Scott J. Sholder is a partner with Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP. The Co-Chair of the firm’s Litigation group, he focuses his practice on litigation, counseling, and dispute resolution in connection with entertainment, media, and intellectual property matters. Scott represents and advises clients across various industries in copyright, trademark, right-of-publicity, unfair competition, domain name, and commercial and business disputes, as well as defamation defense. He has appeared in federal and state courts around the country as well as administrative and arbitral tribunals and has handled cases from pre-suit negotiations through trial and post-trial procedures. His clients range from major media and entertainment companies and A-list talent to closely held and startup businesses and individuals in need of advice on intellectual property or guidance concerning brewing or existing legal conflicts. Scott is a skilled advocate and understands the risks, benefits, and practical considerations inherent in these cases and knows how to make use of available leverage and industry knowledge to reach a favorable conclusion. He utilizes a principled yet practical approach to litigation with an eye toward efficient resolution in line with the client’s business needs and financial realities. A frequent writer and speaker on issues related to copyright and trademark in the entertainment and digital media space, with a recent focus on NFTs and generative AI, Scott is a regular contributor to the CDAS legal blog as well as other major legal publications and has published several law review articles.

In his spare time, Scott plays bass guitar in the CDAS house band REDACTED, writes short fiction in the dark fantasy/horror genre, and creates NFT on-chain art under the pseudonym MetalheaD. His works are listed on Makersplace, Objkt, and Exchange, and he was selected to be part of the first cohort of the Makersplace Artist Launchpad Program. His glitch work was selected to be displayed at a recent NYC glitch art event, and he enjoys creating and sharing new works on his social media channels as often as possible.