Intellectual property and entertainment lawyer in Atlanta

Atlanta is where the firm's founder learned both sides of the business. Shreepal "Shreeps" J. Zala studied economics at Emory University and guitar performance at the Atlanta Institute of Music and Media, performed professionally for years, and then earned his J.D. at Georgia State University College of Law. As a legal extern with Georgia Lawyers for the Arts he analyzed the Music Modernization Act and how it changed royalty distribution through the Mechanical Licensing Collective. He opened the firm in 2022. For the full picture of the federal work, see our main copyright and trademark law page. Music, film and TV matters are covered on our page on entertainment law for music, film, and TV.

How an Atlanta client's matter moves, step by step

1. Sort out what you own. List the names, logos, songs, recordings and videos involved, who made each one, and the contracts that cover them.
2. Choose the register. A Georgia trademark registration, a federal one from the USPTO, a copyright registration, or more than one.
3. File online. A federal trademark application costs $350 per class as of October 4, 2026, and must be filed electronically; a copyright application costs $45 or $65 online, depending on the form.
4. Answer the examiner. A USPTO office action must be answered within three months of its issue date, extendable once by three months for $125 (37 CFR 2.62(a)).
5. Watch the opposition window. After publication, anyone who believes they would be damaged has 30 days to oppose, or to request more time (15 U.S.C. 1063(a)).
6. Keep it alive. A federal registration lasts 10 years but is canceled unless the owner files a declaration in the year before the sixth anniversary and before each 10-year mark (15 U.S.C. 1058(a)).
7. Enforce it. Most conflicts start with a letter; a small copyright claim may go to the Copyright Claims Board, and a lawsuit to the Northern District of Georgia.

What does the firm handle for Atlanta clients?

The work covers the life of a creative asset: protecting it, licensing it, getting paid for it and acting when someone takes it. In practice that means:

• Trademark clearance, federal applications, office action responses, oppositions and maintenance filings.
• Copyright registration, sample and copyright clearance, and responses when someone copies your work.
• Recording, producer, sync, work for hire and talent agreements for musicians and production companies.
• Music publishing, collective rights management, registration of works and splits, and royalty questions.
• Licensing and assignment agreements, production legal and clearance, name, image and likeness deals, publishing contracts and online takedowns.

You deal with Shreeps directly. He is admitted to the State Bar of Georgia (bar number 137089) and practices federal intellectual property and entertainment law, so a matter before the USPTO or the Copyright Office is handled the same way for a client in Atlanta or another state.

Which court hears an Atlanta copyright or trademark case?

Federal district courts hear cases that arise under the copyright and trademark statutes, and copyright claims cannot be brought in a state court at all (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)). Metro Atlanta sits in the Northern District of Georgia, which Congress divided into four divisions (28 U.S.C. 90(a)):

The Atlanta Division sits in the Richard B. Russell Federal Building and United States Courthouse at 75 Ted Turner Drive SW. According to the court, the Clerk's Office is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., Monday through Friday except federal holidays; visitors need a government photo ID, and phones and other devices with cameras are not allowed past security. Our page on what happens in a copyright or trademark lawsuit in Atlanta federal court walks through the local rules and timeline.

Appeals from Georgia's federal courts go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which also covers Alabama and Florida. Its home is the Elbert P. Tuttle Courthouse at 56 Forsyth Street NW in Atlanta.

Should an Atlanta business register its trademark with Georgia or the USPTO?

Georgia runs its own trademark register through the Secretary of State's Corporations Division at 2 MLK Jr. Drive, Suite 313, Floyd West Tower. A state application costs $15, covers one mark in one class, and is accepted only if the mark is already in use in Georgia; a registration lasts ten years and can be renewed for another ten. The office describes a registration as public notice of your claim to the mark, and it does not search federal or other states' records first. A federal registration from the USPTO reaches the whole country, which matters as soon as you sell online, stream, tour or ship across state lines.

Do you have to visit a government office in Atlanta?

Usually not. The USPTO's headquarters and its Southeast Regional Outreach Office are both in Alexandria, Virginia, and trademark correspondence must be filed electronically (37 CFR 2.23). Copyright registration is filed through the Copyright Office's online system. The Copyright Claims Board sits at the Copyright Office in Washington, D.C., but handles proceedings electronically, with any hearings by video, so an Atlanta claimant does not travel.

What changes the answer

• Where and whether you sell yet. Georgia registers only marks already in use in Georgia. A federal application can rest on use in commerce or on a bona fide intention to use the mark (15 U.S.C. 1051(a), (b)).
• Whether the copyright is registered. For a U.S. work, no infringement suit can start before registration or preregistration (17 U.S.C. 411(a)), and a late registration can rule out statutory damages and fees (17 U.S.C. 412).
• The size of the claim. The Copyright Claims Board resolves copyright disputes up to $30,000 total, and using it is voluntary (CCB FAQ).
• Where the other side is. A copyright suit goes where the defendant or its agent resides or may be found (28 U.S.C. 1400(a)), so a defendant outside the ten Atlanta Division counties can mean another division or district.
• Where the owner lives. An applicant domiciled outside the United States must be represented at the USPTO by a qualified U.S. attorney (37 CFR 2.11(a)).
• How the goods are described. Typing goods or services in the free-form text box instead of using the ID Manual adds $200 per class (37 CFR 2.6(a)(1)(v)).

A worked example

Common mistakes

• Treating a Georgia registration as a clearance search. The Secretary of State's office says it does not search federal or other states' records.
• Filing a copyright claim in Fulton or Gwinnett state court. Section 1338(a) gives state courts no jurisdiction over Copyright Act claims.
• Registering a song only after it is copied. Section 412 can then rule out statutory damages and fees.
• Letting an office action sit. The three-month clock runs from the issue date, and one extension tops out at six months.
• Missing the opposition window. Section 1063(a) allows 30 days after publication, and an extension must be requested before they run out.

What to do this week

1. List every name, logo, song and video you use, and note where and since when.
2. Pull your USPTO TSDR records and mark any office action issue dates.
3. File copyright applications for works already released or about to be.
4. Put producer, collaborator and video contracts in one folder.
5. Write down the county where any infringer is based.

Questions Atlanta clients ask

Choosing and filing a trademark

• Choosing between state and federal protection for a metro Atlanta brand starts with common law, Georgia, or federal trademark protection.
• Atlanta artists and bands building a following can read whether you can trademark a band or artist name.
• If you are naming a podcast, book, film or single, see whether a title can be a trademark.
• An overseas company entering the Atlanta market should know why a foreign company needs a U.S. trademark attorney.
• Before a Georgia brand sells abroad, read how to protect a U.S. trademark in other countries.

Office actions and USPTO deadlines

• An examiner citing someone else's mark is answered as shown in responding to a likelihood-of-confusion refusal.
• When the USPTO rejects your label photo or web page, see what to do if your trademark specimen is refused.
• If a USPTO notice went unanswered, read what happens after a missed office action deadline.

Trademark conflicts

• When a stranger files for your business name, start with what to do when someone files a trademark for your brand.
• To challenge that filing before it registers, see how a TTAB trademark opposition works.
• When two similar brands can share the market, read how trademark coexistence and consent agreements work.

Keeping a registration alive

• The year-five and year-ten filings are laid out in trademark maintenance deadlines and fees.
• If a product line or tour has paused, read whether you can lose a trademark by not using it.

Licenses, contractors and transfers

• Hiring a designer, videographer or writer? Read whether the work should be a work made for hire or an assignment.
• Doing deals on a handshake? See whether a copyright license or assignment has to be in writing.
• Licensees facing copycats can read whether a licensee can sue an infringer.
• Buyers of creative rights should see how to record a copyright transfer.
• Buyers of a brand should see how to record a trademark assignment.
• Selling a brand before launch? Check whether you can sell a trademark application before use.
• Licensing your name or logo? Start with why a trademark license needs quality control.
• Launching merchandise? See which trademark classes merchandise needs.
• Partner launching before registration? Read how to license a pending trademark.
• Approached by an AI developer? See how licensing for AI training works.
• Licensing abroad? Check whether a U.S. license covers other countries.
• Partner in financial trouble? Read what happens to a license in bankruptcy.

Copyright registration and disputes

• Budget and timing for a filing are in copyright registration cost and processing time.
• For a modest claim that does not need the federal courthouse downtown, see whether the Copyright Claims Board fits.
• If someone copied your work, what you can recover for copyright infringement sets out the remedies.
• If the accusing letter came to you, read what to do about a copyright infringement demand letter.
• When a dispute heads to court here, see how a copyright or trademark lawsuit runs in Atlanta federal court.

Songs, recordings and ownership

• Songwriters and producers releasing new music should start with how to register a song.
• Before a melody or beat dispute, read how courts decide whether one song copied another.
• For catalog and estate planning, see how long a song's copyright lasts.
• Signed a publishing or recording deal long ago? Read whether you can get your rights back 35 years later.
• Approached by a buyer? See what you keep and give up when you sell a music catalog.
• Owners of older masters should read how federal law protects recordings made before 1972.
• If you paid for or appeared in a video shoot, read who owns a music video.
• Before releasing a cover, check whether you need permission for a cover song.

Music royalties and rates

• Songwriters checking streaming and download pay can compare it with the 2026 mechanical royalty rate.
• Unmatched writer income is explained in how the Mechanical Licensing Collective handles unclaimed royalties.
• To see where those numbers come from, read who sets music royalty rates.
• Writers choosing a performing rights organization can start with how PROs and the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees work.
• Recording artists with internet radio plays should read how SoundExchange pays for digital radio.
• Artists who hear their records on local AM and FM stations can read why radio does not pay recording artists.
• Artists with listeners overseas can read how to collect performance royalties from other countries.
• Producers owed a share of an artist's royalties should see how a letter of direction pays producers.

Online infringement and takedowns

• Found your work posted without permission? Start with what a DMCA takedown notice must include.
• If the uploader fights back, read what happens after a DMCA counter-notice, since the deadline to file suit is short.
• Facing the same uploader again and again? See whether platforms have to ban repeat infringers.
• The clerk of the federal court here can issue a DMCA subpoena; learn how to find out who is behind an anonymous account.
• Brands with fakes on marketplaces should read how to stop counterfeit sellers online.
• If someone is sitting on your name as a web address, see how to recover a domain registered in bad faith.
• For fake accounts and cloned stores, read what law applies to online business impersonation.

Film and TV productions

• Producers assembling chain of title should check whether the production owns what writers, directors and crew create.
• Writers about to pitch can read whether someone can steal a film or show idea.
• When the script or cut is ready, see how to register a film or screenplay.
• Worried about leaks before release? Learn what preregistration does for a film still in production.
• Documentary editors can start with whether clips and photos can be used under fair use.
• Archival researchers should read when old film footage is in the public domain.
• Crews shooting on Atlanta streets can check whether brands, logos or artwork can appear on screen.

Books and authors

• Publishing soon? Check whether you must register your book and send copies to the Library of Congress.
• Hiring a writer for a memoir? Read who owns a ghostwritten book.
• Writing with a partner, see who owns a co-authored book and whether one author can license it alone.
• Selling a foreign edition? Learn who owns the translation of your book.
• Before an epigraph or a lyric, check whether you can quote song lyrics or other books.
• Authors with out-of-print titles can read when you can get book rights back from a publisher.

Personal brand, likeness and NIL

• Georgia creators and estates should start with whether Georgia protects your name and likeness, even after death.
• If someone has cloned your voice or face, read what protection you have against an AI copy of yourself.
• For a fake intimate image, see how to get a deepfake intimate image taken down.
• Creators doing brand deals should read what influencers have to disclose in sponsored posts.
• Before buying any growth package, check whether brands or creators can buy reviews or followers.
• Reposting a shoot? Learn who owns a photo of you.

Frequently asked questions

Can a copyright case be filed in a Georgia state court?

No. Section 1338(a) gives federal courts exclusive jurisdiction over Copyright Act claims. That exclusive rule does not name trademarks, and Lanham Act claims may be filed in federal court whatever the amount or the parties' citizenship (15 U.S.C. 1121(a)).

How long does a federal trademark registration last?

Ten years at a time, renewable for further 10-year periods (15 U.S.C. 1059(a)). The owner must also file the declaration of use between the fifth and sixth anniversaries, with a six-month grace period for a surcharge (15 U.S.C. 1058).

What surcharges can raise a federal application's cost?

Beyond the $350 base fee per class, the USPTO schedule lists $100 per class for insufficient information and $200 per class for free-form descriptions, plus $200 per class for each further 1,000 characters (fee schedule as of October 4, 2026).

Which copyright application costs $45?

The online Single Application: one work, by a single author who is also the claimant, not made for hire. Other works use the $65 Standard Application, and paper filing costs $125 (Copyright Office fees, as of October 4, 2026).

Does the firm only work with Atlanta clients?

No. The office is in Atlanta, but the practice is federal intellectual property and entertainment law, so USPTO and Copyright Office matters are handled for clients in other states as well.

The office is at 303 Perimeter Center North, Suite 300, Atlanta, GA 30346. Bring the contract, the name or the track, and the dates that matter. To set up a conversation, request a consultation or call 404-313-1701.