Legal Expertise

Theresa Bowman is a civil litigator with over a decade of experience advising multi-national entertainment, gaming, media, technology and engineering companies in disputes in U.S. District Courts across the country, with a focus on intellectual property and cutting-edge Communications Decency Act (CDA) Section 230 issues related to immunity for online platforms from liability for third-party content.  Ms. Bowman has successfully helped clients enforce intellectual property rights worldwide and favorably resolved multi-jurisdictional content protection disputes that require coordination with a cross-border team. 

Ms. Bowman is also a seasoned appellate advocate with particular expertise briefing and arguing disputes brought under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which governs all lawsuits involving foreign sovereigns, sovereign-owned entities and sovereign-owned property in U.S. federal and state courts.  Ms. Bowman has advised and represented both sovereign and private clients in FSIA-related matters and has won multiple high-profile and precedent-setting victories in this area.

Ms. Bowman has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America as “One to Watch” and by Attorney Intel on their list of “Top 50 Attorneys of DC.”  She has been published in the National Law Review as well as the Global Arbitration Review (GAR) and has co-authored a chapter in GAR’s “Guide to Investment Treaty Protection and Enforcement.” 

Ms. Bowman has spoken on a wide range of U.S. IP legal issues and litigation strategy at well-known video game legal conferences, including the Video Game Bar Association Summit and the Games Industry Law Unpacked Conference. 

She is a past President of the Board of Directors of the George Washington Law School Alumni Association, and has served as co-chair of the Litigation Law Forum of the District of Columbia Women’s Bar Association.

Representative Matters

• Successfully obtained a $14 million judgment as well as a permanent injunction on behalf of Activision Blizzard in connection with a high-profile copyright infringement and RICO lawsuit against the makers of cheating software designed for the Call of Duty video game.
• Successfully obtained a million-dollar judgment and injunction on behalf of Riot Games in connection with a copyright infringement lawsuit regarding the League of Legends video game.
• Successfully obtained multiple judgments and injunctions on behalf of Proxima Beta Pte. Limited against the developers and sellers of cheating software designed for the Player Unknown's Battlegrounds Mobile (PUBGM) video game.
• Obtained favorable resolution on behalf of an international mobile game developer in a dispute with its publisher and distributor involving sequel rights and derivative works for a popular video game.
• Filed friend of the court brief on behalf of the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) in Allen v. Cooper – a precedent-setting U.S. Supreme Court case involving state sovereign immunity and the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act.
• Won two D.C. Circuit precedent setting, appellate victories for U.S. judgment creditor in FSIA lawsuit seeking to enforce international commercial arbitration awards against the Republic of Argentina. The Court of Appeals has twice adopted Ms. Bowman’s statutory analysis on issues of first impression, as well as her proposal for what test should determine the timing of relevant sovereign commercial activity when considering an FSIA enforcement action. 
• Won D.C. Circuit appeal reversing District Court’s dismissal of U.S. citizen’s claims for compensation for the expropriation of her family estate in the former East Germany connected to events in the aftermath of WWII.
• Successfully obtained two judgments, for $349 million and $59 million, respectively, against the Islamic Republic of Iran in a FSIA Terrorism Exception lawsuit on behalf of the passengers and crew members of TWA Flight 847, which was hijacked by Hezbollah terrorists in June 1985.

Honors & Awards

• "Ones to Watch," Best Lawyers in America© in Litigation - Intellectual Property (2024)
• "Top 50 Attorneys of DC," Attorney Intel (2023) 

Professional, Business and civic Affiliations

• President, Board of Directors, George Washington University Law School Alumni Association (2017-2019)
• Co-chair, Litigation Law Forum, Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia (2016-2018)
• Past Member, Board of Directors of the Georgetown Business Association (2015-2016)
• Sidwell Friends School Alumni Association

Other Career Experience

• Law Clerk, The Honorable Judge Reggie Walton, U.S. District Court (2011-2012)
• Law Clerk, The U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General (2010)

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