Partner

Rollin A. Ransom

Entertainment, Sports and Media
Commercial Litigation and Disputes
IP Litigation

rransom@sidley.com

Los Angeles +1 213 896 6047

- Letter
- A4

ROLLIN RANSOM serves as co-leader of Sidley’s global Commercial Litigation and Disputes practice, and of the Entertainment, Sports and Media group. He is managing partner of the Los Angeles office and also head of the Greater Los Angeles Litigation group. Rollin’s leadership extends to Sidley’s firmwide Inclusion Committee, where he serves as co-chair.

Representing both individuals and corporations, Rollin has extensive experience prosecuting and defending lawsuits involving a wide variety of intellectual property claims, including copyright and theft of idea, trademark, false advertising, trade secret and unfair competition actions. Rollin’s clients cover an array of industries, including media and entertainment, technology and financial services companies. He also regularly counsels clients outside of litigation on a variety of intellectual property, advertising and internet-related matters.

“Rollin is a top-notch litigation attorney.”
Chambers USA 2024

“He offers wise advice, is very pragmatic and understands clearly the pros and cons of situations. He is exactly what you want in a lawyer and I respect him a great deal.”
Chambers USA 2024

Rollin is ranked by Chambers USA for California Media & Entertainment: Litigation (2022–2024) with clients remarking "Rollin is a trusted thought partner" (2023) and that "he’s a really great writer, very responsive, and always available. He juggles well, wears many hats, and does everything I need a lawyer to do" (2022). Additionally, he was named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2024 “Leaders of Influence: Minority Attorneys” list, and as a “Leading Commercial Litigator” by the Daily Journal (2024). He has been recognized as a “Top Music Lawyer” by Billboard Magazine (2020–2024), and by Variety in its Legal Impact Report (2021–2022).

Rollin earned his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, where he served as an associate editor of the Law Review. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Northwestern University, where he received a B.A. in history.

Experience

Representation of multiple clients in industry-leading litigation regarding putative termination claims under Section 203 of the Copyright Act, including obtaining favorable rulings on class certification and dispositive motions respecting such claims.
Representation of major record labels and a leading independent label in litigation respecting copyright interests in pre-1972 sound recordings. The settlement, which was announced in June 2015, was ranked as the #1 settlement in the nation in The National Law Journal’s Top 100 Verdicts and Settlements of 2015.
Representation of a leading manufacturer of particle characterization instruments and its employee against copyright, trade secret misappropriation and false advertising claims brought by a competitor. After the court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment on all of plaintiff’s copyright claims and the bulk of the trade secret claim, and granted defendants’ motions in limine as to the remaining claims, the plaintiff stipulated to entry of judgment in favor of defendants. The judgment, including the district court’s award of fees and expenses in favor of Rollin’s client, was affirmed on appeal.
Lead counsel prosecuting a breach of contract claim on behalf of a film production company arising from the failure of the defendant, another film production company, to develop a project in which the plaintiff had invested. After the parties settled the claim and the defendant breached its repayment obligation, plaintiff successfully reinstituted the lawsuit and obtained immediate entry of judgment and an award of attorneys’ fees.
Lead counsel defending a governmental entity against 25 coordinated lawsuits asserting that defendant’s billing software, used by plaintiffs to submit claims for Medi-Cal reimbursement, was defective. After successfully settling coordinated lawsuits, prosecuted and negotiated settlement of claim against software vendor.
Representation of a technology company in multiple court actions, including four trials, to enforce its patent rights and defend against antitrust and unfair competition claims. Trials included a six-week patent infringement jury trial resulting in a $133.6 million verdict, which the Los Angeles Daily Journal announced was the largest plaintiffs’ jury verdict in California in 2006, and an eight-week jury trial successfully defending against antitrust and unfair competition counterclaims, which the Los Angeles Daily Journal named as one of the top 10 defense verdicts in California in 2008.
Lead counsel defending a major publisher against claims that the title of one of its books infringed the plaintiff’s registered trademark. Following discovery, the court granted summary judgment in favor of defendant.
Representation of major record labels and music publishers in multiple copyright infringement suits arising out of the unauthorized use of copyrighted sound recordings and compositions.

Chairman of the Board of spcaLA, the oldest humane organization in Southern California.

Credentials

Admissions & Certifications

U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
U.S. District Court, E.D. of California
U.S. District Court, N.D. of California
U.S. District Court, C.D. of California
U.S. District Court, S.D. of California
U.S. District Court, N.D. of Illinois - General
U.S. District Court, S.D. of Mississippi
California
Illinois
New York

Education

University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 1993 (magna cum laude, Order of the Coif)
Northwestern University, B.A., 1990 (Phi Beta Kappa)

Clerkships

Marvin E. Aspen, U.S. District Court, N.D. of Illinois (1993 - 1995)