Olivia Loftin - Romano Law

Olivia Loftin

Associate Attorney

Olivia Loftin_colored

Admitted

New York State Bar

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Oregon State Bar

U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

Law School

Willamette University College of Law, magna cum laude

University

Oregon State University

Olivia joined Romano Law as a Spring Extern in 2022.  As a Associate Attorney, Olivia works primarily on transactional matters involving entertainment law and intellectual property.

Olivia is a J.D graduate, who achieved magna cum laude from Willamette University College of Law in May 2022, with a Certificate in Law & Business.  During law school, she was the President and Founder of the Intellectual Property and Media Law Society, a Research Assistant for the Willamette University Counsel and a volunteer for the Oregon Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.  She also interned for the general counsel at Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Prior to law school, Olivia attended Oregon State University for undergrad, where she received an Honors Bachelor of Arts in Political Science – International Relations, with a minor in Spanish.  While in school, Olivia co-hosted a talk and music radio show for Orange Media Network.

Olivia was born and raised in Oregon.  During her free time, Olivia enjoys reading, collecting records, exploring new restaurants and spending time with friends and family.

Blog Entries

  • Here’s Looking at You, Kid.  What To Know Before Employing Minors in New York.

    Behind child actors such as Iain Armitage, and child influencers such as Ryan’s World and Niana Guerrero, there are the contracts that made their success possible.  New York Labor Laws also require that contracts with minors include provisions to ensure that the children are not exploited because of their youth.  While not every employed minor

  • Cardi B Wins Over $4 Million in Defamation Lawsuit

    Updated: Sept. 29, 2022 Rapper and songwriter, Cardi B, was awarded more than $4 million by a jury in January 2022 after winning a defamation case against YouTube personality, Tasha K.  The lawsuit arose from allegations Tasha K made about the Grammy-winning artist in dozens of YouTube videos.  This was an unusually successful case, because

  • Is Your Talent Agency Agreement Fair?

    Updated: October 5, 2022 You’ve just started a career in the entertainment industry – whether that means you are an actor, model, musician or social media influencer.  You have found a talent agent, and you think they might be able to help you find work, assist you in making connections and negotiate contracts on your

  • Six Reasons Why You Should Register Your Works With the Copyright Office

    Many might wonder why songwriters, recording artists, and other creative people should register their works with the U.S. Copyright Office.  After all, under the current Copyright Act, registration with the Copyright Office is not required to obtain a copyright in a work. Under Section 102(a) “[c]opyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of

  • Collaboration Agreements: How to Avoid the “Joint Work” Rules, and Why It’s Almost Always Better to Have a Written Agreement

    Any time that you create a copyrightable work with someone else – whether it’s co-writing a song, a play, a book or a treatment for a television series – you and your co-creators should sign a collaboration agreement.  Without a collaboration agreement, the default ownership rules for joint works apply. WHAT ARE COLLABORATION AGREEMENTS? Collaboration

  • What is the Role of a Film Producer?

    WHAT DOES A FILM PRODUCER DO? Film productions involve many complex pieces and multiple parties, which is why there are often several individuals with the title of “producer.”  A film producer is the person who initiates, coordinates and manages the creation and production of a film.  Generally, the producer is involved throughout the entire process,

  • The Book Stops Here: What the DOJ’s Blocking of the Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster Merger Means for the Publishing Industry

    Just over three months after a highly publicized trial, Judge Florence Y. Pan issued an opinion blocking the merger of two rival publishing houses, Penguin Random House (“PRH”) and Simon & Schuster (“S&S”).  Both PRH and S&S are members of a group commonly referred to in the publishing industry as the “Big 5.”  The “Big

  • Keep It Confidential! New York Non-Disclosure Agreements

    Whether they call it a “Confidentiality Agreement” or a “Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA),” many New Yorkers begin their business deals with a contract governing the sensitive information that they might exchange with one another.  Employers hiring or firing employees, tech companies with trade secrets and parties exploring a potential business relationship all routinely find themselves in need of a well-drafted NDA. Although NDAs are often

  • When Must New York Employers Pay Employees for Their Unused Paid Time Off?

    The Empire State has some of the most comprehensive legal protections for employees in the country.  Employees in New York State have a right to paid time off under the state’s paid sick leave law.  Understanding this law, among other relevant employment statutes in New York, is key to navigating your rights as an employee

  • How to Protect Your Cannabis Brand

    The legalization of cannabis in several states has prompted the growth and creation of many cannabis companies in recent years.  In fact, the cannabis industry is expected to make $72 billion annually by 2030.  With the industry becoming an increasingly competitive space, cannabis companies should protect their brand by obtaining trademarks.  Trademarks range from a

  • What Songwriters Should Ask Before Working With a Music Publisher

    There are many types of songwriters in the music industry.  Like Taylor Swift, some songwriters write songs for themselves to perform.  Others, like Meghan Trainor and Chris Stapleton, began their careers writing songs for other artists.  For example, Trainor has written several hits for groups like Rascal Flatts and Fifth Harmony, while also writing most

  • What is a Morals Clause?

    A morals clause generally grants employers the exclusive right to end a contract in the event an employee engages in behavior that may be harmful to the employer’s image.  Morals clauses are commonly found in employment agreements between companies and high-level executives, or throughout the entertainment industry in many different contexts (e.g., contracts between advertisers, television networks,

  • Here’s Looking at You, Kid.  What To Know Before Employing Minors in California

    Behind child actors such as Iain Armitage, and child influencers such as Ryan’s World and Niana Guerrero, there are the contracts that made their success possible.  California labor laws and the California Family Code require that contracts with minors include provisions to ensure that children are not exploited because of their youth.  While not every

  • What Are the Three Basic Types of Music Publishing Deals for Songwriters?

    Federal copyright law says that when you finally write the last note or find the perfect last lyric for the song you’re writing, you own the song in its entirety.  More specifically, as soon as your song is “fixed in any tangible medium of expression” (for example, you put the pencil down on your handwritten

  • UCC Remedies for Breach of a Contract

    When entering into a contract for the purchase and sale of goods, different rules may apply than for other types of contracts.  Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) was developed to try to standardize state laws with respect these types of transactions.  All states have adopted some, but not necessarily all, of the

  • Are Employees Entitled to a Lunch Break in New York?

    While employers are recommended to give employees time to eat lunch, a meal break is not necessarily a requirement in every state.  Federal and state laws vary on what employers must do.  Even where meal breaks are mandated, in states like New York, the rules vary regarding how and when breaks are given. DOES NEW

  • Separating Fact From Fiction: Legal Considerations In Historical Dramas

    According to the well-known saying, every story has already been told.  This is especially the case in historical dramas, which are retellings of true events that add fictionalized elements for dramatic effect.  In other words, historical dramas are a hybrid of fact and fiction.  Recently, a wave of historical dramas garnered awards nominations, including “The

  • What is the Statute of Limitations in Employment Law Claims?

    Whether you are an employer or an employee, it is important to know the employment laws that may affect you or your company.  One aspect of employment law important to both employees and employers is the time limit requirements on claims arising from an employer’s violation of labor and employment laws.  These time limits are

  • Understanding Basic Overtime Laws in New York

    The Recent Changes to Minimum Wage Laws in New York  As of December 31, 2022, The New York Minimum Wage Act (the “Act”) requires that all employees working in the state receive at least $14.20 an hour or $15.00 an hour if they are in New York City, Long Island and Westchester.  Under the Act,

  • What Authors Should Know About Subsidiary Rights

    The publishing industry is a complex business that includes many different aspects of content creation and distribution. Because of this complexity, publishing agreements contain many provisions that may not be familiar to authors such as morals clauses, options clauses and subsidiary rights.   One of the key revenue streams for the industry is the exploitation of

  • What Authors Should Know About Agency Agreements

    Navigating the literary world as a debut author can be a difficult and frustrating experience.  Many successful authors choose to hire a literary agent to help them through the publishing process.  Literary agents help authors by providing their industry knowledge and leveraging their connections to help sell an author’s book.  Before an agent will represent

  • Licenses Needed to Open a Dispensary in California

    California became the first state to allow medicinal cannabis when it passed the Compassionate Use Act in 1996.  Today, cannabis is legal in California for medicinal and adult recreational use, and has become a significant industry in the state, with sales reaching $4.4 billion in 2020. Though the sale and use of marijuana is legal

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  • 5 Legal Tips To Protect Your Business On Instagram

    Instagram has evolved from a mere personal space for posting pictures and videos into a massive platform that connects over 1.3 billion monthly active users.  Over the past five to ten years, many of these users have found ways to capitalize on the outreach that Instagram affords by starting businesses through the site itself.  From

  • Your Standard Severance Agreements May Now Violate the NLRA

    Companies often part with employees, whether through furlough, termination for cause, or mutual agreement.  When employees leave a company, they sometimes sign an agreement detailing the terms of the separation.  It is common for these severance and settlement agreements to include non-disparagement, confidentiality, and non-disclosure clauses.  However, a recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision

  • What Topics Should New York Employers Steer Clear of During the Hiring Process?

    The hiring process can be stressful and discouraging, leading applicants to feel as though they do not have control over their futures.  However, regardless of the job they are pursuing, applicants still have rights within this process that employers must respect. During the hiring process in most New York state counties, private and public employers

  • What Are New York’s Privacy Torts?

    In New York, there are several ways to protect your name, image and likeness.  New York’s Civil Rights Laws §§ 50 and 51 arm individuals with a cause of action to protect their identity from being used commercially without authorization.  While these laws do not protect all possible right of privacy claims, the laws can offer relief

  • What Fashion Brands Should Know Before Posting a “Click-To-Buy” Image

    Emerging technologies from AI to the metaverse are impacting every facet of modern life, and the fashion industry is no exception.  Recently, “click-to-buy” functionality has made it possible – and lucrative – for fashion brands to link a photo of clothing to a website where that item can be purchased.  Adding this new commercial element

  • Is Your Trademark Distinctive?

    Business-minded people often seek to protect their names, logos, designs, and other brand indicators through trademark law.  However, not all marks are eligible for trademark protection.  Federal law requires that a trademark be “inherently distinctive” or have acquired distinctiveness or “secondary meaning” in order to be registered.  These terms of art can be tricky to

  • Can Marvel Comics Writers and Artists Get Back Their Copyright from Disney?

    Since the 1930s, Marvel Comics has been developing its host of characters, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Doctor Strange, Hulk, Daredevil, Wolverine, Black Panther and Captain Marvel.  While the comics creators transferred ownership of their copyrights in these characters to Marvel decades ago, U.S. copyright law allows these creators to terminate the

  • Wizards of the Coast’s Open Game License Almost Suffers Critical Hit

    Dungeons, Wizards and Streams When friendly conversations turn to the topic of tabletop gaming, Dungeons & Dragons (“D&D”) is often one of the bigger names that often gets thrown around.  Having emerged in the mid-1970s as a hobby for nerdy enthusiasts, D&D allows players to use a set of rules and lore to craft their

  • Social Media Influencer Advertising

    Social media influencers have become an increasingly popular way for companies to market their products, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down.  In response to concerns about predatory marketing disguised as entertaining content, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has created regulations to protect consumers from undisclosed online advertising.  The FTC has also released

  • Salary Discussions at Work

    Talking about salaries at work has often been considered a taboo topic, and employers may even have rules in place to prevent their employees from engaging in such conversations.  However, it is important to know that an employee’s right to discuss their wages is generally protected by law. What Does the Law Say? Under Section