Edge Cases in Copyright: Theoretical Problems and Practical Answers

Edge Cases in Copyright: Theoretical Problems and Practical Solutions

We have seen a rash of interesting copyright cases recently that raise issues relating to privacy (Garcia v. Google), defamation & reputational injury (Lee v. Makhnevich), personhood (Monkey Selfie, anyone?), and the copyrightability of chicken sandwiches (Colon v. South American Restaurants).  Although copyright law is not only about recuperating investments in creative work by licensing content, these cases appear to turn traditional doctrine and theories of copyright law on their head, pushing lawyers and courts to consider copyright law from new angles.

This discussion sponsored by the New England Chapter of the Copyright Society of the USA will collect and analyze these cases in terms of trends, client counseling advice and predictions for the future of copyright law.

Refreshments will be served.

Cost: Free, but please register

Speakers

David Kluft (Foley Hoag LLP) combines zealous advocacy with a thoughtful and creative approach to litigation. He is a partner in Foley Hoag LLP’s Intellectual Property department and a member of the Trademark, Copyright and Unfair Competition group; the Business and Commercial Disputes group and the Advertising and Marketing group. Among Dave’s clients are companies and individuals in the fields of pharmaceutical products, health care, computer software, entertainment, automotive, consumer products, financial services and education. Dave has significant experience representing and counseling clients with respect to copyright; trademark; false advertising and unfair competition; contract and commercial disputes; speech, defamation and social media; right of publicity and privacy; and investigations by the Federal Trade Commission.

Dan Booth (Booth Sweet LLP) graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts where his studies concentrated in Film, Journalism and Media Studies.  Before attending law school, he was a sales representative at an independent music distributor.  Dan received his J.D. from Columbia School of Law in New York, where he was named a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. While in law school, he was a senior editor of the Columbia Journal of Law and the Arts, vice-president of both the American Constitutional Society and the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Society, and a co-founder and board member of the election protection group IMPACT, and worked as a legal assistant at Universal/Motown Records and the Film/TV department of Matador Records.  Before Booth Sweet LLP, he worked as a litigation associate at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP in New York and at Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston, and as a legal consultant at several Massachusetts law firms. Dan is an officer and member of the Board of Directors of Passim, a nonprofit arts organization. He is an active member of Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. Dan was a panelist at the Experience Music Project’s Pop Music Conference in 2008, 2009, and 2011. He has written for In These Times, the Boston Phoenix, Index, and the film journal The Molten Rectangle, of which he is an editor.  Dan is admitted to practice law in New York, Massachusetts, and the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He is a member of the Boston Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

Our thanks go out to Foley Hoag LLP for making this event possible.

New to the Copyright Society of the USA?
To learn about the benefits of membership, please visit www.csusa.org.

Already a member but need to renew for the 2015-2016 season?  
Please visit www.csusa.org. All memberships expired on September 30, 2016. If you have already renewed, thank you!