Amy G. Pruett
Amy Pruett advises businesses, creators, and innovators seeking to protect, manage, and monetize their intellectual property (IP). With extensive experience across copyright, trademark, trade secret, and artificial intelligence (AI) related IP, she helps clients transform ideas into valuable assets, safeguard their innovations, and navigate complex legal landscapes in technology, entertainment, and digital media.
How Amy Supports Clients
IP Strategy & Protection
Amy advises clients on comprehensive IP strategies, including trademark, copyright, and trade secret protection. She helps businesses identify, protect, and enforce their IP rights while integrating those strategies into broader business objectives. Her work spans portfolio development, licensing, IP due diligence, alternative dispute resolution and risk mitigation, ensuring that creative works are fully leveraged and protected across domestic and international markets.
AI & Emerging Technology
At the intersection of AI and IP law, Amy guides clients on protecting AI-generated and AI-assisted works, addressing copyright issues, and navigating emerging regulatory and litigation landscapes. She provides strategic counsel on AI training data, copyright risk management, fair use, and global AI IP policies.
Entertainment, Music & Branding Law
Amy represents musicians, producers, media companies, and other creative professionals in licensing, royalty collection, copyright registration, trademark protection, domain name disputes, and brand development. With firsthand experience as a pianist, songwriter, and music business professional, she brings a creative industry perspective to every engagement, helping clients turn artistic vision into commercially successful ventures.
Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) & Personal Branding
Amy advises athletes, influencers, celebrities and other public figures on NIL and branding strategies, including endorsement and sponsorship agreements, personal brand development, and monetization strategies.
Business & Contract Advisory
Amy supports startups and established businesses in structuring contracts, negotiating licenses, co-existence agreements, confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), protecting IP, and aligning IP strategy with regulatory, labor, and corporate compliance. She ensures legal strategies advance business goals and minimize risk.
Why Clients Choose Amy
- Client-focused guidance: Translates complex IP issues into actionable strategies tailored to business objectives.
- Seasoned litigation, mediation and transactional experience: Represents clients before the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and other administrative courts; negotiates, mediates and advises on numerous pre-litigation settlement options and alternative dispute resolution.
- Cross-industry perspective: Advises technology, entertainment, media, consumer products, hospitality and creative industry clients.
- Thought leadership: Regularly publishes insights and appears on Williams Mullen’s Trending Now: An IP Podcast; teaches Negotiation and Music Law courses at University of Virginia and University of Florida Schools of Law.
Amy is certified by the Virginia Supreme Court to serve as a mediator in cases pending in Virginia civil circuit courts and the U.S. District Court of Virginia. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from Pepperdine School of Law, and she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College.
- Pepperdine University School of Law (J.D.)
- Pepperdine Law Review (2004-05) – Lead Articles Editor
- Trial Team Member (2003)
- Pepperdine University School of Law, Straus Institute (LLM)
- LL.M ’21
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Oberlin College (B.A.)
Professional Affiliations
- Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association – Board Member, President 2025-2026
- Virginia State Bar – IP Section Board Member, Chair Elect 2025-2026
- American Bar Association – IP Section; Law Practice Division, Well-Being Task Force (2019-2023)
- Trained Mediator, Fairfield Center, Harrisonburg, VA
- Virginia Supreme Court Certified Mediator – General District and Civil Circuit Court
- International Trademark Association (INTA) – Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Committee Designee (2022-2024)
- Virginia Bar Association – IP Section Board Member (2024-present)
- Federal Bar Association – IP Section
- Virginia Mediation Network – Board Member (2021-2023)
- Mindfulness in Law Society – Chair, Virginia Chapter & Mid-Atlantic Chapter Chair (2020-present)
- Virginia Bar Association – Member (2005-present)
Community Involvements
- Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association – Auxiliary Member, Chapter 27-9 “Vets of the Valley”
- Lyric Opera Virginia – Former Board Member
Bar Admissions
- Virginia State Bar
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- Virginia Supreme Court
The Best Lawyers in America® – Entertainment Law – Music (2026)
Virginia Business – “Legal Elite” (2022 - present)
Virginia Access to Justice Commission – Pro Bono Service Honor Roll Member (2021, 2025)
Listed in Virginia Super Lawyers Rising Stars magazine – Entertainment (2010-2016)
Virginia Super Lawyers - Rising Star (2009-2016)
Experience
- Develop, manage and enforce the rights of international trademark and service mark portfolios and contracts for Grammy-winning artists and well-known festivals, filmmakers, authors, producers, management and media companies.
- Manage and develop large portfolio of brands/copyrighted materials for a client in health and wellness space and advise on infringement and licensing matters.
- Manage and develop large portfolio of brands/copyrighted materials for a client in software space and advise on infringement and licensing matters.
- Manage and develop large portfolio of brands for major yoga festival and yoga businesses and advise on infringement and licensing matters.
- Manage and develop large portfolio of brands for a coffee beverage company and advise on infringement and licensing matters.
- Drafted numerous NDAs for a leading material health assessment company to maintain the confidentiality of certain data used to assess product compliance with clean energy standards.
- Co-mediated complex business disputes and interpersonal emotional conflicts.
- Negotiate and draft complex international licensing agreements for festivals, producers, recording artists, media companies, software developers, coffee suppliers, health care organizations, and other businesses.
- Handle trademark prosecution, opposition and cancellation proceedings with the USPTO, TTAB, and WIPO for U.S. and International clients with large trademark portfolios.
- Worldwide trademark and copyright protection, enforcement, prosecution, brand development and strategy for numerous individuals and companies.
