My name is Marie-Andrée Weiss and I am an French-American attorney admitted in New York State and in Strasbourg, France.
Before becoming an attorney, I worked several years in New York as a cosmetics and fashion buyer. I studied fashion marketing at Esmod in Paris, and interned at Et Vous in Paris, Isaac Mizrahi, and Daryl K. in New York. I know the fashion cycle and the fashion industry well, and enjoy working with fashion designers. You can read some of my blog posts about fashion law here, here, and here.
I also have a French Master’s degree in Art History. I am particularly interested in how artists may use the fair use doctrine to create new works, and how performance artists may protect their rights. You can read some of my blog posts about these topics here, here, and here.
I am a solo attorney, and therefore I can take only a limited number of cases, so I can concentrate on all my client’s issues. However, you are always welcome to call me or to drop me a note if you have a question, but you are not even sure you need to hire an attorney. I do not charge for initial consultations.
If I am able to help you, I will send you a proposal, stating what I would do for you, how much work I anticipate will be necessary, and how much I will charge you for my services. If you accept this proposal and would like to hire me as an attorney, I will forward you an engagement letter that you will return to me after having signed it.
Once I become your attorney, I will return phone calls and emails within 24 hours, sooner than that in most cases.
EDUCATION
Maîtrise (Master’s) in Art History, Université de Strasbourg, 1988
Maîtrise (J.D.) in Business Law, Université de Strasbourg, 1991
D.E.A. (LL.M.) in Criminal Law, Université de Strasbourg, 1994
D.E.S. S. (LL.M.) in Multimedia Law, Université de Strasbourg, 2002
LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, New York, 2006
CERTIFICATES
Fashion Marketing, Esmod Paris, 1995
Fashion Entrepreneurship, Esmod Paris, 1995
BAR ADMISSION
New York, 2008
Strasbourg, France (2017)
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Member: Association of the Bar of the City of New York
Member: American Bar Association (ABA): Section of Intellectual Property Law
Member: International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) (CIPP- US Certification)
HONORS
American Bar Association, ABA-IPL 2022 Leadership Recognition Award
Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, 2022-present
Transatlantic Technology Law Forum Fellow, Stanford Law School 2014-2023 (Non Residential)
Prix du barreau, Concours de plaidoirie du Mémorial de Caen 2018 (Prize for eloquence awarded by the National Conference of the French Bar Associations, International Human Rights Competition for Lawyers, Caen, January 28, 2018)
LANGUAGES SPOKEN FLUENTLY
English
French
PUBLICATIONS
(My publications in French are here)
Articles:
Does the U.S. Need a Post-Mortem Right to Privacy? Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Journal, New York State Bar Association, Winter 2007
Three strikes and you’re… disconnected: How France is trying to prevent illegal downloading, New York International Chapter News, New York State Bar Association, Winter 2009
Little Brother is watching you…, New York International Chapter News, New York State Bar Association, Summer 2010
Towards Mandatory Data Breach Notification Laws in the European Union, Journal of Internet Law, June 2011
The use of social media site data by business organizations in their relationship with employees, Journal of Internet Law, August 2011
RT the Hate: France and Twitter Censorship, European Journalism Centre, January 2013
Friends with Commercial Benefits: Social Media Users Do Not Want Their Likeness Used in Advertisements Journal of Internet Law, February 2013
Comment on the Eon v. France case (European Court of Human Rights ) , 2013 Year in Review volume of The International Lawyer
First Amendment Trumps Couple’s Right of Publicity, Copyright Claim to Proceed, Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, Oxford University Press
First Amendment trumps couple’s right of publicity; copyright claim to proceed, Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice (2014)
What Happens to Digital Goods After Death? Paraclete, St. Petersburg, Florida, Bar Association, November 2014
TTLF Working Papers No. 73, Stanford-Vienna Transatlantic Technology Law Forum, 2021: No. 73: Regulating Freedom of Speech on Social Media: Comparing the EU and the US Approach – Working Paper – Stanford Law School.
Kid Influencers Are Indeed Working Under New French Law, The Licensing Journal (Wolters Kluwer) (September 2021)
Newsletters
Social Media Sites and Underwriting, American Bar Association, Business Law Section, Cyberspace Law Committee e-Newsletter, Jan. 2011:
French Government to Introduce Digital “Habeas Corpus” bill in 2013, American Bar Association, International Law Section, Privacy, E-Commerce and Data Security Committee newsletter, Fall 2012
Perfume Still Not Protected by Copyright in France, American Bar Association, International Law Section, International Intellectual Property Rights Committee newsletter, Spring 2014
Stanford-Vienna Transatlantic Technology Law Forum, Transatlantic Antitrust & IPR Developments . The blog is available here.
Guest Blogging
Some of my guest blog entries on the blog of the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Section, New York State Bar Association
- April 2010: Should violent video games be disqualified as speech?
- May 2010: California to extend postmortem right of publicity to persons who became famous because of their deaths.
- November 2012: Pole Dancing Not an Artistic Performance Under New York Law.
- May 2013: Athletes Fined Over Tweets in the U.S. and in Europe.
Guest blogger for the The IPKat blog, July 2014-December 2014
Blogger for the 1709 blog
Contributor 2010-2014 of The Secure Times, the online forum of the ABA Section of Antitrust Law’s Privacy and Information Security Committee
Contributor 2012-2014 of the Digital Media Law Project blog, hosted by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University
Book Chapters:
New York Right of Publicity Protects Starlets and Now Ghouls, Development and Directions in Intellectual Property Law, 20 Years of the IP Kat, edited by Hayleigh Bosher and Eleonora Rosati, Oxford University Press (June 2023).
Chapter on An Introduction to European Union Sports Law for In the Arena, a book published in March 2013 by the New York State Bar Association
Public Presentations:
American Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section, Privacy and Information Security Committee, U.S. Privacy and Information Security Law 101, Stetson Law School, February 2011
American Bar Association, Section of Intellectual Property Law, 26th Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference, Arlington, Virginia, April 2011; co-wrote the presentation: Privacy Rights and Responsibilities in the Social Media World
Panelist, International Copyright Reform Panel, New York Law School, March 2012
American Bar Association, CLE webinar, The Big Data IP Problem: Big Issues for “Big Data”, presentation of the part on Big Data and privacy, June 28, 2013
Gemode, Paris: Hashtags et selfies à Vendre : le droit français et le droit américain du marketing 2.0 de la mode, January 31, 2017
Grand Est France, International Chamber of Commerce, Les aspects légaux pour aborder le marché américain en toute sérénité, March 25, 2018
Le numérique dans tous ses droits, Legal Perspectives on Digital Activities : Encadrement des plateformes, « Avancer vite, casser les codes » : la tentation de l’autorégulation, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Lab-LEX, Panelist, February 9, 2021
Oui ou Non ? Children, Influencers, and Online Marketing in 2021, 36th Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference, American Bar Association, Intellectual Property Law Section, Presenter, April 13, 2021
