Ty focuses his practice on copyright, trademark, and trade secrets law—with particular experience in music law—but also has experience in a wide range of substantive legal areas, including antitrust, consumer protection, banking, government investigations, and products liability. He maintains a strong interest in appellate and pro bono work.
Before joining Williams & Connolly, Ty served as a law clerk for Judge Kent A. Jordan on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and Judge James C. Mahan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.
Ty graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he was a first runner-up in the Vanderbilt Moot Court Competition and competed as a member of Vanderbilt's National Moot Court Team. Prior to law school, Ty founded and ran a music copyright clearance company, helping clients navigate permissions to use copyrighted content in film, television, and on the internet. He also worked as an Assistant Director of the intellectual property office at a large private university. A former professional musician and native of the West, Ty graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in piano and voice and a master’s degree in orchestral conducting. Outside of work, you may find him guest conducting the D.C. Temple Orchestra or singing in local choirs.
Ty and his lovely wife, Gina, have four children and reside in the Northern Virginia area.
Publications
- Copyright Drama, 22 VIRGINIA SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 21 (2023) [ssrn]
Representative Experience
Though all cases vary and none is predictive, Ty’s experience includes:
- Representing a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company defending against claims of direct and contributory copyright infringement surrounding allegedly proprietary software.
- Representation of a multi-billion-dollar non-profit organization, providing copyright counseling and pre-litigation advice on various complex music copyright issues involved in a global music publication project. Copyright representation includes print and digital music licensing, sound recordings analysis, substantial similarity review, public domain determinations, and complex chain-of-title ownership assessments under both the 1909 and 1976 Copyright Acts. Negotiated and secured sophisticated licensing deals with various commercial music publishers (U.S. and abroad).
- Representing Fortune 10 technology company in antitrust class action.
- Lead defense counsel in Maryland felony criminal case. Included pre-trial motions practice and attending hearings. Negotiated a favorable no-prison plea agreement and successfully argued for expungement of the charges at sentencing.
- Representing multinational conglomerate in multiple products liability actions.
- Investigations counsel for an American multinational financial services company defending against State Attorneys General investigation based on alleged violation of federal and state antitrust and consumer protection laws across multiple states. Includes overseeing significant document production and legal strategy and analysis for investigation.
- Representing $140 billion medical technologies company in federal court for enforcement of non-compete clause.