Brooke Oliver
Senior Counsel
Services & Specializations
- Trademarks and Copyrights
- Intellectual Property
- Nonprofits
- Latin America
- Art Law
- Entertainment Law
Admissions
California;
US Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit;
US Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit;
US Supreme Court;
USDC, Central District of California;
USDC, Eastern District of California;
USDC, Northern District of California;
USDC, Southern District of California
Languages
Spanish
Address
3000 El Camino Real | 5 Palo Alto Square Suite 400, Palo Alto, CA 94306
Office Tel.
650.645.9025
Mobile Tel.
415.407.4395
Overview
Brooke specializes in representing the intellectual rights of visual artists, is considered well-versed on the Visual Artists’ Rights Act, and for twelve years served as a co-chair of the Visual Arts & the Law Conference. She counsels on the entire life cycle of tax-exempt organizations, and defends clients in Attorney General or IRS challenges to exempt status. Brooke has been called “a folk hero of copyright law” for her role in landmark court decisions that protect visual artists.
- Super Lawyers®, Intellectual Property, 2015-2021
- Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent rating
- Teddy Witherington Award for Outstanding Service to the LGBT Movement
- Cesar E. Chávez Legacy Award
- Certificate of Recognition, California State Senate, for commitment to celebrating diversity, beauty, and promoting global equality for all
- Certificate of Honor, City and County of San Francisco, for outstanding leadership and community engagement with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community
- Sainted by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (St. Brooke of the Patent Leather Legal Briefs)
- Cambridge Who’s Who
- JD, Golden Gate University, School of Law, 1994
- BS, Organizational Development, University of California, Davis
- Panelist. “Is it Art? I’ll Know It When I See It. Does Copyright Protect It? I’ll Tell You When I Know.” Webinar, 2021 USC Gould School of Law Intellectual Property Institute, September 22, 2021.
- Author. “Interactive, Participatory Digital Art Works Started by the Artist and “COMPLETED” by Users (Art 2.0, Video Game Art, Holograms, Digital Installations) – Legal Issues and Possible Solutions” (with Harley K. DuBois), International Bar Association/MAXXI Museum, Rome 2012
- Author. “Non-Profit Public Advocacy and Activism Without Jeopardizing Your 501(c)(3) Tax Status,” CAPI Conference, 2009
- Author. “New Media Art Works: BioArt, Digital Media, Installations & CopyLeft,” CLE International, 2008
- Author. “Muralists’ Legal Rights,” 2006 International Mural Conference, Mexico City, Mexico
- Author. “Native American Art Themes and Legal Issues (with Cheryl Fairbanks, Esq.)“, CLE International, 2006
- Author. “New Media Art: The Artist’s Perspective in Museum Acquisitions, ALI-ABA Museum Administrators Conference,” 2005
- Author. “VARA/CAPA Legal Update,” CLE International, 2005
- Author. “Art-Related Tax Issues“; San Francisco Art Institute, 2005
- Author. “Trademark Basics,” 2005
- Author. “Expanding Art Markets: Prints, Certificates of Authenticity, and Art Licensing,” CLE International 2004
- Author. “Art On & Off the Wall: Rights of Integrity & Attribution in Murals and Sculptures,” ABA Intellectual Property Section Conference, Summer 2003
- Author. “Interview with Laurence H. Tribe, Constitutional Scholar and Muralist,” 2001
- American Bar Association
- Bar Association of San Francisco
- San Francisco Intellectual Property Law Association
- Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom
- Calle 24 Latino Cultural District Council (A Founder)
- International Trademark Association
- San Francisco Pride
- Acción Latina (publisher of El Tecolote), member of the Board of Directors
- Voynovskaya, Nastia. “Oakland Artists Say Fiscal Sponsor Emptied Their Account, Leaving Them Without Pay,” KQED, November 9, 2023.
- Garzón, Camilo. “Brooke Oliver Oral History,” Proyecto Mission Murals, digital publication, SF MOMA, November 2022.
- Rhodes, Mike. “Madera Candidate Denounces Witches,” Fresno Alliance, June 2, 2022.
- Brown, Kate. “San Francisco Dykes on Bikes® Women’s Motorcycle Contingent Celebrates 45 Years at the Front,” San Francisco Bay Times, August 26, 2021.
