Lisa A. Alter’s practice is focused primarily in the area of copyright law, with a particular emphasis on music copyright issues. She advises a number of prominent major and independent music publishing companies, as well as equity investors, in copyright and transactional matters. She represents clients in transactions involving the acquisition and sale of significant music assets, negotiates and closes complex stock and asset purchase agreements, and conducts in-depth copyright due diligence in connection with the acquisition, sale and/or administration of music copyright catalogues.
Ms. Alter’s clients also include a large number of bespoke songwriters, recording artists and producers as well as musical estates comprising the successors to many of the great American songbook composers and lyricists. Among her clients are numerous inductees into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and The Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and are the recipients of Grammy and Ivor Novello awards. In addition to advising her clients on a wide variety of transactional and licensing matters, Ms. Alter has gained a formidable reputation for her work in the area of termination of transfers in accordance with the United States Copyright Act and the recapture of music publishing and master recording copyrights.
Ms. Alter lectures frequently on copyright issues at professional and music industry meetings in both the US and the UK. She serves as a Visiting Professor at Yale Law School where she teaches a course on The Law and Business of Music. In addition, she has written numerous articles addressing music publishing and copyright matters and is the author of “Protecting Your Musical Copyrights” which is widely relied upon in the music publishing industry.
