The Future of Copyright Infringement Analysis in Music When: March 5, 2020 at 1:00pm - 6:00pm EST - This event has passed ABOUT THE PROGRAM: In August 2019, a jury awarded a little-known songwriter $2.8 million in damages for copyright infringement. The alleged infringement involves four notes from Katy Perry’s hit song “Dark Horse.” The verdict can be viewed as a victory for the little guy—a Christian rapper who, pre-internet, would have struggled to show access, a required component of illegal copying. It can alternately be viewed as a dangerous precedent, opening the door for copyright trolls and deterring creation. In 2017, Silicon Flatirons hosted a conference focused on the recently decided Blurred Lines case, in which Marvin Gaye’s estate secured a multi-million-dollar copyright infringement judgment against songwriters and recording artists, Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke. Since that time, dozens of similar lawsuits have accused artists—ranging from Ed Sheeran to Led Zeppelin to Lady Gaga—of unauthorized copying of others’ songs. Some of these cases have settled with few publicly-available details. Others have gone to trial with juries ultimately awarding millions of dollars in damages. Join us for our sixth annual content conference where we will welcome back some familiar faces, and new experts, to ask: Is this a good development? Are juries getting these “substantial similarity” cases right? If so, how do we know? If not, what are some alternative ways to handle these types of cases? REGISTRATION HERE. SESSIONS 03/05/20 1:00pm – 1:15pm WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION Kristelia García Associate Professor, University of Colorado Law School; Content Initiative Director, Silicon Flatirons 03/05/20 1:15pm – 2:15pm MUSIC PANEL Joseph Fishman — Moderator Associate Professor of Law, Vanderbilt Law Anna Morsett — Panelist Songwriter and Recording Artist (The Still Tide) Jeff Prystowsky — Panelist Songwriter and Recording Artist (The Low Anthem) Alex Stewart — Panelist Professor of Jazz Studies and Ethnomusicology, University of Vermont (Musicologist for Taurus) Sandy Wilbur — Panelist President, Musiodata (Musicologist for Williams defendants) 03/05/20 2:15pm – 2:30pm BREAK 03/05/20 2:30pm – 3:30pm POLICY PANEL Pamela Samuelson — Moderator Richard M. Sherman Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California Berkeley; Co-director, Berkeley Center for Law & Technology Kevin Erickson — Panelist Director, Future of Music Coalition Edward Lee — Panelist Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law Lateef Mtima — Panelist Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law; Founder and Director, Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice Regan A. Smith — Panelist General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights, U.S. Copyright Office 03/05/20 3:30pm – 3:45pm BREAK 03/05/20 3:45pm – 5:00pm LEGAL PANEL Kristelia García — Moderator Associate Professor, University of Colorado Law School; Content Initiative Director, Silicon Flatirons Richard S. Busch — Panelist Partner, King & Ballow (Counsel for the Gaye estate) Kenneth D. Freundlich — Panelist Attorney, Freundlich Law (Counsel for Amici Musicologists in Favor of Katy Perry) Lydia Loren — Panelist Henry J. Casey Professor of Law, Lewis & Clark Law School Francis Malofiy — Panelist Founder, Francis Alexander LLC (Counsel for the estate of Randy “California” Wolfe) 5:00pm – 6:00pm – RECEPTION REGISTRATION General — $15 ($20 at the door) Copyright Society Members — Free CU Faculty/Staff — Free CU Student — Free CU Alumni — Free Silicon Flatirons Sponsor — Free Livestream — Free This event has passed
