IP Litigator Aaron Wais Joins Motion Picture Association as Head of Global Litigation
Wais Will Also Lead Litigation for MPA’s Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment
The Motion Picture Association is pleased to announce that Aaron Wais, a seasoned litigator with extensive experience in entertainment law and intellectual property issues, has joined the MPA as Senior Vice President and Head of Global Litigation.
Wais’ portfolio will include civil litigation matters handled through the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the world’s leading coalition dedicated to protecting the dynamic legal ecosystem for creative content, as well as other content protection legal matters for ACE and the MPA. He is based in Los Angeles and will report to Karyn Temple, Senior Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel at the MPA.
“We are extremely fortunate to have Aaron join the MPA, where his extensive experience in entertainment law will lend tremendous value to our ongoing efforts to protect the intellectual property rights of content creators in the film, TV and streaming industry,” said Temple. “Aaron is already a deeply respected attorney in the industry with a great deal of experience working with many of our studios and partners. I have no doubt he will be a great asset as we continue our highly effective content protection efforts around the globe.”
Before joining the MPA, Wais served as a longtime partner at Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp (MSK), practicing in their Entertainment and Intellectual Property Litigation Group, before more recently serving as a partner at Lathrop GPM in their IP Litigation Group. He had focused his career on disputes involving copyright infringement, trademark infringement, defamation, misappropriation of publicity rights, and false advertising.
“I’m excited to join this world-class team to help ensure that content creators have the legal protections they need to earn a living and continue to produce the iconic films and TV shows loved by audiences around the world,” Wais said.
In addition to his extensive litigation and copyright experience representing content owners, Wais has also represented clients in data and privacy issues, labor and employment disputes, profit participation and royalty disputes, and breach of contract.
Wais earned a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary.
About The Motion Picture Association
The Motion Picture Association, Inc. (MPA) serves as the global voice and advocate of the motion picture, home video, and television industries. It works in every corner of the globe to advance the creative industry, protect its members’ content across all screens, defend the creative and artistic freedoms of storytellers, and support innovative distribution models that bring an expansion of viewing choices to audiences around the world. Its member studios are: Netflix Studios, LLC; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Universal City Studios LLC; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Charles Rivkin is Chairman and CEO.
About The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE)
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) is the world’s leading coalition dedicated to protecting the dynamic legal market and reducing digital piracy. Driven by a comprehensive approach to addressing piracy through criminal referrals, civil litigation and cease-and-desist operations, ACE has achieved many successful global enforcement actions against illegal streaming services and sources of unauthorized content and their operators. Drawing upon the collective expertise and resources of 40 media and entertainment companies around the world, and reinforced by the content protection operations of the Motion Picture Association, ACE protects the creativity and innovation that drive the global growth of core copyright and entertainment industries. The current governing board members for ACE are Amazon, Apple TV+, NBCUniversal, Netflix Studios LLC, Sony Pictures Entertainment, ViacomCBS, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and Warner Bros. Charles Rivkin is Chairman of ACE and the Motion Picture Association. For more information, please visit www.alliance4creativity.com.
Media Contact:
John Mercurio
john_mercurio@motionpictures.org