Diana Palacios

Partner

Helping content creators create.

Diana Palacios focuses her practice on media, First Amendment, and intellectual property litigation and counseling. In her practice, she works on a range of matters, including defamation, records and courtroom access, privacy, right-of-publicity, false advertising, copyright, and trademark issues. She also provides pre-publication and pre-broadcast counseling in both English and Spanish for studios, television networks, production companies, and newspapers.

In her litigation practice, Diana defends intellectual property and content-tort claims in state and federal courts, and has experience resolving cases through mediation and arbitration.

Practice Highlights

Pre-broadcast and production counseling and IP advice

Counseling producers and distributors of feature-length films, documentaries, television series, and video games regarding right-of-publicity, life rights, copyright, trademark, and defamation issues, often on projects that tackle sensitive topics and involve substantial fair-use issues. Representative projects include "Tiger King," "Hillary," "Fyre Fraud," "Wild Wild Country," "Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On," "The Story of Diana," "Open House," "Rick and Morty," "@midnight," "Guy's Grocery Games," "Guy's Big Project," and "Face Off."

Latin America production and distribution counseling

Advising on mitigating risks associated with filming, producing, and distributing in Latin America, including counseling on rights, pre-broadcast issues, and advertising. Representative projects include "Destino Rusia," "Chumel con Chumel Torres," "Luis Miguel: La Serie," and "Nicky Jam: El Ganador."

Esports and video games

Counsel for major video game and mobile game companies, media content producers and advertisers on issues relating to online gaming and gambling laws. Experience includes developing chance playbook for various in-game offerings, including various lootbox-style in-game offerings; advertising and promotion review; analyzing legality of various fantasy and sports and esports betting offerings; counsel and advice on registration and licensure requirements for online gaming and gambling companies; and development of policies and procedures for acceptance of gaming and gambling promotions and offerings.

Hajim v. Endemol Shine UK

Defending the London-based producer of the Netflix series, "Black Mirror," in a copyright lawsuit claiming that an episode from the series' fifth season, featuring Miley Cyrus, infringes the copyright in plaintiff's 2012 film, "Strange Frame." DWT has moved to dismiss based on lack of substantial similarity and other defenses. (N.D. Ill. Ongoing)

Multiversal v. Yelp

Defended Yelp in a false advertising and unfair competition lawsuit from Yelp's publication of an online video about the operation of its recommendation software. Defeated plaintiff's repeated efforts to access Yelp's proprietary source code and then prevailed on the merits following a 16-day trial (spread across more than two months). The decision was affirmed on appeal. (Los Angeles Cnty. (Cal.) Super. Ct., Cal. App. 2022)

Bobby Brown and the Estate of Bobbi Kristina Brown v. BBC, Showtime Networks, et al.

Defended BBC and Showtime in a lawsuit arising from the acclaimed documentary Whitney: "Can I Be Me" about the late pop star Whitney Houston. Her former husband and the estate of her late daughter sued, alleging that the use of their names and likenesses in the film violated their rights of publicity under California and Georgia law, and Bobby Brown's name in the film violated the Lanham Act. Successfully moved to dismiss BBC on jurisdictional grounds and successfully moved to dismiss the right-of-publicity claims and Lanham Act claims under the First Amendment and statutory exemptions. Bobby Brown also brought a tortious interference claim, but the court declined supplemental jurisdiction and dismissed the case. (U.S. Dist. Ct., S.D.N.Y. 2019)

Milo v. Bird-X

Plaintiff filed suit for declaratory relief for an order stating that its bird repellant product does not infringe on our client’s trademarks and copyrights. (N.D. Illinois Ongoing)

Shapiro v. Part 2 Pictures, CNN, et al.

Defended Part 2 Pictures and CNN in a copyright infringement and defamation lawsuit in federal district court in Nevada arising from an episode of "This Is Life with Lisa Ling" that reported on the phenomenon of seminars that teach men how to pick up women. In May 2018, the court granted our motion to dismiss in its entirety, dismissing the case with prejudice. The court denied the plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration. (D. Nev. 2019)

Admitted to Practice

California

Education

J.D., University of California, Irvine School of Law, 2012
- Lead Article Editor and Style Editor, Law Review
- Founding Executive Editor, Voice newspaper
- President, American Constitution Society
- Women’s Law Society
- National Lawyers Guild
B.A., Politics, Pomona College, 2009
- Latina Achievement of Excellence Award

Languages

Spanish

Memberships & Affiliations

- Lecturer in First Amendment, University of California, Irvine School of Law, 2018-2019
- Lecturer in Introduction to California Federal Local Rules & Filings, University of California, Irvine School of Law, 2019
- Co-author of ABA Forum on Communications Law Moot Court Competition Hypothetical, 2015

Professional Recognition

- Selected to a list of "Ones to Watch" in Entertainment and Sports Law; IP Litigation (Los Angeles), Best Lawyers, 2022-present
- Named as one of "500 Leading Global Entertainment, Sports & Media Lawyers" by Lawdragon, 2025
- Selected as one of the "Minority Leaders of Influence," Los Angeles Business Journal, 2021
- Selected to "Southern California Rising Stars," Thomson Reuters, 2020-2022
- Selected as one of the "Most Influential Women Attorneys," Los Angeles Business Journal, 2020
- Featured in the Up Next section of "Variety's 2019 Legal Impact Report"

Background

- Law Clerk, Hon. John A. Mendez, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, Sacramento, Calif., 2012-2014
- Legal Intern, National Lawyers Guild, Law Office of Carol Sobel, Santa Monica, Calif., 2010-2012
- Research Assistant to Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, 2011-2012
- Extern, Hon. Dolly Gee, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 2011
- Summer Associate, Davis Wright Tremaine, Los Angeles, 2011