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Oscar Ramallo

Counsel

Arnold & Porter

Oscar Ramallo is counsel at Arnold & Porter representing clients in general business litigation, with a focus on trademark and copyright litigation. He also routinely advises companies in numerous aspects of online marketing and advertising. Mr. Ramallo has extensive experience in all stages of litigation, from managing and conducting discovery to preparing briefings and arguments before the Court. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Ramallo served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Mary M. Schroeder, Chief Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Mr. Ramallo received his law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, where he was an Articles Editor for the UCLA Law Review.

Recent Articles by Oscar Ramallo

Testing the Bounds of Copyright Protection in Choreographic Works: Hanagami v. Epic Games, Inc.

In a recently filed suit involving the popular videogame Fortnite, the Central District of California faces an important question regarding copyright law: does a copyright in a registered choreographic work extend protection to a smaller portion of the work when that portion is copied by a third party and implemented as a dance move in a video game? Owned and developed by Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”), Fortnite is a “battle royale” style videogame where players fight to be the last person standing. Fortnite players can purchase “emotes,” which are dance moves or other gestures performed by their avatar. Plaintiff Kyle Hanagami owns a copyright registration for a choreographic work called “How Long Choreography.” Hanagami alleges that an emote called “It’s Complicated” copies “the heart” of his work, as it is the only section of the How Long Choreography that occurs ten times throughout the original.