Law Seminars International Presents

A Comprehensive Two-Day National

Entertainment Technology Law Summit

Transitions into New Models for Content Creation, Distribution and Marketing in Entertainment & Technology Companies

August 16 & 17, 2007
Renaissance Seattle Hotel in Seattle, WA
Order      Download PDF Brochure

Who Should Order Homestudy

Lawyers and business executives in the entertainment and technology industries, music and entertainment representatives involved with digital content distribution, anyone involved in licensing media, digital publishers, agents contracting clients' artistic works, individuals from technology companies tasked with conforming to distribution and licensing policy

Why Order

Hardly a day goes by without significant entertainment industry-initiated litigation or major legal decisions on the front pages of our newspapers and websites. Old business models, and the laws that make them possible, affect how consumers have traditionally experienced entertainment content. Amazing changes are under way. Hollywood and Silicon Valley are becoming friends, as key entertainment and technology players reach new and unanticipated strategic alliances. When the dust settles, the consumer may never again get or experience entertainment content the same way as before. This summit will bring together individuals who represent some of the most important business and legal players to discuss the impact of the latest developments and give us a vision of what’s to come. Anyone involved in entertainment, media or intellectual property law or in the entertainment or entertainment technology business, will find this summit an important opportunity to gain insights and inside information on entertainment law trends and business developments. ~ Program Co-Chairs: David M. Given, Esq. and Steve Tapia, Esq.

What You Will Learn

~Current litigation ~New business models ~On-line and mobile distribution ~Piracy: Fears, reality, public policy ~Innovative methods in entertainment contracting ~Strategic alliances ~User generated content ~Next generation movie deals ~Cell phones and media centers ~The transformation of the music business

What Attendees Said

~ Excellent speakers! Informative discussions. ~ Extraordinary! This seminar is opening so many doors! Oustanding speakers with practical addresses. ~ Your seminars are really great. They're about the only ones I go to. Materials are good. Speakers are always good. ~ Outstanding program of talented and experienced professionals in this space; Appreciate all your work to bring them together for us. ~ Our gamer team loved the conference. You folks certainly have a winning recipe.

Agenda

Thursday, August 16, 2007
8:00 am Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:30 am Introduction & Overview: Satisfying Consumers and Protecting Your Rights in Uncertain Times
  Non-traditional distribution: New models, how they enhance the consumer experience, and how the regulatory and licensing models fit; how on-line and mobile distribution are fraught with new challenges
  David M. Given, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Phillips, Erlewine & Given LLP / San Francisco, CA
  Steve Tapia, Esq., Program Co-Chair, Senior Attorney
 Microsoft Corporation / Redmond, WA
8:45 am The Public Clash of the Titans: How The Lessons from the Entertainment Industry's Litigation Against Technology Companies Affect Your Risk Assessment on Business Decisions and Point to Solutions for Working Together
  Entertainment industry perspective on the most important cases, when to go to litigation to protect your rights and the future impact on transactions
  Nicholas A. Carlin, Esq.
 Phillips, Erlewine & Given LLP / San Francisco, CA
  Technology industry perspective; companies who want to be good actors while fulfilling consumer desires to access content in new ways
  Andrew Bridges, Esq.
 Winston & Strawn LLP / San Francisco, CA
10:15 am Break
10:30 am Piracy Fears, Reality and Public Policy: How the Regulatory Policy Fits
  Technology developments impacting the entertainment industry: What technology is coming down the path; how the entertainment industry can leverage it; new risks and red flags; current thinking on managing the risks
  Jule L. Sigall, Esq., Moderator, Senior Attorney
 Microsoft Corporation / Redmond, WA
  Christian Castle, Esq.
 Christian L. Castle Attorneys / San Francisco and Los Angeles, CA
  Jon P. Fine, Esq., Associate General Counsel, Media & Copyright
 Amazon.com / Seattle, WA
  Corynne M. McSherry, Esq., Staff Attorney
 Electronic Frontier Foundation / San Francisco, CA
12:15 pm Lunch (on your own)
1:30 pm Entertainment Contract Drafting Workshop
  Innovative methods of drafting and negotiating entertainment agreements in the intersecting world of new media and technology; practical techniques to manage relationships, drafting agreements that match business goals and allocate risk; when to walk away
  Joleen Winther Hughes, Esq.
 MediaTech Law Group LLC / Seattle, WA
  Hillery L. Nye, Esq.
 MediaTech Law Group LLC / Seattle, WA
2:45 pm Break
3:00 pm Film and TV: The Challenge of Bringing a Traditional Distribution Model into the Digital Age in a Way That Satisfies Consumer Demand and Protects Content
  How to distribute video in a very secure and viable way; new revenue and business models; areas where creative thinking on meeting consumer desires will work better than layers of regulation
  Peter J. Dekom, Esq.
 Weissmann Wolff Bergman Coleman Grodin & Evall LLP / Beverly Hills, CA
4:00 pm The Challenge and Promise of User-Generated Content
  Combat or co-op? And technology's response to the entertainment industry's needs
  Steve Tapia, Esq., Program Co-Chair, Senior Attorney
 Microsoft Corporation / Redmond, WA
5:00 pm Reception for Faculty and Attendees Sponsored by Law Seminars International

Friday, August 17, 2007
8:00 am Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:30 am Introduction and Overview of Day Two
  David M. Given, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Phillips, Erlewine & Given LLP / San Francisco, CA
  Steve Tapia, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Microsoft Corporation / Redmond, WA
8:45 am Special Opening Address
  The Future of Entertainment and Challenging the Status Quo
  Blair Westlake, Vice President - Media & Entertainment Group
 Microsoft Corporation / Redmond, WA
9:30 am Cell Phones as Media Centers
  How distributors and other providers can protect their interests and the rights of others while maximizing value and services to users
  Kraig Baker, Esq.
 Davis Wright Tremaine LLP / Seattle, WA
  Cameron J. Cohen, Esq.
 Davis Wright Tremaine LLP / Seattle, WA
10:15 am Break
10:30 am Video Game Development: The New Financing and Development Models
  Next generation celebrity movie deals; a look at directors setting up their own game studios; combining music with movies and games; issues of artistic license; developing games from movies and movies from games
  James M. Kennedy, Esq., Moderator, Executive Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs
 THQ, Inc. / Agoura Hills, CA
  Seth J. Steinberg, Esq., Director of Business Affairs & General Counsel
 LucasArts / San Francisco, CA
  Daniel Figueroa, Esq., Director Legal & Business Affairs, Corporate Counsel
 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. / San Diego, CA
12:00 pm Lunch (on your own)
1:15 pm The Ongoing Transformation of the Music Business: Lessons from the History of New Approaches for Online Distribution and Industry Responses to New Technologies and Players
  What's worked and what hasn't; future directions for distribution technologies and business models; answering the question "If I buy a tune for my iPod, why can't I put it on my Rio or phone?'
  David M. Given, Esq., Program Co-Chair, Moderator
 Phillips, Erlewine & Given LLP / San Francisco, CA
  Janine Small, Esq.
 Carroll Guido & Groffman, LLP / New York, NY
  Todd M. Gascon, Esq.
 Zent Law Group P.C. / Sunnyvale, CA
  Jack Campbell, Director of Label Relations and Production
 Independent Online Distribution Alliance / San Francisco, CA
  Orville Almon, Jr., Esq.
 Zumwalt, Almon & Hayes PLLC / Nashville, TN
3:00 pm Evaluations and Adjourn

Cancellation

There is a $25 cancellation fee for Course Materials orders and $50 for Homestudy orders

Continuing Education Credits

This program qualifies for 11.25 WA CLE credits. Upon request, we will apply for CLE credits in other states and other types of credits.

Cost

Our complete Homestudy Course, consisting of a VHS or DVD recording and the written course materials, is available for $905. The written course materials alone are available for $100. We will ship your homestudy order via UPS ground within two weeks after the seminar or the date we receive payment (whichever is later).
Order Homestudy

Faculty Bios

David M. Given, Program Co-Chair, a partner with Phillips, Erlewine & Given LLP, specializes in entertainment and intellectual property law and commercial litigation. His clients are engaged in music and merchandising, television, internet and other broadcast media, real estate and software development.

Steve Tapia, Program Co-Chair, a senior attorney in Microsoft Corporation's Law and Corporate Affairs department, specializes in copyright law and focuses on entertainment, media and intellectual property law. As Senior Director of Business Development for MSN's Entertainment Channel, he led the team that put together Microsoft's music download service, MSN Video, and MSN's initial forays into video-on-demand.

Blair Westlake, Special Address, Corporate Vice President, Media & Entertainment Group at Microsoft Corporation, directs the Group to drive Microsoft's digital media partner strategy, content delivery and licensing initiatives across the media and entertainment industries; license content from third parties for a delivery via a number of Microsoft services and products, such as Xbox Live Marketplace and Zune; and drive Microsoft's strategies around worldwide industry technical IP public policy.

James M. Kennedy, Moderator, Executive Vice President of business and legal affairs for THQ, Inc., manages the company's content acquisition activities and legal affairs. He has held executive positions at Electronic Arts Inc.; Mindscape, Inc.; LucasArts Entertainment Company and Lucas Digital Ltd..

Jule L. Sigall, Moderator, a Senior Attorney in Microsoft Corporation's Legal & Corporate Affairs department, focuses on global copyright policy. He was the Associate Register for Policy & International Affairs at the United States Copyright Office and practiced in the Intellectual Property & Technology Group of Arnold & Porter.

Orville Almon, Jr. is a partner with Zumwalt, Almon & Hayes PLLC.

Kraig Baker, partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, drafts and negotiates video game development contracts, publishing and consulting agreements, music recording contracts, talent agreements, live event contracts, and television, film, and theatre production contracts.

Andrew Bridges is a highly regarded litigator who has been the lead counsel in a variety of notable IP cases. A partner at Winston & Strawn LLP, he is listed in Chambers USA and "Best Lawyers in America".

Jack Campbell, director of Label Relations and Production at the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA), was previously coordinator of new media/online services at Redeye Distribution, a physical and digital distributor. Previously, he was regional project manager in Chicago for NARAS, the organization best known for the GRAMMY(tm) Awards.

Nicholas A. Carlin, of counsel at Phillips, Erlewine & Given LLP, specializes in technology, entertainment. intellectual property law and commercial and tort litigation. An experienced trial lawyer, he was founder and CEO of Kromes Technology, Inc., is a U.S. National Chess Master and principal cellist with Symphony Parnassor.

Christian Castle, founder of Christian L. Castle Attorneys, specializes in music law and technology transactions. He was Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs at A&M Records and Senior Vice President, Business Affairs at Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.

Cameron J. Cohen, associate at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, represents financial institutions in various credit card issuing and processing transactions, including formation and amendment of private-label credit card and reward management programs and the implementation of strategic merchant relationships.

Peter J. Dekom is of counsel with Weissmann Wolff Bergman Coleman Grodin & Evall LLP's entertainment department. His clients include Paul Haggis, George Lucas, Keenen Ivory Wayans, John Travolta, Ron Howard, Rob Reiner, Andy Davis, Robert Towne and Larry Gordon among others, as well as corporate clients such as Sears, Roebuck and Co., Pacific Telesis and Japan Victor Corporation (JVC).

Daniel Figueroa is Director of Legal & Business Affairs and Corporate Counsel for Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. He is the game attorney for Sony's NBA franchise of games and supports Sony's Online Technology and Network Platform Groups.

Jon P. Fine, Associate General Counsel, Media & Copyright at Amazon.com, is lead lawyer for the company's retail media operations and its strategic communications. Previously, he was lead counsel for the Alfred A. Knopf division of Random House, and counsel for NBC News and "Saturday Night Live."

Todd M. Gascon, partner at Zent Law Group P.C., practices art and entertainment law, licensing, technology transactions and business law. Previously, he was a principal of the Law Office of Todd M. Gascon and a lawyer referral coordinator for the California Lawyers for the Arts.

Joleen Winther Hughes, a co-founder of MediaTech Law Group LLC, represents a wide range of clients on matters involving entertainment, content and digital media technology. Formerly, she was senior counsel at RealNetworks, Inc., and an essential member of the RealNetworks team that created MusicNet, the first legal, multi-label digital music distribution initiative.

Corynne M. McSherry, staff attorney at Electronic Frontier Foundation, specializes in intellectual property and contract issues. Previously, she was a civil litigator at the law firm of Bingham McCutchen, LLP.

Hillery L. Nye, a founding partner of MediaTech Law Group LLC, represents both institutional clients such as Microsoft and Amazon.com, as well as device manufacturers, content providers, gamers and individual talent in various digital media transactions.

Janine Small, partner at Carroll Guido & Groffman, LLP, represents music clientele as well as record labels, writers, producers, managers, industry professionals, internet service providers and touring festivals.

Seth J. Steinberg, Director of Business Affairs & General Counsel of LucasArts, is a member of its senior management group. He advises the company on business, corporate and legal issues and is responsible for all of LucasArts' business and legal affairs.