Joachim B. SteinbergCIPP/US
Overview
Based in both San Francisco and New York, Joachim B. Steinberg (CIPP/US) supports clients in commercial, intellectual property, and technology litigation in courts across the country. He has represented clients in federal and state courts and in arbitration, including trial advocacy and arguments before the Second Circuit.
Career & Education
- University of Chicago, A.B., general and departmental honors, history
- New York University School of Law, J.D., cum laude
- University of Oxford, M.St., legal research
- New York
- California
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Supreme Court of the United States
Professional Activities and Memberships
- ABA
- Intellectual Property Section Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, 2023–2024
- Intellectual Property Section Committee on Copyright and New Technologies, 2024–Present
- Vice-Chair, Intellectual Property Section Digital Games Committee, 2024–Present
- Copyright Society
- Member, 2018–Present
- Co-Chair, Northern California Chapter, 2021–Present
- Membership Committee, 2024
- Copyright Adjacent Committee, 2025
- International Trademark Association
- Member 2023-Present
- Committee on Geographic Indicators, 2024
- Board of Directors, Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco, 2021–Present
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation, 2022–Present
- Bar Association of San Francisco Delegation to the California Conference of Bar Associations
- Delegate, 2016–Present
- Chair, 2022
- Chairman of the Board of Directors, San Francisco City Football Club, 2016–2022
- Member, Edward J. McFetridge American Inn of Court, 2016–2018
- Board of Directors, AIDS Legal Referral Panel, 2014 – 2018
- ABA
Joachim's Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 07.09.25
Twenty years ago, the Supreme Court held that “one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties.” MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., 545 U.S. 913, 919 (2005). In the Grokster case, the Supreme Court found that peer-to-peer file sharing companies could be liable for copyright infringement for their users’ deployment of file sharing software. There, the Court found that liability was warranted because the file sharing companies knew that its users were infringing, and the companies materially contributed to that infringement.
Client Alert | 4 min read | 07.02.25
Client Alert | 8 min read | 06.30.25
Representative Matters
- Represented a technology start-up in an appeal before the Second Circuit in a trademark infringement case.
- Provided legal services for a major producer of airplane parts in trade secrets litigation over critical internal technology.
- Represented a municipality in antitrust litigation against several large banks for rate-fixing related to variable rate bonds.
- Represented a video-game company in intellectual property claims related to the “print on demand” industry, securing a favorable settlement.
- Represented a Canadian technology company in patent and trademark litigation over virtualization software, leading to a substantial jury verdict.
- Assisted client in FINRA arbitration proceedings.
- Argued a summary judgment motion in a civil rights case against a police department.
Joachim's Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 07.09.25
Twenty years ago, the Supreme Court held that “one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties.” MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., 545 U.S. 913, 919 (2005). In the Grokster case, the Supreme Court found that peer-to-peer file sharing companies could be liable for copyright infringement for their users’ deployment of file sharing software. There, the Court found that liability was warranted because the file sharing companies knew that its users were infringing, and the companies materially contributed to that infringement.
Client Alert | 4 min read | 07.02.25
Client Alert | 8 min read | 06.30.25
Insights
Joachim's Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 07.09.25
Twenty years ago, the Supreme Court held that “one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties.” MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., 545 U.S. 913, 919 (2005). In the Grokster case, the Supreme Court found that peer-to-peer file sharing companies could be liable for copyright infringement for their users’ deployment of file sharing software. There, the Court found that liability was warranted because the file sharing companies knew that its users were infringing, and the companies materially contributed to that infringement.
Client Alert | 4 min read | 07.02.25
Client Alert | 8 min read | 06.30.25
