
Brooke Oliver
Senior Counsel

Services & Specializations
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
1117 S. California Ave., Suite 200, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1106
Office Tel.
650.645.9025
Mobile Tel.
415.407.4395
Overview
Brooke counsels on the entire life cycle of tax-exempt organizations, and defends clients in Attorney General or IRS challenges to exempt status. She 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. 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
- Brown, Kate. “San Francisco Dykes on Bikes® Women’s Motorcycle Contingent Celebrates 45 Years at the Front,” San Francisco Bay Times, August 26, 2021.