Overview
Stephanie Goldfarb Herrera litigates novel legal issues at the cross-section of the entertainment, media and tech industries.
Stephanie has extensive expertise litigating digital piracy matters and disputes related to evolving technologies unique to the entertainment and media sectors, including artificial intelligence (AI).
Stephanie also has significant experience in complex mass actions involving modern technologies, including privacy claims and product liability and wrongful death claims targeting AI technologies.
Stephanie’s experience includes significant summary judgment, arbitration and trial victories, including one of the largest ever statutory damages awards in a copyright infringement case. Clients turn to her for winning strategies and creative solutions.
Stephanie is passionate about the arts and is committed to serving the San Francisco community. She has represented major cultural institutions including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Prior to joining the firm, Stephanie clerked for Judge Michelle T. Friedland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Capabilities
Experience
Media and Entertainment Litigation
Stephanie represents media and entertainment clients in technology-related disputes, including copyright, privacy and antitrust litigation and mass actions.
Key representations include:
ATP Media, in a class action alleging VPPA claims.
Activision Blizzard, in winning a motion to compel arbitration of a class action alleging VPPA and other claims.
Multiple streaming platforms in winning bellwether arbitrations and resolving a mass action under the VPPA.
Walt Disney Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures, in obtaining summary judgment on claims for indirect profits by Rearden LLC on alleged secondary copyright infringement based on a third-party vendor’s use of Rearden’s motion capture software on six of the biggest films of the 2010s. On the seventh film at issue, a jury awarded Rearden less than 1% of the profits sought.
Disney, Lucasfilm, Fox, Warner Bros. and other studios, in winning a $62.4 million jury verdict in a copyright infringement and circumvention action against the streaming service VidAngel.
Universal City Studios, Inc., a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, in denying certification of a class action lawsuit alleging that plaintiffs were deceived into renting the motion picture Yesterday because the trailer included an actor who did not appear in the film. The plaintiffs settled and dismissed their case.
Technology Litigation
Stephanie advises technology companies on novel legal issues, including product liability matters and allegations of public harms involving AI technologies. She also counsels technology companies on compliance with multiple regulatory schemes.
Key representations include:
Character AI in high-profile products liability and wrongful death cases involving a generative AI chatbot.
Intel in multiple class actions – in the United States and Israel – relating to allegedly unstable CPUs.
Representing a major technology company in litigation and regulatory matters related to alleged algorithmic discrimination.
Complex Commercial Litigation
Stephanie represents companies across a range of industries in complex commercial disputes.
Key representations include:
A major film studio in a dispute over financing of a motion picture.
San Francisco Museum of Art and other major museums in collections-related litigation and disputes.
San Francisco Giants in litigation concerning spring training facilities and commercial disputes.
More
- The Best Lawyers in America, 2024-2025
- Board member, California Lawyers for the Arts
- Chair of the Advisory Committee for the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, Food From the Bar Campaign, 2024, 2025
News & Insights
Awards & Recognitions