Kimberly Herman

/My focus

My practice sits at the intersection of intellectual property and corporate transactions, and I work at both ends of that spectrum. I clear, register, and enforce trademarks, and I negotiate the licensing, sponsorship, and technology agreements that give those brands their value. My work spans the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, and regularly involves negotiating inbound and outbound transactions for clients expanding across borders.

I also bring experience in specialized and regulated areas, including online gaming and sports betting, content clearance and licensing, fair use, First Amendment questions, and work for artists and museums.

My time in-house, as general counsel of Hydration Labs (Bevi) and as vice president and deputy general counsel of Bally’s Interactive, shapes my innovative, business-minded approach. I pride myself on being responsive and proactive, and on driving my clients’ goals forward.

Trademarks and brands 

Trademarks are central to my practice. I help clients build, protect, and monetize their brands, from clearance and prosecution to IP audits, enforcement, and defense. My trademark practice includes supporting clients with licensing, merchandising, sponsorship, and endorsement deals that assists them as they enter new markets.

Technology and commercial transactions 

I negotiate software, SaaS, and open-source licenses for both vendors and customers, and I handle the IP side of acquisitions, including asset deals structured with license-backs. 

I have particular experience representing life sciences clients through clinical trial agreements and research collaborations, as well as government contracting, where I negotiate Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and technology transfer agreements. 

Increasingly, I support clients developing artificial intelligence and AI-enabled products, helping them contract for, commercialize, and protect their IP.

Media and entertainment 

My media and entertainment practice spans the news, documentary, film, and streaming sectors, along with First Amendment, defamation, and privacy issues. I review content before it is distributed, draft releases and permissions, issue fair use opinions, and counsel digital media companies, influencers, and brands on pre-publication review and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) disclosure rules.

Sports betting and gaming 

I advise on the state and federal laws governing online sports betting, online gambling, fantasy sports, and esports, and I have represented major gaming and lottery companies on their licensed content deals.

Art and creators’ rights 

I represent artists, filmmakers, museums, and galleries on moral rights, publishing and royalty arrangements, and the agreements that govern how work is exhibited and reproduced. 

With a passion for the arts, I have completed Harvard coursework in museum law and collections management, providing me with a nunaced understanding of this sector and a passion for protecting the rights of creators. 

Thought leadership

Outside of client work, I write and speak frequently on the issues that affect my clients’ businesses, including as a guest speaker at Northeastern University, where I address developments in intellectual property law, copyright, fair use, and First Amendment issues. 

/Representative experience

Kimberly joined Nixon Peabody in October 2026. The work listed here may reflect experience from prior firms.

Media, entertainment, and copyright

• Rachel Goldberg-Polin / Random House: Represented the author in negotiating a book publishing agreement with Random House / Penguin for the memoir When We See You Again, an instant New York Times bestseller, including key publishing rights, commercial terms, and related author interests
• Blanchard House: Provide pre-production clearance counsel for true-crime podcast productions, advising on defamation, privacy, intellectual property, rights clearance, and related media risk management
  • Heart (Apple Original podcast): Serve as production counsel for the eight-episode Apple Original series Heart. Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart/id6805984512
• Lynn Roy / HBO documentary: Represent the media and publishing interests of Lynn Roy, mother of Conrad Roy III, in connection with the HBO documentary I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter, which examines social media, mental health, and liability questions arising from the case
• Estate of Menashe Kadishman: Secured a multimillion-dollar settlement for the estate of the renowned Israeli artist in a copyright infringement dispute over the unauthorized recreation of his installation Shalekhet (Fallen Leaves) in a popular television series
• Street artists / NBCUniversal: Represent street artists in matters involving misappropriation of their works by large businesses, including analysis under the Visual Artists Rights Act, and recently settled a copyright dispute against NBCUniversal over the use of a client’s street art in a popular television series
• Italian film director: Advised an Italian movie director on clearance and use of a depiction of Marilyn Monroe owned by the Andy Warhol Foundation
• Errol Morris and other directors: Represent well-known film directors, including Oscar winner Errol Morris, on film copyright clearance and title matters, and advise investors and filmmakers on the adaptation of books into feature films
• John Bellairs estate: Represent a rights holder in connection with the works of master mystery writer John Bellairs
• Media and editorial counseling: Advise television, cable, internet networks, and magazine publishers on trademark, copyright clearance, fair use, privacy and publicity rights, defamation, and advertising content, including pre-publication review across Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X, and YouTube
• Entertainment counseling: Advise film and television production companies, producers, on-air talent, investors, developers, and licensees across film, television, music, and internet content
• Transactions: Draft and negotiate music licensing, talent, live-event, life story rights, production, distribution, syndication, sponsorship, and endorsement agreements, and represent US and European production companies in licensing and distributing content via streaming, music on-demand, and interactive television
• Sundial Media Group LLC, Refinery29 and its affiliates: Counsel in regards to pre-production review of online content, including social media posts, digital marketing campaigns, and website materials 

Gaming and online activities

• Bally’s Interactive: Managed the legal function for Bally’s North American online sports betting business; counseled in regards to regulatory and legal issues involving the company’s licensed and regulated product offerings, including supporting the company’s compliance team on interpreting regulatory and licensing guidelines and communications with state regulators, as well as litigation and transactional matters involving patents, copyrights, trademarks, and brand content, and was across many major league sports partnerships (e.g., NBA, MLB, MiLB and the NHL)
• Challengeme Esports GmbH: Represented the esports matchmaking and tournament platform in its acquisition of US-based platform provider eSports Hero Inc., a strategic investment by ASX-listed eSports Mogul, and a multi-year Asia-Pacific licensing agreement
• Gaming and lottery services company: Advise a multinational gaming and lottery services company on compliance with evolving state and federal internet gaming laws, including its licensed content deals
• Gaming technology company: Represent a leading gaming technology and services company on copyright and rights clearance issues related to the use of musical compositions on certain electronic devices
• Promotions and sweepstakes: Help clients develop, implement, and administer promotions, including auctions, contests, and sweepstakes, and draft promotion rules and review related advertising
• Mobile apps: Represent clients in developing and commercializing mobile apps through Facebook, Apple, Google Play, and other platforms
• Consumer products companies: Advise consumer products companies on credit card processing and gift card initiatives tied to online and mobile sales
• Advertising compliance: Review advertisements and counsel clients on unfair and deceptive trade practices and FTC and state regulatory compliance

Software and hardware

• Global software contracting: Represent software clients in the United States and worldwide in drafting and negotiating commercial contracts—including Tier 1 customer, value-added reseller (VAR), original equipment manufacturer (OEM), and distributor agreements, master services agreements, and data access agreements—with companies such as The Home Depot, The Neiman Marcus Group, Tiffany and Company, Visa International, ExxonMobil Global Services, Fujitsu America, PayPal, Supervalu, IBM, Hewlett Packard, 7-Eleven, Best Buy, Target, and Walgreen
• Multimillion-dollar software deals: Negotiate complex technology agreements for technology and emerging-company vendors, including license and technology-transfer, distribution, manufacturing, co-packing, supply, development, and joint venture agreements
• Commercialization strategy: Advise business development executives on commercializing software products and building national and international distribution through inbound and outbound licensing, sales representative programs, OEMs, resellers, and strategic partners
• Skillsright, Inc.: Serve as outside general counsel to this nonprofit coalition of leading US employers and CEOs driving a skills-first movement for a more equitable workforce, including negotiating and drafting master services agreements, SaaS agreements, software and technology licensing agreements, and non-disclosure agreements; previously advised on the organization’s formation, branding, and launch alongside Bain & Company
• Strategic alliances: Establish strategic alliances and partnerships for new software and hardware products and product-line expansion, evaluating potential partners and structuring the deals
• Open-source counseling: Advise clients on the benefits and drawbacks of open-source software, conduct open-source compliance audits, and establish use policies and procedures.
• Gaming and lottery technology deals: Represent a multinational gaming and lottery services company across a range of software, hardware, and distribution deals.

Trademark and domain names

• Global brand portfolios: Manage worldwide trademark portfolios for several internationally known brands
• Bain & Company: Manage the worldwide trademark portfolios of Bain & Company and Hydration Labs d/b/a Bevi, including defensive and offensive enforcement proceedings in the US and abroad
• Youth media enforcement: Conduct cease-and-desist campaigns and file oppositions for a global youth media company spanning print, event, music, online, television, and film divisions operating in more than 30 countries
• Brand licensing: Prepare and negotiate trademark and brand licensing agreements and product development agreements
• Internet transactions: Handle domain name acquisition and litigation (including Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceedings), online contests, co-branding and joint site development, website hosting and development, content licensing, and copyright matters involving the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Life sciences and healthcare

• Biotech and medical device licensing: Represent biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies in structuring and negotiating complex licensing, joint venture, clinical trial, contract manufacturing, and strategic alliance agreements
• Early-stage cancer diagnostics: Represented an Israeli company developing a blood test to diagnose early-stage lung cancer in negotiating a joint research and development agreement for protein biomarker-based diagnostics
• Cleveland Clinic license: Represented a spinal-disorder device company in negotiating an exclusive worldwide license with the Cleveland Clinic for a robotic-assisted, percutaneous, interbody spinal fusion technology
• Trade secret dispute: Represented a multinational life sciences company in a trade secret misappropriation matter under the “inevitable disclosure” doctrine arising from licensing negotiations
• Software ownership dispute: Advised a developer of neonatal and prenatal screening software in a dispute with a former employee over ownership of intellectual property, including source code
• Spectroscopy manufacturer: Represented a major spectroscopy-detection equipment manufacturer in a patent infringement action in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, negotiating a $10 million settlement

Mergers and acquisitions and corporate transactions 

• Challengeme Esports GmbH (CME): Represented a provider of one of the most sophisticated eSport matchmaking and tournament platforms, in its acquisition of US-based platform provider, eSports Hero Inc.; also advised CME in connection with a strategic investment in the company by eSports Mogul (ESM), an ASX-listed eSports media company, as well as a multi-year licensing agreement with ESM for the Asia-Pacific region
• PayPal Media Network: Represented the company in its acquisition by PayPal, a division of eBay, Inc.
• IP transactional diligence: Manage intellectual property diligence for clients’ acquisitions, divestitures, financings, and credit facilities

/Looking ahead

The commercialization of AI is outpacing the law. Clients are building and licensing AI-enabled products now and need practical guidance on ownership, copyright, and trade secret protection before they bring them to market.