APRIL 1, 2024 – Peter Anderson, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, has been named to the Billboard 2024 list of Top Music Lawyers, his sixth straight year receiving the honor.
The Top Music Lawyers list recognizes the attorneys who are "guiding superstars and industry-driving companies."
In honoring Anderson, Billboard highlighted his "major victory" last year for recording artists Sam Smith and Normani, for whom he won dismissal of a copyright challenge to the 2019 hit "Dancing With a Stranger." The song was a 4X Platinum single that spent almost a year on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition to the two singers, Peter represented the producing and songwriting team Stargate, and their respective music publishers and record labels, in the case.
Asked by Billboard about the music industry's most pressing issue, Peter said: "The continued filing of copyright infringement cases based on the mere presence of commonplace musical building blocks, such as a few pitches, chords and commonplace lyrics."
Peter is currently handling a number of high-profile cases. These include defending Mariah Carey, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Corp., and others, in a lawsuit alleging that the Diamond-certified single, "All I Want for Christmas is You"—ranked #1 on the Billboard list of All Time Greatest Holiday 100 Songs—infringed plaintiff's copyright on a song with the same title.
About Davis Wright Tremaine
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is an AmLaw 100 law firm with more than 600 lawyers representing clients based throughout the United States and around the world. The firm's media and entertainment team is widely recognized as one of the leading groups in the country. Learn more about www.dwt.com.