Greg Fayer is a litigation associate in the Los Angeles office with emphases in entertainment, copyright, and general litigation.  Prior to law school, Mr. Fayer studied philosophy at the University of Chicago and University of Pittsburgh, teaching numerous courses in ethics, social philosophy, aesthetics, film theory and other subjects.  Mr. Fayer also studied eastern religion and philosophy at Harvard Divinity School.  In addition, Mr. Fayer toured extensively throughout the northeastern United States with rock band, The Sydneys, and released a number of CDs.  Mr. Fayer’s other interests include musical composition, distance running, and fiction writing.

Representative Matters

UMG Recordings v. MySpace, Inc; UMG Recordings v. Grouper, Inc.; UMG Recordings v. Bolt, Inc. - Representing Universal Music Group and related entities in copyright infringement actions alleging that online “user-generated content” sites infringe UMG’s copyrighted works both directly and indirectly by permitting, facilitating, encouraging, participating in and benefiting financially from the unauthorized copying, distribution, and performance of copyrighted audio and/or audio-visual works on their websites.

Music Force LLC v. Viacom Inc. et al. - Representing MTV in a copyright infringement class action alleging that MTV’s use of excerpts of music videos in non-video programming violated copyrights in the underlying musical compositions and sound recordings.  In June 2006, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California gave preliminary approval to a settlement agreement reached by the parties.

Paramount Pictures acquisition of Dreamworks LLC - Representing Paramount Pictures in its successful bid to acquire Dreamworks LLC in December 2005.

Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. et al. v. City of Los Angeles - Representing outdoor advertising companies in federal and state litigation alleging that the City of Los Angeles’ imposition of inspection fees on advertising signs violated the First Amendment and provisions of the California Constitution.   In February 2007, the Los Angeles Superior Court entered a consent judgment in the suit based on the terms of the terms of a settlement agreement reached by the parties.

Immersion Corp. v. Sony Computer Entertainment - Representing Immersion in appellate and other matters after a jury returned a verdict in September 2004 finding that Sony’s PlayStation had infringed Immersion’s patents relating to tactile feedback systems and awarding Immersion $82 million in damages.

Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. et al. v. Donald C. Winter, Secretary of the Navy - Representing a coalition of environmental organizations in a suit alleging that the United States Navy’s use of mid-frequency sonar in its training exercises violates federal laws designed to protect marine mammals and other species of marine life.  In July 2006, NRDC filed a companion suit challenging the Navy’s use of sonar in its Rim of the Pacific exercise, the Navy’s largest multinational training exercise.  The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted NRDC’s motion for a temporary restraining order and enjoined the Navy’s use of sonar during the exercise.  While the Navy’s emergency appeal was pending before the Ninth Circuit, the parties reached a settlement agreement that provided substantial protections to marine mammals and other marine life during the exercise.  In December 2006, the Irell and NRDC team received the Daily Journal’s Pro Bono Achievement Award in recognition of its outstanding work on the matter.  NRDC’s broader challenge to the Navy’s use of sonar is ongoing. 

Professional Activities

• Century City Bar Association
• Los Angeles Copyright Society

Bar & Court Admissions

• 2004, California
• 2004, U.S. District Court, Central District of California