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Related Practices

• Trademarks and Copyrights
• Litigation
• Intellectual Property Transactions

Education

Kevin C. Parks

Member

Kevin Parks has significant experience counseling clients and litigating in all areas of trademark and copyright law, including representation in trial and appellate courts and in proceedings before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and U.S. Copyright Office.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Parks founded (and remains president of) SOUNDIES, Inc., a music licensing and consulting firm.  Prior to SOUNDIES, he was affiliated with intellectual property firms in New York and Chicago, and served as in-house Brand Counsel to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association from 1996 to 1998.

Mr. Parks is a member of the adjunct faculties at The John Marshall Law School and Columbia College, teaching coursework in music copyright and licensing.  He writes and speaks regularly on current issues in music copyright and the music business.

Professional Affiliations

• International Trademark Association (INTA)
• American Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section
  • Vice Chair 2010-11:  Copyright Subcommittee 306, Broadcasting, Sound Recordings and Performing Artists
• The Copyright Society of the U.S.A.
• The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences
• Chicago Bar Association (Entertainment and Art Law Committee)
• Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO)

Articles and Publications

• "Character judgments," Chicago Lawyer, November 2011 
• "Losing control of the business," Chicago Lawyer, July 2011
• "Act now, while supplies last!" Chicago Lawyer, March 2011
• "Waiting for the canary to sing," Chicago Lawyer, October 2010
• "The futures of IP," Chicago Lawyer, June 2010
• Contributing author on copyright, ABA Annual Review of Intellectual Property Law Developments 2009
• “Performance rights 2010?” Chicago Lawyer, February 2010
• Quoted in The Christian Science Monitor article by Patrik Jonsson, "Songwriters sue, saying: You can't use 'Redneck Yacht Club,'" September 9, 2009
• "Time to traffic in trademarks," Chicago Lawyer, July 2009
• Quoted in The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC) articles by Mike Cherney, "Hard Rock Park Creators File Suit: Ex-proprietors Cite Trademark Violations," May 20, 2009, and "Freestyle Music Park Clear for Today's Opening," May 23, 2009
• "Copyright works," Chicago Lawyer, January 2009
• “Black Hole or Celestial Jukebox: Section 114 and the Future of Music," Landslide Magazine, November/December 2008
• "Congress Debates the Future of Music with 'Performance Rights Act,'" Corporate Counsel Magazine, March 2008
• "Twenty-First Century Music Performance Licensing and the Great Royalty Debates," The Licensing Journal, January 2008
• "The Music Industry Wins a Battle – But What About the War?" Instant Awareness, An Immediate Look at the Legal and Industry Ramifications of Virgin Records America, et al v. Jammie Thomas, Aspatore Books 2007
• Quoted in The Christian Science Monitor article by Daniel B. Wood, "The YouTube World Opens an Untamed Frontier for Copyright Law," December 2006
• White Paper, "Howdy Neighbor! Getting to Know Digital Music Performance Royalties" (December 2006)
• Direct Case Affiant, United States Copyright Office, Docket No. 2005-01-CRB DTRA, In the Matter of Digital Performance Rights in Sound Recordings and Ephemeral Recordings, May 2006
• Quoted in an Associated Press article by Michael Hill, "Tom Cruise + 'The Dark Side' = Visual Mashup," March 2006

Honors

• Recognized as a top Illinois trademark lawyer by the World Trademark Review 1000 (2011)
• Selected by peers as a Leading Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law – Leading Lawyers Network
• Listed among the Top Lawyers in Illinois in Intellectual Property Law – Chicago Lawyer

Speaking Engagements and Presentations

• Presentation, "Internet_Radiohead -- Licensing in the 'New' Music Business," to Chicago Bar Association, Young Lawyers Creative Arts Committee Seminar, January 2008
• Presentation, "Digital Music Performance Licensing and the New Webcasting Rates," to Chicago Bar Association, Young Lawyers Intellectual Property Committee, March 2007
• Roundtable Panelist, "Copyright in the Digital Age," Intellectual Property Law Society, Chicago-Kent College of Law, February 2007
• Presentation, "Music Public Performance Licensing In the Digital Age," to Columbia College Chicago, January 2007
• Presentation, "Muddy Waters: Copyright Developments on the Musical Frontier," to John Marshall Law School 50th Annual Conference on Developments in Intellectual Property Law, May 2006
• Presentation, "The Changing Value of Music," to Intellectual Property Law Society, Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2006
• Presentation, "Copyright Fair Use in the Music Business," to American Intellectual Property Law Association Annual Convention, 2004

Bar Admissions and Registrations

• Illinois, 1988
• New York, 1985

Courts

• Illinois Supreme Court
• New York Supreme Court
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Member, Trial Bar)
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin