Copyrights

Overview

Our copyright capabilities are as broad as our clients' creative expressions.  Our Technology and Intellectual Property lawyers have sought copyright registrations in the United States for a wide range of original works of authorship, including works of art, literary works, computer software, promotional materials, architectural drawings, marketing material, and product manuals.  Internationally, we advise our clients regarding a host of foreign copyright protection issues and manage our clients' foreign copyright matters through our established legal affiliations maintained in virtually all commercially significant countries.

Specifically, we advise our clients on a wide variety of copyright issues and possess significant experience in many areas, including:

  • Identification and protection of U.S. and foreign copyrights
  • Preparation and prosecution of U.S. copyright registration applications
  • Review of copyright infringement matters
  • Advice related to ownership of copyrights, including developing workplace policies, work for hire agreements and other intellectual property ownership strategies
  • Enforcement of copyrights, including preparation of cease and desist letters
  • Prosecution and defense of copyright infringement actions in the U.S., including sophisticated software infringement actions
  • Preparing, reviewing and negotiating copyright license, manufacture and development, marketing and other agreements
  • Transfers of copyrights, including preparation of assignment and recordation documents
  • Conducting necessary due diligence on copyrights in mergers and acquisitions, financings and other transactions

Name
Title
Contact
Peter J. Davis
Partner
Email
410.347.8738
Peter J. Davis
Partner
Email
410.347.8738
S. Keith Moulsdale
Partner
Email
410.347.8721
S. Keith Moulsdale
Partner
Email
410.347.8721
Steven E. Tiller
Partner
Email
410.347.9425
Steven E. Tiller
Partner
Email
410.347.9425

When the AI Writes the Code: Can You Still Patent, or Even Own, Your Own Product?

By late 2024, Google was reporting that more than a quarter of its new code was being written by AI. Microsoft followed with similar numbers in 2025. In startups built from scratch on coding agents, the human share of the codebase can be a rounding error. The productivity story is familiar. The ownership story is not.

When the AI Writes the Code: Can You Still Patent, or Even Own, Your Own Product?

By late 2024, Google was reporting that more than a quarter of its new code was being written by AI. Microsoft followed with similar numbers in 2025. In startups built from scratch on coding agents, the human share of the codebase can be a rounding error. The productivity story is familiar. The ownership story is not.

The Last Moat: When AI Can Clone Your Software in an Afternoon, a Patent May Be the Only Barrier to Entry Left

Not long ago, a technologist ran an experiment that should keep every software executive awake at night: using an off-the-shelf AI coding agent, he built a working Salesforce-style CRM — data model, interface and all — in roughly three hours. Not a mockup. A functioning product that took the original companies years and hundreds of millions of dollars to develop.

The Last Moat: When AI Can Clone Your Software in an Afternoon, a Patent May Be the Only Barrier to Entry Left

Not long ago, a technologist ran an experiment that should keep every software executive awake at night: using an off-the-shelf AI coding agent, he built a working Salesforce-style CRM — data model, interface and all — in roughly three hours. Not a mockup. A functioning product that took the original companies years and hundreds of millions of dollars to develop.

AI in the Deal Room: Why Intellectual Property Diligence Matters More in Acquisitions of AI-Enabled Products

Acquirers are increasingly looking at businesses whose products use AI, depend on AI, or sit close enough to AI that the buyer expects future value from data, automation, software or model-enabled workflows. The target may not be an “AI company” in the headline sense. It may be a medical-device company using machine-learning outputs in a diagnostic workflow, a software platform embedding generative AI in a user interface, a manufacturer using computer vision in quality control, a services business with proprietary datasets and automation, or a consumer brand relying on AI-created marketing assets.

AI in the Deal Room: Why Intellectual Property Diligence Matters More in Acquisitions of AI-Enabled Products

Acquirers are increasingly looking at businesses whose products use AI, depend on AI, or sit close enough to AI that the buyer expects future value from data, automation, software or model-enabled workflows. The target may not be an “AI company” in the headline sense. It may be a medical-device company using machine-learning outputs in a diagnostic workflow, a software platform embedding generative AI in a user interface, a manufacturer using computer vision in quality control, a services business with proprietary datasets and automation, or a consumer brand relying on AI-created marketing assets.

Client Alert: Can Works Made with Generative AI be Copyrighted?

In response to the increased use of sophisticated artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies capable of producing expressive material, the U.S. Copyright Office (“CO”) published a two-part series on the copyrightability of works made with generative AI: Part 1, issued in March 2023, titled "Copyright Registration Guidance: Works Containing Material Generated by Artificial Intelligence”; and Part 2, issued in January 2025, titled “Copyright and Artificial Intelligence” (collectively, “Guidance”).

Client Alert: Can Works Made with Generative AI be Copyrighted?

In response to the increased use of sophisticated artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies capable of producing expressive material, the U.S. Copyright Office (“CO”) published a two-part series on the copyrightability of works made with generative AI: Part 1, issued in March 2023, titled "Copyright Registration Guidance: Works Containing Material Generated by Artificial Intelligence”; and Part 2, issued in January 2025, titled “Copyright and Artificial Intelligence” (collectively, “Guidance”).

U.S. News Awards Top-Tier Rankings to 44 Whiteford Practices, Including a Record 22 Nationally and 10 Newly Ranked in Richmond

Whiteford, Taylor and Preston is pleased to announce that U.S. News and World Report - Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” has awarded the firm exemplary rankings for 2021. Twenty-two of the firm’s practices are ranked at the national level, and the firm’s Bankruptcy and Environmental Law practices have been recognized with national Tier 1 rankings.

U.S. News Awards Top-Tier Rankings to 44 Whiteford Practices, Including a Record 22 Nationally and 10 Newly Ranked in Richmond

Whiteford, Taylor and Preston is pleased to announce that U.S. News and World Report - Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” has awarded the firm exemplary rankings for 2021. Twenty-two of the firm’s practices are ranked at the national level, and the firm’s Bankruptcy and Environmental Law practices have been recognized with national Tier 1 rankings.

U.S. News Awards Top-Tier Rankings to 42 Whiteford Practices, Including a Record 20 Nationally and 10 Newly Ranked in Richmond

Whiteford, Taylor and Preston is pleased to announce that U.S. News and World Report - Best Lawyers ® “Best Law Firms” has awarded the firm exemplary rankings for 2020.  Twenty of the firm’s practices are ranked at the national level, including two bankruptcy practices with national Tier 1 rankings.  At the state level, an additional forty-two practices have been ranked in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and VA.
 

U.S. News Awards Top-Tier Rankings to 42 Whiteford Practices, Including a Record 20 Nationally and 10 Newly Ranked in Richmond

Whiteford, Taylor and Preston is pleased to announce that U.S. News and World Report - Best Lawyers ® “Best Law Firms” has awarded the firm exemplary rankings for 2020.  Twenty of the firm’s practices are ranked at the national level, including two bankruptcy practices with national Tier 1 rankings.  At the state level, an additional forty-two practices have been ranked in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and VA.
 

Whiteford Ranks National Tier 1 in Litigation, Bankruptcy and Real Estate

Baltimore – Whiteford, Taylor & Preston is pleased to announce that U.S. News and World Report - Best Lawyers ® “Best Law Firms” has awarded the firm exemplary rankings for 2018.  Nineteen of the firm’s practices are ranked at the national level, including three practices with national Tier 1 rankings:  Litigation, Bankruptcy and Real Estate.  At the state level, an additional fifty practices have been ranked in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and VA.

Whiteford Ranks National Tier 1 in Litigation, Bankruptcy and Real Estate

Baltimore – Whiteford, Taylor & Preston is pleased to announce that U.S. News and World Report - Best Lawyers ® “Best Law Firms” has awarded the firm exemplary rankings for 2018.  Nineteen of the firm’s practices are ranked at the national level, including three practices with national Tier 1 rankings:  Litigation, Bankruptcy and Real Estate.  At the state level, an additional fifty practices have been ranked in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and VA.