Tony Greenman

Practice Areas

Tony Greenman was born in London and speaks English as his native tongue. He received his law degree from Tel-Aviv University in 1986 and is a member of the Bars of Israel (since 1987) and California (since 1992).

Tony is widely considered one of the foremost experts in Israel in the fields of Telecoms, Media and Broadcasting and Entertainment Law, as well as intellectual property, specifically copyright and trademarks. He is the author of the treatise "Copyright", which is the leading source of authority on the subject in Israel. The book has been cited hundreds of times in the courts, including 30 citations by the Supreme Court. Tony is also the Author of the chapter on Israel in Copyright Throughout the World (ed. Silke Von Lewinski, published by Thomson-Reuters and available on West Law).

Tony handles both transactional work, regulatory issues and litigation. He is particularly active in the film and television sectors and acts as legal adviser to many production companies and creators. He handles rights issues, including format and remake rights, financing and distribution agreements and talent contracts. He has represented either the producers or creators of many well-known Israeli feature films, including Oscar nominees Ajami and Waltz with Bashir, box-office hits The Band's Visit, Zero Motivation, A Matter of Size and The Stronghold, and other acclaimed films, such as Big Bad Wolves, Foxtrot, Lebanon, Nina's Tragedies, Shiva, The Syrian Bride, Walk on Water, Yossi and Jagger, The Unorthodox and Let it Be Morning , as well as many leading television productions, including series such as In Treatment, Yellow Peppers (the A Word), Zero Hour , Chazarot and Checkout (Kupa Reshit), game shows and reality such as Still Standing, The Chase, MKR, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and Couples Therapy and documentaries such as Children of the Sun, The Flat, Precious Life, Prisoner X, Ofra and H2: The Occupation Lab. A more comprehensive list of films and series we have worked on can be found on IMDB.

Tony initiated the establishment of TALI, the copyright collective society of the Israeli film and television directors and screenwriters and is recognized as an expert in Collective Management of Copyright and Performers' rights and royalty setting, regularly advising organizations in this area.

Tony has expertise in regulation of the broadcasting and film sectors. He has represented clients in these fields before Knesset (Israel's Parliament) Committees, the Ministries of Communications, Justice and Culture, broadcasting regulators and the Israel Competition Authority. He was instrumental in advancing legislation setting local content quotas for Israeli broadcasters and has worked with streaming service providers.

Tony also represents leading authors, publishers and musicians and advises on matters concerning internet law, including IP issues, privacy and data protection, service provider liability, TOU's domain name issues and online trademarks, matters relating to internet advertising and marketing and social media.

On the litigation side, Tony has represented clients in a number of precedential cases. He was counsel for the Israeli Film and Television Directors in two precedential cases which established for the first time that directors are authors and first owners of copyright in their films and other works, as well as their rights to receive royalties. He was a key member on the team that successfully represented the Israel Sports Betting Authority in the defense of an action brought by the Premier League and other professional football leagues in England and Scotland, regarding the issue of copyright in their fixture lists. The case led to a precedential Supreme Court judgment examining the core issue of originality in copyright law and holding against existing precedent in England that the lists do not meet the originality standard. Additionally, he achieved a judgment holding that a pre-digital era assignment of publishing rights in the classic children's story, Hanna's Sabbath Dress, by the author Itzhak Schwieger Dmi’el did not cover the digital publishing rights. Tony also represents clients in hearings before the Registrar of Trademarks.

Tony also acts as a mediator and arbitrator in intellectual property disputes and is on the WIPO list of neutral arbitrators and mediators.

Tony is an adjunct professor at Tel Aviv University, where he lectures on Intellectual Property and as also lectured at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Haifa University and other academic institutions. He is frequently invited to speak on copyright, IP and entertainment and media law at both domestic and international forums, including WIPO, ALAI and the Copyright Society, the Institute for Continued Learning of Israeli Judges, The Israel Bar and the Institute of State and Public Attorneys.

According to Chambers and Partners Global, Tony is "one of the leading copyright lawyers in Israel" and "has extensive experience in entertainment and media IP and internet-related matters.

Tony is the former chairman of the Israeli branch of ALAI, and a former co-chair of the board of directors of the international chapter of the Copyright Society of the USA, as well as a member of INTA, the International Trademark Association.

Career

Tony began his legal career in 1987 the filed of international trusts and wealth management but after some years transitioned to the fields of Telecoms, media, technology and entertainment and IP. After spells working in the firms of Alon Kaplan and Fischer and Co. (later FBC) founded the firm of Tony Greenman Law Offices in 1996.

Professional Memberships

Tony is the former President of the Israel branch of ALAI and a former co-chair of the International Chapter of the Copyright Society of the USA.

Publications

Tony is the Author of "Copyright", the leading treatise on Copyright in Israel, cited in over 400 court Judgments, including 30 citations by the Supreme Court. The book, now in its third edition is used by practitioners, scholars and others. Prior to the publication of the first edition of this book in 2004, Tony published "The Rights of Authors, Performers and Producers" (1997).

Tony is also the author of the chapter on Israel in Copyright Throughout the World (ed. Silke Von Lewinski, published by Thomson-Reuters and available on West Law).

Additionally, Tony has authored articles in various law journals.

Personal

Tony was born and raised in London, England and moved to Israel at the age of 18 in 1979.

Tony is married to Professor Yona Greenman, has three children and plays golf and is a wildlife photography enthusiast.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Israel

California

Languages Spoken

He is fluent in Hebrew and English and can get by in Portuguese.

Education