The Cosplay Lawyer: Philosophy alum protects intellectual property, one convention at a time

Walking into a comic convention is like stepping into a whole new world – think Tatooine, Hogwarts, and Westeros all rolled into one. There are booths selling merchandise and speaker panels featuring writers, actors, and other experts from various cinematic and literary universes. And everywhere, there are people in stunning costumes, dressed as their favorite characters from movies, books, anime, and video games.

Conventions are where Ira Domnitz, the “Cosplay Lawyer,” is in his element.

Like any superhero, Domnitz is a mild-mannered intellectual property lawyer by day. By night – or rather, periodic weekends – he’s an expert who regularly speaks about intellectual property law at comic conventions around the country. He’s also a UWM alum.

Domnitz grew up in Milwaukee and chose UWM for its pre-med program. At the time, he was interested in becoming a hospital administrator. Rather than major in the sciences – though he completed all of his pre-med coursework – Domnitz thought a major in philosophy might prove more useful to his future career.

He graduated in 1995 and went on to complete a year of graduate work in philosophy at the University of Houston. But another profession was calling: He enrolled at Boston University School of Law. He graduated in three years, returned to Houston, and then learned that, because of his science background, he was qualified to sit for the exam that allows attorneys to represent clients before the U.S. Patent Office.

“I didn’t intend to go to law school to become an intellectual property lawyer, but once I learned I qualified to take the Patent Bar, I actually became employed at a patent firm and realized that I liked working with patents,” said Domnitz. “I like working with science, and I like working with inventors and ideas and capturing inventions and ideas in the form of a patent.”

Over the years, Domnitz has represented inventors, artists, scientists, writers, and even celebrities, all looking to protect their intellectual property. He can’t go into details to protect their privacy, but he’s helped to trademark and patent innovations that have changed and shaped their respective industries.

Frequently, he’s called upon to explain his work at conventions around the country. Most recently, he presented at Comicpalooza in Houston, which is hailed as Texas’ largest entertainment and pop culture event. The convention drew over 50,000 attendees.

“People have questions,” Domnitz said. “Naturally, they’re big fans of everything, so the question will be, ‘I’ve written a Buffy the Vampire Slayer novel. I’ve written a Game of Thrones spin-off. I have a cosplay design. How do I protect it?”

So, he explains in general terms how to go about protecting that property, whether it’s art, music, writing, or even peoples’ actual costumes.

Making new creations based off of someone else’s intellectual property might seem like a pretty clear copyright violation, but it’s not so simple, Domnitz said. In some instances, that Game of Thrones spinoff or Buffy the Vampire Slayer novel is protected by “Fair Use,” a set of rules that explain when using another’s copyrighted material is permissible.

But more than copyright, people should pay attention to the trademark.

“If the trademark is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then people are going to identify the source of goods as Warner Brothers, which owns Buffy. If you’re making a knock-off work about Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s characters, people are going to think you have Warner Brothers’ permission to do that. It’s going to tarnish their brand,” Domnitz said.

Recently, Domnitz has begun to help people protect their very clothing as well.

Many of the cosplay costumes that people create and display at the conventions are elaborate works of original art – and thanks to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that distinguishes between an artistic aspect of a fashion design and its utility, they’re eligible for copyright in some cases.

Though intellectual property law is his bread and butter, it’s not the only thing Domnitz talks about at conventions. He’s also a leading expert on the BBC television show Dr. Who, which follows the exploits of an eccentric alien, known simply as “The Doctor,” traveling through time and space.

“I use my philosophy degree every single time we have a conference to have at least one panel to discuss some philosophical issue in view of Dr. Who. That may sound kind of silly, but it really gets the audience involved,” he said.

His panels are popular; Domnitz has been featured in the Houston Chronicle (https://bit.ly/2YYMGPs) and on the BBC’s Anglophile website for the philosophical discussions around good and evil, predestination and free will, and other metaphysical concepts explored in the show.

Despite his love of Dr. Who, Domnitz admits that when he does cosplay, he goes for the “low-hanging fruit.”

“Nature has gifted/cursed me with the fact that I look like John Belushi,” he joked. “I cosplay as Joliet Jake from The Blues Brothers.”

By Sarah Vickery, College of Letters & Science