Alyssa M. Bruno, Esq.

Principles

Alyssa M. Bruno, Esq. represents artists, designers, and small business owners. She is a fierce protector of artists’ rights and advises creative businesses on how to best protect their copyrights and trademarks.  In instances where an artist or business owner has had their work copied or reproduced without their consent, Attorney Bruno initiates intellectual property infringement lawsuits to recover the monetary compensation that they deserve.  Attorney Bruno especially enjoys representing small, independent creators who have had their artwork knocked off or outright stolen by large corporations or entities. She takes on these “David and Goliath” cases because she believes it’s imperative for every creator to profit from all commercial uses of their work.

Areas of Practice

Attorney Bruno represents clients in Pennsylvania and New Jersey state courts, as well as in federal courts throughout the country on a pro hac vice basis. She concentrates her practice on intellectual property infringement litigation, copyright and trademark matters, business transactions, and business litigation.

Copyright law is a central focus of Attorney Bruno’s practice.  Artists, authors, photographers, musicians, and other creators seek her guidance on how to best protect their creative works and what to do when someone infringes upon their work.  Attorney Bruno provides her clients with practical and cost-effective solutions to enforcing their rights and pursuing copyright infringement claims when necessary.  In instances where the merits of a copyright infringement claim are strong, and there is a high likelihood of recovering significant monetary damages, Attorney Bruno will handle the case on a contingency fee basis, meaning that the client does not pay for their legal services until monetary compensation for their injury is recovered.

Trademark law is also a central focus of Attorney Bruno’s practice as she represents both plaintiffs and defendants in trademark infringement litigation matters. Additionally, she files trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to protect her clients’ brand idenitifers on a federal level. If an issue arises during the trademark application process, Attorney Bruno advocates on behalf of her clients through filing responses to Office Action letters and appearing in front of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).

Finally, Attorney Bruno has extensive experience representing both large and small companies in complex business litigation matters, including breach of contract disputes, partnership breakups, and business torts.  She also negotiates and drafts a wide variety of contracts for her clients, including non-compete agreements, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), intellectual property assignment contracts, independent contractor agreements, and licensing contracts.

  • Prior to entering private practice, Attorney Bruno served a year term as an appellate judicial law clerk for the Honorable Jack A. Panella of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. As a judicial law clerk, Attorney Bruno assisted in drafting over fifty (50) judicial decisions on civil and criminal appeals. She gained tremendous insight through this experience, which continues to shape the way she approaches cases to this day.

    Following her clerkship, Attorney Bruno joined a regional commercial litigation firm in Morristown, NJ where she represented commercial clients in complex business litigation disputes. After several years of this work, Attorney Bruno pivoted her practice to focus on serving the needs of individuals and small businesses rather than large corporations. Since then, she has been representing artists, designers, and creative businesses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. She finds this work incredibly fulfilling and looks forward to serving these communities for many years to come.

  • Villanova University School of Law, J.D., 2015, Full-Tuition Dean’s Merit Scholarship

    Honors College at the University of South Carolina, 2011, B.S. Business Management and Marketing, magna cum laude

  • Attorney Bruno is the Co-Founder of the Villanova Fashion Law Society, which is a student-run organization dedicated to putting on events involving the niche area of law known as Fashion Law. As a student at Villanova Law, Attorney Bruno organized the Fashion Law Society’s inaugural Fashion Law Symposium, which featured panelists from top fashion companies, including Louis Vuitton and Stuart Weitzman.

    As an attorney in private practice, Attorney Bruno regularly speaks on issues concerning artists’ rights and intellectual property law. She has acted as a faculty member and course planner for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s “Copyright Permissions and Online Use” CLE on three separate occasions. She has also served as a guest lecturer at George Washington University Law School, the University of Southern California School of Law, Drexel University School of Law, and the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

  • Here are a few of the notable cases that Attorney Bruno has handled for her clients:

    —Negotiated large sum product licensing deals on behalf of visual artists collaborating with luxury fashion and beauty brands.

    —Obtained significant settlements on behalf of visual artists whose works were misappropriated by large corporations and included in global advertising campaigns without their consent.

    —Recovered substantial settlement on behalf of author whose work was reproduced in a commercial setting over several years without his consent or any payment made to him.

    —Negotiated settlement on behalf of photographer whose work was stolen and incorporated into a social media marketing campaign without his consent or any payment made to him.

    —Obtained complete reversal of injunction wrongfully entered against independent apparel designer and illustrator in federal trademark and copyright case based on an effective fair use defense.

    —Member of the litigation team that recovered a substantial settlement on behalf of a well-known painter who had one of his famous copyright-protected paintings reproduced in a top-grossing video game without his consent and without any payment made to him.

    —Served as co-counsel and successfully obtained a preliminary injunction in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of a local billboard advertising company attempting to enforce a covenant not to compete provision of a $15 million asset purchase agreement that it entered into with a prominent real estate developer.

    —Member of the litigation team that recovered a significant settlement on behalf of a small retailer who had their trademarked company name infringed upon by a large, big-box retailer in a nationwide product line.

    —Prevailed in Office Action appeals to obtain trademark registrations on behalf of musicians, visual artists, and small business owners.

  • -Pennsylvania

    -New Jersey

    -United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

    -United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

    -United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio

  • -Faculty Member and Course Planner for Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s “Copyright Permissions and Online Use” CLE — 2021, 2023, and 2025

    -Panelist at University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law’s APALSA/ADR Symposium on “AI’s Cultural Shift on Art and Fashion” — 2024

    -Guest Lecturer at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law — 2022-2024

    -Guest Lecturer at Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law —2022- 2023

    -Panelist at George Washington School of Law’s “The Supreme Court Meets Andy Warhol” Discussion — 2022