Overview

Jacob Ebin is a partner in Mayer Brown's New York office and a member of the Intellectual Property practice, recently joining the firm from another major international law firm. He concentrates his practice in copyright, antitrust and other complex litigation matters. Jacob has represented public and private companies in a range of industries, with a particular concentration in the music industry. Jacob has worked on numerous high-profile disputes that have shaped music rate-setting law, for both new media and traditional media companies. Jacob has particular expertise before the ASCAP and BMI rate courts as well as before the Copyright Royalty Board, where he has tried four separate cases. Jacob also advises clients in connection with intellectual property licensing. Jacob has also been actively involved in representing clients before the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its recurring reviews of the ASCAP and BMI Consent Decrees.

Prior to law school, Jacob spent four years as an analyst and then manager at Lexecon, Inc. (now Compass Lexecon), one of the premier economic consulting firms. While there, his practice focused antitrust and intellectual property disputes, with a focus on the music and energy industries.


Areas of Focus

Practices

Experience

Music Licensing Trial Experience

  • Represented Sirius XM in a five-week trial before the Copyright Royalty Board in a litigation over appropriate royalty rates and terms for Sirius XM’s public performance of sound recordings. (In re Determination of Royalty Rates and Terms for Transmission of Sound Recordings by Satellite Radio and “Preexisting” Subscription Services (SDARS III))
  • Represented Pandora in a five-week trial before the Copyright Royalty Board to set rates for so-called “mechanical” rights licenses to be paid to songwriters and music publishers. (In re Determination of Royalty Rates and Terms for Making and Distributing Phonorecords (Phonorecords III))
  • On behalf of Pandora, secured highly favorable sound recording performance royalty rates for the 2016-2020 license period following a six-week trial before the Copyright Royalty Board; defended successfully on appeal to the D.C. Circuit.  (In the Matter of Determination of Royalty Rates and Terms for Ephemeral Recording and Webcasting Digital Performance of Sound Recordings (Web IV)).
  • Represented Sirius XM in a royalty-rate setting victory following 19 days of trial in federal rate-setting litigation before the Copyright Royalty Board; defended successfully on appeal to the D.C. Circuit. (In the Matter of Determination of Rates and Terms for Preexisting Subscription Services and Satellite Digital Audio Radio Services (SDARS II)).
  • Represented background music service DMX, Inc. in a precedent-setting trial victory in the BMI Rate Court establishing rates and terms for the first ever BMI “Adjustable-Fee Blanket License”; defended successfully on appeal to the Second Circuit. (Broadcast Music, Inc. v. DMX, Inc.).
  • Complete trial victory for background music service DMX, Inc. in the ASCAP rate court establishing rates and terms for the first ever ASCAP “Adjustable Fee Blanket License”; defended successfully on appeal to the Second Circuit. (United States v. ASCAP (In the Matter of DMX, Inc.)).

Additional Music Licensing Experience

  • Represented the commercial local television industry in SESAC license fee negotiations and arbitration in a proceeding to set reasonable rates and terms for SESAC licenses.
  • Represented the commercial local television industry in license fee negotiations and litigation before the ASCAP rate court in a proceeding to set reasonable rates and terms for ASCAP licenses. (In Re Petition of Duhamel Broadcasting Enterprises, et. al.).
  • Represented the commercial local television industry in license fee negotiations and litigation before the BMI rate court in a proceeding to set reasonable rates and terms for BMI licenses. (WPIX, Inc. et al v. Broadcast Music, Inc.).
  • Represented the commercial radio industry in license fee negotiations and litigation before the ASCAP rate court in a proceeding to set reasonable rates and terms for ASCAP licenses. (In Re Application of the Cromwell Group, Inc.).
  • Represented the commercial radio industry in license fee negotiations and litigation before the BMI rate court in a proceeding to set reasonable rates and terms for BMI licenses. (Withers Broadcasting Co., et al v. Broadcast Music, Inc.).
  • Successfully represented a group of local television stations as plaintiffs in a putative class action against SESAC alleging violations of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act (Meredith Corporation, et al. v. SESAC LLC, et al., (S.D.N.Y. 2014)). Resulted in a very favorable industry-wide settlement that provided $42.5 million in refunds and placed various restrictions on SESAC’s dealings with local television stations for a 20-year period.

Perspectives

Education

Brandeis University, BA, cum laude, with highest honors in economics

Fordham University School of Law, JD, cum laude

Admissions

  • New York

Court

  • US District Court for the Southern District of New York