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As senior vice president and head of global intellectual property at Warner Bros. Discovery, David Modzeleski leads a global team of fifty IP professionals with a remit that includes managing trademark, copyright, patent, antipiracy, and IP policy matters for the entirety of the business. His team operates with a key goal in mind: to protect the company’s iconic intellectual property assets.
“Over half of my team is devoted to trademark and brand protection matters,” he explains. “We have over 65,000 active trademarks worldwide, not to mention an active global brand protection strategy. As you can imagine, we do a lot, both offensively and defensively, to manage a portfolio of that size. It’s a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.”
That portfolio includes some of the most noteworthy brands in entertainment, including DC Comics (Superman and Batman), Warner Bros. films and TV, Harry Potter, HBO, Looney Tunes, CNN, Turner, and Discovery, to name just a few.
Though Modzeleski had an inkling he might pursue law, intellectual property wasn’t initially on his radar. “As a child, I don’t think I really understood what being a lawyer was,” he says. “We had a few family friends who were successful lawyers and seemed to enjoy what they did. That was my first exposure, and it did spark my interest.”
As he learned more about different types of law and understood that not all lawyers ran into the courtroom to try cases like TV lawyers, he set law as his goal. Still, upon graduating college with a liberal arts degree, he deferred going to law school for a couple of years to make sure it was what he wanted to do. In the meantime, he took a job at a Big 5 accounting firm doing management consulting.
“While I enjoyed it and learned a ton, I didn’t enjoy it enough to change my initial plan,” he recounts. “I went to law school and had a pretty traditional career path.”
That path included a summer associateship at a major DC firm, interning for a federal judge, writing for the law review, clerking in the federal district court in Alexandria, Virginia, and then joining the firm where he had summered as a second-year law student, Arent Fox (now ArentFox Schiff).
“Interestingly, I didn’t have much exposure to IP in law school, or even during my clerkship. I landed in the IP group at the firm because I had a mentor who thought I would be a good fit and there was a need,” Modzeleski recalls. He learned on the job and worked across various trademark portfolios, focusing primarily on brand portfolio management, copyright, and related matters.
“I was lucky to link up with several partners who took an interest in me early on and gave me meaningful development opportunities. And I quickly established strong relationships with several firm clients, which made my practice very enjoyable. I acted as de facto in-house counsel for these clients in many respects,” he says.
After almost eight years, Modzeleski transitioned in-house to Discovery in 2012 to lead its IP group. “This was a unique opportunity to go to a company I admired and work across IP issues in an industry that was exciting to me: media and entertainment,” he shares. “It was something I couldn’t pass up.”
Modzeleski’s initial responsibilities included trademark, copyright, patent, and antipiracy matters. But his media and entertainment career grew as the company changed over the next dozen years. By 2018, after Discovery merged with Scripps, he began leading the global litigation function for the company.
Fast-forward to 2022, when Discovery merged with WarnerMedia to become the media giant Warner Bros. Discovery. “I was fortunate to work on the deal team, supporting it not only from an IP perspective but also running point on various separation planning activities related to the transaction, Modzeleski says. In 2023, he was tapped to lead the newly integrated global IP department.
“We have over 65,000 active trademarks worldwide, not to mention an active global brand protection strategy. As you can imagine, we do a lot, both offensively and defensively, to manage a portfolio of that size.”
David Modzeleski
Today, Modzeleski is responsible for managing one of the most iconic IP portfolios in media and entertainment and leading a team of experts across trademark, copyright, patent, and related disciplines. He handles any number of IP matters on a given day related to these areas, not to mention issues involving content protection, antipiracy, and IP policy.
Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are also top of mind for him and his team. “As you can imagine, we are spending a lot of time on AI and supporting the business on these issues from an IP perspective.”
Modzeleski truly values the team he has built in his current role. “I think my team would describe me as supportive and someone who views their success, both individually and collectively, as my success,” he offers. “I try to give them the tools and support to succeed in their respective roles, and it is very rewarding to see their achievements.”
“David brings together the right mix of substantive legal skills and practical common sense to see issues on the horizon and implement solutions to protect some of the most valuable IP in the media and entertainment world.”
–Howard S. Hogan, Partner
“In addition to being an excellent lawyer, David is direct, decisive and practical, which is everything an outside lawyer can hope to have in an in-house client relationship.”
–James Weinberger, Partner
“David’s innovative approach to navigating complex and nuanced issues makes him one of the most creative business and legal minds in the media and entertainment industry.”
–Anthony Lupo, Chairman
