Kevin Parks

Special Counsel

Kevin Parks

Overview

Kevin Parks has over thirty-five years’ experience counseling and representing clients in all aspects of trademark and copyright law, including in trial and appellate courts, and administrative proceedings.

Prior to joining Leydig, Mr. Parks founded Soundies, a music licensing firm, and is co-founder of the music rights management agency, Soundtracker.

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Since 2003, Mr. Parks has taught coursework in music copyright and licensing as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.  He writes and speaks on music copyright and the music business, and is the author of Music & Copyright in America: Toward the Celestial Jukebox.

Education

  • University of Iowa, J.D., with distinction, 1984
  • University of Iowa, B.A. in English, 1981

Admissions

  • Illinois, 1988
  • New York, 1985

Courts

  • Illinois Supreme Court
  • New York Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Honors

  • Recognized as a top Illinois trademark lawyer by the World Trademark Review 1000 (2011-2018, 2020, 2023)
  • Selected by peers as a Leading Lawyer in Intellectual Property Law – Leading Lawyers Network (2011-2017)
  • Listed among the Top Lawyers in Illinois in Intellectual Property Law – Chicago Lawyer

Professional Affiliations

  • International Trademark Association
  • American Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section
  • The Copyright Society of the U.S.A.
  • Chicago Bar Association
  • Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (IPLAC)

Articles, Publications & Lectures

  • “Copyright laws of the jungle: Suing only fit for homo sapiens,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, May 9, 2018
  • “Trump’s trademark troubles, Neil Gorsuch and the originalist prism,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, May 8, 2017
  • Contributing author, U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief submitted by the Intellectual Property Association of Chicago, in Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc., July, 2016
  • “National treasures threatened by greed,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, February 4, 2016
  • Copyright Panelist, The John Marshall Law School’s 61st Annual Conference on Developments in Intellectual Property Law, November 3, 2017
  • Panelist, “Hot Topics in U.S. Copyright Law,” Intellectual Property Owners Association Annual Meeting, September 2016
  • Music & Copyright in America: Toward the Celestial Jukebox (2012 American Bar Association)

Education

  • University of Iowa, J.D., with distinction, 1984
  • University of Iowa, B.A. in English, 1981

Admissions

  • Illinois, 1988
  • New York, 1985

Courts

  • Illinois Supreme Court
  • New York Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York