LexMachina has us as #12 on the list of top copyright law firms in the Country. We are shooting for top 10 status in 2022.
Thanks to all the individuals and companies that have trusted us over the years to represent their interests in business and intellectual property matters, including a handful of "bet the farm" cases where literally everything was on the line.
Who is Attorney Steve?
Steve Vondran is a California and Arizona licensed attorney. since 2004 He has been involved in a wide variety of legal disputes and counseling & advice since then. We have fought against some of the biggest law firm in not only the United States, but the World. Check out some of the BIGLAW firms here.
BitTorrent Defense - Strike 3 Holdings, LLC
State Licensing
We are licensed in good standing with the following states. We can handle federal copyright infringement cases nationwide subject to local rules of admission.
This is the official homepage for Attorney Steve® – The First Name In Legal Services®.
This is also the home of Copyright Watchdog® and You CLICK We DEFEND® (internet piracy lawyer). Attorney Steve® is also the founder of CopyrightPolicy.org a Washington D.C. based copyright policy, research and advocacy center advocating for fair use rights, and cease and desist letters BEFORE suing people, (many new immigrants to our country don't know our laws and get pounced on by aggressive Plaintiff counsel).
Overview of our legal services
We are a leader in the United States in software audits and licensing disputes, internet file-sharing defense, DMCA law, photo infringement, copyright fair use opinion letters for movie, film and podcast producers, and TV signal boxing piracy cases (Joe Hand promotions, G&G closed circuit, Innovative Sports Management and J&J sports production) involving cable and satellite. We are a boutique copyright law firm uniquely experienced to handle these types of cases and other copyright infringement cases including jewelry (L.A. Gem & Jewelry), computer font, book, music, photo and video game infringement!
We have also handled many internet counterfeit cases involving Apple products.
NOTE: Hiring an "out of state firm" when you are dealing with companies like Strike 3 Holdings, Innovative Sports Management and Apple can be a very bad move. These lawyers from Chicago or Texas or New York, they can talk a big game but they are not licensed in California and opposing counsel KNOWS THIS. They cannot go to Court without associating with local counsel (like us). So, don't be fooled by other lawyers who say they can handle your case in California, where many of the top tech companies in the world are located. We are your firm and we are in the top 20 of United States Firms in the area of handling copyright infringement filings according to Lex Machina. You can check out our stellar client reviews here.
In short, opposing counsel respect LOCAL COUNSEL like us. We have copyright infringement offices in San Diego, Newport Beach (Orange County), Santa Monica (Los Angeles) and San Francisco (Bay area, silicon valley, Tiburon, San Jose) and two offices in Phoenix area serving Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Tempe and surrounding areas.
Our popular YouTube Channel
We are also the producer of the popular YouTube Litigation Whiteboard® series with our youtube channel reaching over 42k subscribers, and over FOUR MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND VIDEO VIEWS and growing fast. Make sure to SUBSCRIBE! We offer our videos FREE OF CHARGE and see it as a professional obligation to teach and inspire the good folks of the world, and to make law more understandable and justice more accessible.
Does your lawyer have a YouTube channel? You can see who we are. We don't hide. We share our passion to help educate people and make law more UNDERSTANDABLE and ACCESSIBLE. It is a mission we have aside from representing our great clients.
Flexible Fee Structures
We offer LOW FLAT RATE FEES for many cases – Unlike most law firms that may want to DRAG THINGS ON so they can BILL HOURLY and send you HUGE LEGAL BILLS, usually including at the end of the case we are different and we think differently and provide a range of options to make hiring legal counsel affordable. Some copyright infringement recovery cases and Plaintiff cases we may be able to take on a contingency fee basis. Call or email us through our contact form for more information.
Experienced and "Battle-Tested"
We have AMAZING CLIENT REVIEWS and have appeared in over 190 Federal Court Cases. The other firms know who we are! As we like to say "be SO GOOD they cannot ignore you." We have litigated against some of the top law firms in the United States and have been involved in successful litigation with some of the world's largest companies.
Click here to view some of our past IP case successes and case summaries.
Click here to see BIGLAW firms we have battled.
I LOVE PRACTICING LAW! What a strange, beautiful, challenging, historical trip I have been on for about 20 years now. This photo was taken at the Supreme Court of the United States. For the first time in my life, I was literally speechless. Just wandering through the hallowed halls of Justice, learning about all the great people and brilliant minds who helped shape this unbelievably awesome and loving country. Best in the world and worth fighting for!!
SOFTWARE, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & TECHNOLOGY LAW
To take a DEEPER DIVE - our practice areas center around the following areas:
1. Software audits and licensing disputes - We are a LEADER in the United States in handling software audit disputes involving powerhouse software companies and compliance trade organizations such as:
- Microsoft (both internal audits and BSA driven)
- Adobe
- Ansys (Engineering and 3D design software)
- Siemens (PLM, NX software)
- Software Compliance Group
- Autodesk (CAD, Maya, Revit, 3ds)
- SIIA
- Vero Software (Alphacam / Edgecam, Surfcam)
- Business Software Alliance ("BSA")
- CNC Mastercam
- Soildworks (also getting very aggressive in 2021)
- Camtasia (video editing software)
- VB Conversion (over-installation cases)
- Solidworks
- Altium
We may also be able to help with IBM, Oracle, VM Ware, SAP, Informatica and other software companies. If you received a letter demanding an audit of your computer networks, laptops, and servers contact us for a free consultation. We offer low flat rate fees that many companies, both large and small, have enjoyed over the years. In this area of law, there is simple no substitute for experience. We have settled HUNDREDS of software audits for our clients.
Click here to go to our Software Audit Resource Center.
Click here for past software settlements.
2. Federal Copyright Litigation
We also handle a variety of copyright infringement cases (both for rights holder Plaintiffs and defending against allegations of willful copyright infringement and software piracy or counterfeits). Cases can involve any copyrighted content such as:
- Jewelry
- Font infringement.
- P2p - internet file sharing
- Lyrics
- Music
- Photography
- Tattoo
- Etsy copyright disputes
- Art
- Software piracy
- Videos
- DMCA 512(f) - copyright takedown "bad faith" cases / section 1202 anti-circumvention cases
- Arizona film, video and photo infringement.
- Other copyrighted content
NEW FOR 2022!!! Check out our NFT and Metaverse legal page.
Submit your case through our online contact form or contact us at
VIDEO: Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to our popular legal channel for more free updates. Join over 40,000 others who love something besides plain old boring politics.
3. P2P File Sharing - Torrent Defense
2021 Strike 3 Holdings, LLC updates - Strike 3 is still hitting hard filing many "Bill of Discovery" cases in Florida Miami Dade County and filing many California federal court litigation cases. We are a leader in defending California residents who are facing allegations of illegal sharing of adult videos on the internet.
August 2020 Update - If you received a Subpoena from a company called Strike 3 Holdings, LLC, here is the most important blog you can read. I call it the Strike 3 Subpoena Response Survival Guide. It has links to the important torrent defense videos I have made that you should see before making a decision to hire a defense firm.
Introduction
Many people have been on the wrong side of a "file sharing lawsuit" with a Plaintiff counsel firm demanding thousands of dollars for the illegal sharing of videos online. Demands can reach as high as $50,000. Two of the major (copyright infringement) filers of federal court lawsuits in this area are Strike 3 Holdings, LLC, and Malibu Media. These companies together have filed THOUSANDS of lawsuits, many in California where we are the CLEAR LEADER IN BITTORRENT LAWSUIT DEFENSE, clogging the federal courts seeking settlements (what many people refer to "shame settlements" with what some judges refer to as "copyright trolls."). This has lessened to a great deal now that the Courts are demanding anonymity, mainly because they do GET IT WRONG at times, and simply do not have the evidence of movie infringement. See our recent video where Strike 3 was hit with a 47k award in Washington State from a Defendant who stood up and challenged them. The case is on appeal.
We have vast experience in this area of copyright law and can help our clients get their cases settled (whether through litigation or settlement), and we offer flat-rate legal fees for many cases.
To learn more visit our Torrent Defense Resource Center
We can also help with other p2p cases (for both Plaintiff rights holders and Defendants) such as copyrighted software, music, video, and more. Call us for information about our contingency fee recovery program for rights holders. We can be reached at
Steve was beyond helpful in advising me on my company's possible issues regarding software licensing. He clearly knows his stuff. Though I hope to not need him in the future, he is absolutely our company's go-to, in any software or similar IP case going forward. And his youtube content is excellent, both in terms of usefulness and detail.
4. Satellite and TV signal piracy / PPV theft
Our IP litigation firm has handled many cases involving allegations of copyright infringement and violation of federal cable and satellite theft statutes. We can help if you have received a letter from any of the following companies:
- Dish Network / Nagrastar
- Joe Hand Promotions
- Nagrastar
- G&G Closed Circuit Events
- Innovative Sports Management dba Integrated Sports Media
Attorney Steve® explains "INNOCENT" COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
VIDEO: This may be the most important video you will ever watch if you are accused of photo, software, or illegal movie downloads. There is a HUGE difference between "Willful" infringement and "innocent" copyright infringement. Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to our rapidly growing legal channel. As we like to say "Be Smarter Than Your Friends."
Finally, we handle a wide variety of entertainment and social media cases including but not limited to:
- Fair use analysis and opinion letters. [Click here to fill out our questionnaire to receive a quote for a fair use opinion letter)
- Celebrity endorsement - marketing agreements
- Right of Publicity (California law) - ex. Deep Fake
- Royalty Disputes
- Youtube disputes (takedown, appeals, DMCA 512(f) bad faith claims)
- "Life Rights" cases
- Review of model release agreements
- Free speech on campus
- Theft of idea cases
- Revenge Porn (DMCA takedown)
- Review of personal management agreements
- Podcasting law
- Account takedown and reinstatement of social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok etc.).
- Music law
- Sports law
2021 Update: Note: there is a new streaming felony law that can lead to criminal prosecution. We represent clients trying to settle their cases and avoid this unfortunate consequence of the movie industry making their move, working hand in hand with the Department of Justice. Call us if you are being accused of illegal streaming from companies like TRILLER or Dish/Nagrastar.
Copyright Licensing Disputes
We can also help with copyright licensing agreements and contract disputes (breach of contract) relating to the following types of creative Works:
1. literary works; (books. blog content)
2. musical works, including any accompanying words; (songs, lyrics, sheet music)
3. dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
4. pantomimes and choreographic works;
5. pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; (photo, art jewelry)
6. motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
7. sound recordings;
8. architectural works
WOWZA: Subscribe to our popular Youtube channel! We are getting close to 40,000 subscribers and 4 million video views. As we like to say "Be Smarter Than Your Friends."
For years now we have developed a popular legal video channel providing general legal information in the areas of copyright, software, intellectual property, fair use, youtube law, DMCA, entertainment law, P2p issues, and other general legal videos (our Litigation Whiteboard® series is very popular). The purpose of our legal web channel is to share our passion, knowledge, tips, and insights with individuals and businesses (as well as other attorneys and law students), hoping to accomplish our objective of making the law more understandable, and hopefully, more accessible to all.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR LEGAL YOUTUBE CHANNEL. Please click on the RED “V” to SUBSCRIBE to FREE video updates. Many law students, paralegals, pro per litigants, business owners, creative entrepreneurs, artists, videographers, and other professionals have joined our cause and some have even thanked us for providing the free general legal information and have become subscribers of our channel!!!
We thank you all for your continued support in building our channel to nearly THREE MILLION VIDEO VIEWS and over 35,000 subscribers! Your support and viewership allow us to keep pushing forward and keep bringing you the general legal information you need and love!
"One of our main goals as a law firm (we see it as a professional obligation) is to make the law more understandable and the courts more accessible to lower income individuals and small to medium sized companies."
Attorney Steve Tip: To people who say “I can't decide which IP law firm to go with” I have tried to make it easy for you. View our youtube channel. See our extensive federal court experience, (we have appeared as counsel in over 175 cases) and review our past client reviews below.
If you are still undecided, call us to discuss your concerns and issues at (877) 276-5084.
In many cases (non-litigation usually) we offer a low flat rate (predictable) legal fees that are literally changing the practice of law. We are often able to be creative to make legal services affordable.
California Music Lawyer
Attorney Steve® Slappin the Bass! AMATEUR GUITAR PLAYER and music lawyer.
Copyright Small Claims Recovery - NEW - Copyright Small Claims Court permits cases up to 30k (even if you do not have a registered copyright before filing)
As we have discussed in other blogs, there is a new "copyright small claims" law that was passed as part of the Covid-19 relief bill. The law creates a copyright claims board (CCB) in Washington D.C. out of the Library of Congress. These will likely be digital proceedings (the rules are not yet solidified) and the damages can go as high as 30k (not really a SMALL claim now is it)? Our law firm is a leader in the United States in handling copyright infringement matters from DMCA takedowns to photo and video infringement, software audits (ex. Business Software Alliance and Autodesk, Siemens, Vero), and illegal tv signal piracy cases (ex. Joe Hand Promotions, J&J Sports and G&G Closed Circuit Events). We are also a leading firm in the niche area of BitTorrent litigation and have handled the bulk of California federal court copyright infringement actions involving Strike 3 Holdings, LLC. Call us to discuss potential contingency fee recovery programs for rights holders. We represent both Plaintiff and Defendant clients, both individuals and companies whether large or small. Call us at (877) 276-5084.
A word about “Super Lawyers” and Martindale Hubbell “Peer Rated”
In my honest opinion having been a lawyer for over 17 years, these designations are largely not much more than creative marketing. You can do the research for yourself, but I have seen many "Super Lawyers" who were not even close to being super. Same goes for Martindale-Hubbel's
peer rated." To me, there are other factors to look for in hiring the right law firm including the following:
1. Passion for what they are doing (a lawyer who LOVES helping people for example)
2. Honesty & Integrity (someone who is not going to over-bill you because they have a "minimum billable hour requirement" at their firm)
3. Proven track record of success (experience matters)
4. Your personalities and goals are aligned with your counsel (you want a lawyer and staff that you can easily communicate with and understand). Not someone that talks over your head.
5. Affordable / Cost-effective counsel
6. Reviews - check ours here
To me, these are the important things, more important than any label a lawyer may tout. These are the real things that matter.
We Care About Social Justice
Our law firm cares deeply about the progress of all humans. We believe in racial justice reckoning and believe that we must all work together to promote the drive for diversity, equity and inclusion.
Website Disclaimer
Click here to read our website terms of use which applies to all users/viewers of our site and potential new clients. Vondran Legal is a woman-owned law firm.
LEGAL NOTICES
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Attorney Advertising: The content of this website is intended to convey general information only. No part of this website should be relied upon as legal advice or a substitute for legal advice. No information on this website shall be construed as an offer to represent any individual or company, nor is any information on this website intended to create an attorney-client relationship (only signing a retainer and paying the required fees will do that). Nothing contained on this website is a guarantee, warranty, or prediction of any outcome for any particular legal matter. This website constitutes attorney advertising.
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Statement in Compliance with the California Rules of Professional Conduct, including Rule 1-400(12): This website is a communication providing public information about Vondran Legal® availability for professional employment. Steve Vondran is a member of the California State Bar and is responsible for this communication.
- Contacting us: Contacting us, and/or having us contact you or respond in any matter to any inquiry does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send details about your case or any documents when communicating with Vondran Legal® through this website.
- No Response: *Sorry, but we are not able to return all inquiries and not responding to your inquiry does not mean you do not have a case. It just means we are not able to assist you at this time.
