Burt Braverman

Burt Braverman represents clients in all segments of the Communications and Media industries. He has argued and tried cases in the Supreme Court and in federal and state courts across the country, as well as numerous federal, state, and local administrative agencies; arbitrated and mediated cases; and served as an arbitrator.

Cases handled by Burt in the communications and media industries have included theft of concept, sponsorship agreement disputes, defamation and false light claims, trademark and copyright infringement and enforcement, franchising, private and municipal overbuilds, level-playing-field disputes, antitrust, constitutional challenges, local right-of-way and zoning regulation of telecom carriers, and a variety of other issues arising under federal, state, and local laws and commercial relationships.

Burt also has litigated many cases outside of the communications and media fields, including antitrust actions, trade secret claims, Freedom of Information cases, wrongful termination and employment discrimination claims, and many others.

Burt is a recognized leader in the industry for the work he does for program networks. He advises them on a wide variety of commercial and regulatory issues, such as content licensing, affiliate distribution agreements, program production and acquisition, sponsorship agreements, closed captioning, program access, Internet and website matters, new media, satellite distribution, foreign distribution, intellectual property (trademark and copyright), cross-platform distribution, as well as general business strategy.

Burt has litigated many cases for networks involving theft of concept, affiliate distribution agreements, sponsorship agreements, defamation and false light claims, trademark infringement, and satellite distribution contracts.

In addition to litigating antitrust cases, Burt also counsels clients on the full spectrum of antitrust and competition issues facing their businesses, including matters such as joint ventures, group purchasing, exclusive distributorships, tying, resale price maintenance, standard setting, and trade association activities.

He also counsels clients on premerger notifications to the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, having obtained agency clearance for numerous mergers and acquisitions, and has represented clients in responding to FTC and DOJ investigations.

Burt also has an active international practice, and has consulted with clients, attorneys and regulators in numerous countries around the world on communications issues including antitrust, undersea cable disputes, content distribution, and satellite transport agreements.

He has performed projects sponsored by international bodies such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the U.S. Agency for International Development, for development of telecom regulatory frameworks and infrastructure in countries such as Mexico and Peru. He also advises clients concerning compliance with OFAC, ITAR, EAR and other U.S. laws regulating transactions with and in foreign countries.