Elliot M. Zimmerman

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Elliot Zimmerman
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Born (1953-07-11) July 11, 1953 (age 72)
Long Island, New York, U.S.
Alma mater
  • City College of New York (B.B.A.)
  • Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (J.D.)
OccupationEntertainment lawyer, musician
Years active1975–present
Websiteentertainmentlawyer.pro

Elliot Michael Zimmerman (born July 11, 1953) is an American entertainment lawyer and musician. He founded The Florida Bar Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section (EASL)[1][2][3] and practices as a board-certified intellectual property attorney[4][5][6] while maintaining a parallel career as a musician and record producer.[7]

Early life and education

Zimmerman was born on July 11, 1953, in Long Island, New York. He graduated cum laude from Bernard M. Baruch College in 1976 with a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.). In 1979, he earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law as a member of its inaugural class.

Career

Legal career

Florida Bar Contributions

After being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1981, Zimmerman established The Florida Bar Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Committee (EASL) in 1982, which became a section in 1988.[1] As committee chair, Zimmerman successfully petitioned the Board of Designation, Certification, and Advertising to create a specialist designation for entertainment law practitioners in 1984.[8] He maintained this designation until the program ended in 1996.[9] In 2007, Zimmerman became certified in Intellectual Property Law when the certification was launched.[4] Additionally, Zimmerman served as EASL's webmaster and created its listserv.[10]

Zimmerman's Cases

  • Litigation against DreamWorks Animation in a copyright infringement lawsuit regarding The Bee Movie[11]
  • Represented Carl Gardner, founder of The Coasters, in a trademark dispute with unauthorized users of the name[12]
  • Litigation for Planet Hollywood regarding franchise agreements[13][14]
  • Defending Aretha Franklin against breach of contract claims[15]
  • Litigation for Ray Sawyer aka Dr. Hook in trademark disputes with members of Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show[16]
  • Representing Bobby Kimball in trademark disputes with Toto members[17]

He has written about copyright and intellectual property law, including the impact of artificial intelligence on digital media distribution.[18][19]

Music career

Zimmerman began performing professionally at age 16 as a multi-instrumentalist in New York. His musical collaborations include work with artists such as Jaco Pastorius, Ahmad Jamal, Duffy Jackson, Lee Musiker, The Ink Spots, and A Few Jews Blues Band.[20][21][22]

During the 1980s, Zimmerman performed at Fort Lauderdale's Musicians Exchange Cafe, a venue which hosted local and national acts.[23][24] In 2007, following the death of venue owner Donald Cohen, Zimmerman acquired ownership of the Musicians Exchange brand and transformed it into a digital media platform for artists.[25][26]

Zimmerman's production credits include his original song "My Favorite Holiday" performed by The Ink Spots (1982) with Duffy Jackson on drums,[27][28][29] and collaborations with British soul producer Ian Levine as a featured artist on several Northern soul albums (2024).[7][30]

Recognition

The Florida Bar Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section bestowed Zimmerman as Chair Emeritus in 2009 acknowledging his contributions to entertainment law in Florida advancing specialization standards in legal practice and facilitating public access to designated specialists in the fields of entertainment, arts, and sports law.[2]

Discography

  • My Favorite Holiday (The Ink Spots) – Producer, writer, keyboards[31][27][29]
  • Ron Jonas / Al Shikaly – The Magic Of You – Producer, Writer, Keyboards[32]
  • Getting Free – Producer, writer, keyboards[33][34]
  • Heading Up North by Ian Levine – Featured Artist, Co-Writer[35][30]
  • Trapped In Stormy Weather by Ian Levine – Featured Artist, Co-Writer[35][7]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "History of The Florida Bar Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section (EASL)" (PDF). easl.info. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Past Chairs of The Florida Bar Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section" (PDF). easl.info. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  3. ↑ MacQueen, Kim (2008-04-15). "Lights, Camera, EASL!". The Florida Bar News. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Florida Bar Member Profile". The Florida Bar. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  5. ↑ Gerety, Justine (1985-12-20). "'MIAMI VICE' TURF IS BATTLEFIELD IN COMPANY'S SUIT OVER T-SHIRTS". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 2025-05-13.
  6. ↑ Faiola, Anthony (September 6, 1993). "Tracking Fake Levi's". The Miami Herald. p. Front Page of Business Section C.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Northern Soul 2024". AllMusic (Review). Retrieved 9 March 2025. Album listing for "Northern Soul 2024," featuring the song "Trapped in Stormy Weather" by Elliot Zimmerman, co-written by Ian Levine and Elliot Zimmerman.
  8. ↑ "BDCA Approves Sport Law Designation Area". The Florida Bar News. 1984-02-15. p. 4. Adding the area was first proposed by Entertainment and Arts Law Committee Chairman Elliot M. Zimmerman of Ft. Lauderdale. Committee Vice-Chairman Jerard C. Heller, also from Ft. Lauderdale, spoke in favor of adding the area at the BCDA's January 27 meeting.
  9. ↑ Steve Johnson (June 13, 1984). "Finding a lawyer who fits your needs". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. pp. 49, 52. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  10. ↑ "Annual Reports of Florida Bar Sections and Divisions". The Florida Bar. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
  11. ↑ Blum, Vanessa. Film's Ads Stir Swarm of Trouble. South Florida Sun Sentinel, 7 Nov. 2007, p. 13. Available at: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2007/11/07/films-ads-stir-swarm-of-trouble/ (Accessed 14 May 2025).
  12. ↑ French, Bob. Trademark Battle Rages over Coasters. South Florida Sun Sentinel, 16 Feb. 1992, p. 21. Available at: https://www.newspapers.com/image/230679444/?match=1&terms=Coasters (Accessed 14 May 2025).
  13. ↑ Planet Hollywood, Inc. v. NorthPort Marketplace, Inc., et al. Circuit Court, Broward County, FL, Case No.: 99-017238 CACE 04, 1999.
  14. ↑ Altaner, David. "Northport Dream in Fort Lauderdale Ends in Foreclosure." South Florida Sun Sentinel, 3 Nov. 1999, p. 45. Available at: https://www.newspapers.com/image/238871900/?match=1&terms=%22Planet%20Hollywood%20Foreclosure (Accessed 14 May 2025).
  15. ↑ Bartel & Shuford v. Aretha Franklin, No. 81-14458 CA 29 (Fla. Cir. Ct. Dade Cty. 1981).
  16. ↑ AIM and Ray Sawyer f/k/a Dr. Hook v. Dr. Hook, Inc. and Locorriere, No. 88-008869 CA (Fla. Cir. Ct. Broward Cty. 1988).
  17. ↑ Toto, et al. v. Kimball, et al., No. 91-8373-CIV-ROETTGER (S.D. Fla. 1991).
  18. ↑ "P2P File Sharing: Direct and Indirect Copyright Infringement". The Florida Bar. May 2004. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  19. ↑ "The Entertainment Lawyer". The Florida Bar. 1982-05-01. p. 463-464. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  20. ↑ "Singing the Blues: Members of Temple Bat Yam Get Together to Play the Blues, Have Some Fun and Raise Money for Charity". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. 1990-05-03.
  21. ↑ "Band Mixes Blues, Comedy at Temple". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. 2001-12-26.
  22. ↑ Gerber, Richie (2015-05-06). Jazz: America's Gift: From Its Birth to George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Beyond. Gerber's Miracle Publishers LLC. ISBN 978-0-692-44553-2.
  23. ↑ Nancy E. Roman (January 18, 1988). "Downtown welcomes jazz club". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 12.
  24. ↑ "Musicians Exchange Fort Lauderdale Concert Setlists". Setlist.fm. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  25. ↑ "Florida Department of State – Musicians Exchange Trademark Filing". Sunbiz.org. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  26. ↑ Sheffield, Skip (2007-10-14). "Pre-Castro 'I Was Cuba' Explorer at Boca Raton Museum of Art". Boca Raton News. p. 33.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "My Favorite Holiday". Discogs. May 1982. Retrieved 2024-02-18. Note: Discogs is a user-generated database; this citation verifies release details (e.g., catalog number T02329) but does not establish notability.
  28. ↑ Rutherford, Kevin (2024-05-23). "'Fallout' Reigns on Top TV Songs Chart Via Ink Spots Synch". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Dorothy Sutton (November 14, 1984). "Potpourri". Boca Raton News. p. 22.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "Northern Soul 2024". AllMusic (Review). Retrieved 9 March 2025. Album listing for "Northern Soul 2024," featuring the song "Heading Up North" by Elliot Zimmerman, co-written by Ian Levine and Elliot Zimmerman.
  31. ↑ "My Favorite Holiday" (7-inch single). The Ink Spots. Suntown Records, Inc. (T02329). 1982.
  32. ↑ Father Hickey's Collection Plates (2021-02-09). Ron Jonas - The Magic Of You. Retrieved 2025-02-20 – via YouTube. Note: This video is cited to confirm catalog number and credits; it is not used to establish the subject's notability.
  33. ↑ {{Cite news |author=Schulman |first=Sandra |date=January 21, 1996 |title=Funk and local talent, VARIOUS ARTISTS: Funkadero Records Music Collection (Funkadero Records) |newspaper=Florida Sun-Sentinel |page=59} |url="https://www.newspapers.com/image/238745794/?match=1&terms=Funkadero" |access-date=14 March 2025}
  34. ↑ "Funkadero Records Collection 1984". Discogs. 1984. Retrieved 2025-02-18. Note: Discogs is a user-generated database; this citation confirms the compilation's existence but does not establish notability.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Buckley, Bill (1 April 2024). "VARIOUS: Northern Soul 2024 (Wienerworld)". Soul and Jazz and Funk (Review). Retrieved 9 March 2025. Review of the Northern Soul 2024 compilation album, featuring artists including Elliot Zimmerman and Ian Levine.

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