Biography
Alan Korn is an attorney based in Berkeley, California with a law practice emphasizing communications, first amendment, music, film, art, photography, Internet, entertainment and intellectual property issues. Mr. Korn’s practice includes both transactional work and litigation.
Mr. Korn graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz (B.A. in American Studies and B.A. in Psychology, 1981, College Honors and Thesis Honors), San Francisco State University (M.A. in Broadcast Communications Arts, College Honors) and Golden Gate University (J.D. 1993, The National Dean’s List, Who’s Who Among American Law Students).
At Golden Gate University, Mr. Korn served as Issue Editor of the Golden Gate University Law Review: First Amendment Law Symposium, and wrote the Comment Renaming That Tune: Aural Collage, Parody and Fair Use (First Prize, GGU Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition).
From 1993 to 1994 Mr. Korn served as “of counsel” with the Law Office of Deena Zacharin, representing musicians, recording artists and numerous independent record labels. He was associated with Bogatin, Berchenko and Corman from 1994 through 1997.
Over the last four decades, Mr. Korn has developed extensive ties with the music and arts community in the Bay Area and beyond. Prior to entering law practice, Mr. Korn worked as a college radio DJ, music journalist, and indie label recording artist. Many of the clients Mr. Korn has represented come from the fields of music, art, photography, literature and film.
Mr. Korn previously sat on the steering committee of the National Lawyers Guild Committee on Democratic Communications (CDC), served as counsel for Friends of KUSF and wrote an online column called The Fine Print, for Music World. Mr. Korn has appeared on radio numerous times, speaking on legal issues and is interviewed at length in Sonic Outlaws, a documentary on “culture jamming” by Craig Baldwin. He has also represented dozens of Low Power (licensed and unlicensed) and full-power NCE FM stations since the early 1990s. Mr. Korn was one of the earliest legal advocates for the creation of an authorized Low Power FM service.