Attorney Profiles

Ray Beckerman - President

Business Litigation - Ray Beckerman
EMAIL:  ray@beckermanlegal.com
PHONE: 718-544-3434 ext. 2#
  • CAREER
    Ray is a commercial litigator and internet law attorney with extensive experience in business law, copyright, trademark, entertainment,  internet, computer software, business torts, and other areas, and has litigated hundreds of cases.
    He began his legal career with Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin, Krim & Ballon, working his way through night law school, and upon graduation becoming an attorney in that firm.
    • Practice Areas include:
    • Business litigation, arbitration, and mediation
    • Copyright and trademark
    • Internet, software, and technology
    • Entertainment
    • Corporate and business disputes
    • Fraudulent conveyance, fiduciary duty
    • Noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements
    • Commercial judgment enforcement
    • International air and ocean freight and logistics
    • First Amendment
    • Real estate and estate litigation
    • Business formation, contract negotiation and advice
  • EDUCATION
    • St. Johns University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1978 (St. John’s Law Review, Fall 1975; Winner, Federal Bar Council’s Cornelius W. Wickersham, Jr., Award in Constitutional Law; Winner, American Jurisprudence Awards in Constitutional Law and in Corporations)
    • Herbert H. Lehman College (formerly Hunter College in the Bronx), B.A., 1968 (Editor-in-Chief, Meridian, college newspaper; Member, board of editors, Echo, literary magazine)
    • The Bronx High School of Science, 1964 (Degree “With Merit”)   
    • State Bar Admission New York 1/17/79
    Additional Court Admissions
    • U.S. Supreme Court 2/20/96
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit 12/31/84
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit 10/9/90
    • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York 6/26/79
    • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York 6/26/79
  • PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
    • Member, New York City Bar Association, former member of its Entertainment Law, Copyright & Literary Property Law, Information Technology Law, and Civil Court, committees.
    • Member, The Copyright Society of the U.S.A., New York Chapter.
    • Member, Queens County Bar Association.
  • PUBLICATIONS
    • Author, Authors Guild v. Googleî, E-Commerce Law Reports, Vol. 14, Issue 1 (2014)
    • Author, Ray’s 2.0″, social media blog
    • Author, Content Holders vs. The Web: 2008 US Copyright Law Victories Point to Robust Internet. Journal of Internet Law, January 2009 edition.
    • Author, “In ‘Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. v RDR Books’, a US District Judge rejects a ‘fair use’ defence put forward for use of ‘Harry Potter’ copyrights for the publishing of a reference guide”, E-Commerce Law Reports, 3 October 2008
    • Author, “Large Recording Companies v. The Defenseless: Some Common Sense Solutions to the Challenges of the RIAA Litigation”. The Judges’ Journal, Judicial Division of American Bar Association.  Summer 2008 edition, Part 1 of The Judges Journals’ 2-part series, “Access to Justice”.
    • Author, Recording Industry vs. The People, copyright law blog
    • Author, Is Making Available Copyright Infringement? Hollywood Reporter ESQ, January 22, 2007
    • Guest Blogger, Digital Music News (legal issues involving digital copyright law)
    • Guest Blogger, P2P Net (legal issues involving digital copyright law cases)
    • Submitter, numerous articles on Slashdot.org as NewYorkCountryLawyer
    • Author, Ohio Election Fraud (formerly Fairness) blog about Ohio 2004 presidential election
    • Author, Outside Counsel: Issues in Judgment Enforcement”, NYLJ, September 29, 1994
    • Author, “Reducing Inefficiencies in Lawyers’ Use of Time in Supreme Court”, NYSBA, Committee on State Judiciary, Commercial and Federal Litigation Section
  • SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
    • Panelist, “Patent Trolling and Copyright Mass Claim Filings”, Fordham University Law Alumni, Intellectual Property and Information Law Affinity Group, April 20, 2017
    • Speaker, From VHR to DVR to Remote DVR to Internet. Digitalization has changed everything. Or has it? ABC v. Aereo and the copyright implications of internet streaming of broadcast television, IP Law Committee, Nassau County Bar Association, Mineola NY, November 2013
    • Featured Guest, “Secondhand Bytes- Reselling Digital Content”, Fordham Law School, Center for Law & Information Policy Roundtable Breakfast, New York, NY, March 2013
    • Guest Lecturer, Rutgers University, Prof. Aram Sinnreich Copyright, Culture, and Commerce class, New Brunswick, NJ, March 2013
    • Panelist, Code v. Code, Kallos For Council campaign, New York, NY, October 2012
    • Speaker, Capitol Records vs. ReDigi and the First Sale Doctrine, Copyright Society of USA, New England Chapter, New England School of Law, March 2012
    • Panelist, The Next Big Thing: Emerging Issues in Entertainment Law, Harvard University School of Law, Cambridge, MA, November 2010
    • Panelist, “Reaching Acc[h]ord: Resolving Disputes Over Music Downloading”, St. Johns University School of Law, Jamaica, NY, October 2010
    • Panelist, Monetizing the Band, New York Law School, New York, NY, October 2010
    • Speaker, Securing the Campus 2010″, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, July 2010
    • Panelist, Seeking Harmony in Music Distribution, American Bar Association CLE Webinar, June, 2010
    • Speaker, South by Southwest Music Festival, Recording Industry vs The People, Austin, TX, March 2010
    • Panelist, Copyright Society of the USA, NY Chapter, $80,000 a song? CLE Panel, New York, NY, November 2009
    • Speaker, IgniteNYC Web 2.0 Expo Kickoff, New York, NY, November 2009
    • Panelist, New York Law School, Music Entertainment Sports Art Law Association, “Music Business Conference”, “The Enforcement Regime Employed by the RIAA to Crack Down on Infringers”, New York, NY, February 2009.
    • Speaker, Columbia University School of Law, Society for Law, Science & Technology and Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Society, New York, NY, November 2008.
    • Panelist, Media and Technology Policy-Making in the 21st Century, Producers Guild of America New Media Council East, and Department of Media Studies and Film at The New School, New York, NY, November 2008.
    • Speaker, St. John’s University School of Law, Entertainment, Arts, Sports Law Society, October 2008.
    • Guest Lecturer, New York University, Prof. Aram Sinnreich ìCopyright, Culture, and Commerce class, October 2008 and February 2009
    • Speaker, Last H.O.P.E. Conference, “RIAA Litigations: How the Tech Community can Help”, Hotel Pennsylvania, New York, NY, July 2008.
    • Guest Lecturer, New York University School of Law, Prof. Jonathan Zittrain Cyberlaw, March 2008
    • Panelist, IP Law Conference, Fordham University Law School, March 2008
    • Speaker, IP Law Day, John Marshall School of Law, February 2008
    • Speaker, University of Maine, October, 2007
    • Panelist, Music, Movies, and Copyright, Columbia Free Culture/Digital Freedom, Columbia University, October, 2007
    • Speaker, Roundtable discussion, Information Law Institute Law Student Association/ NYU Free Culture, New York University Law School, March, 2007
    • Panelist, P2P Media Summit, DMIA, Santa Monica, CA, June 2007
    • Panelist, P2P Media Summit, DMIA, New York, NY, February 2007
    • Panelist, EDUCAUSE/Cornell Institute for Computer Policy and Law Annual
    • Seminar, Cornell University, June, 2006
    • Panelist, Future of the Music Business, Continuing Legal Education Program, City University of New York Graduate Center, April 2006
    • Panelist, Downloading and Music: The Moral and Legal Issues, New York Music Industry Association/WBMB Radio, Bernard Baruch College of City University of New York, November 2005.
    • Panelist, Future of Music and Video, Continuing Legal Education Program. City University of New York Graduate Center, November 2005
    • Panelist, P2P Litigation Summit, Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago, IL, November, 2005
  • SAMPLE OF REPORTED CASES
    • Sinclair v. TubeSockTedD, 2009 WL 320408, 2009 US Dist LEXIS 9641 (D.D.C. 2009)
    • UMG v. Lindor, 2006 WL 3335048 (EDNY 2006)
    • Don Buchwald & Associates, Inc. v. Marber-Rich, 11 A.D.3d 277, 782 N.Y.S.2d 725 (1st Dep’t 2004)
    • Don Buchwald & Associates, Inc. v. Rich, 281 A.D.2d 329; 723 N.Y.S.2d 8 (1st Dep’t 2001)
    • Ripa v. Cathy Parker Management, Inc., 1998 WL 241621 (SDNY 1998)
    • National Amusements, Inc. v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., 253 A.D.2d 396; 676 N.Y.S.2d 590 (1st Dep’t 1998)
    • Robbins v. Growney, 229 A.D.2d 356; 645 N.Y.S.2d 791 (1st Dep’t 1996)
    • Avalon International Trading Corp. v. GST Receivables Management Corp., 220 A.D.2d 248; 632 N.Y.S.2d 95 (1st Dep’t 1995)
    • Muriel Siebert & Co., Inc. v. Wilt, 158 A.D.2d 343, 551 N.Y.S.2d 32 (1st Dep’t 1990)
    • Maviglia v. Inapart Properties Corp., 149 A.D.2d 482, 540 N.Y.S.2d 716 (2d Dep’t 1989)
    • Eller v. Eller, 116 A.D.2d 617, 497 N.Y.S.2d 475 (2d Dep’t 1986)
    • Art Board, Inc. v. Worldwide Business Exchange Corp., 134 Misc.2d 350, 510 N.Y.S.2d 973 (Civ. Ct. N.Y. County 1986)
    • Rubenstein v. New York Post Corp., 128 Misc. 2d 1; 488 N.Y.S.2d 331 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. County 1985)
    • Atlantic Bank of New York v. Israel Discount Bank Ltd., 108 Misc. 2d 342, 441 N.Y.S.2d 315 (App. Term 1st Dep’t 1981)