Black in Copyright (Part I)

Presented By:

ABOUT THE PROGRAM:

The Copyright Society is proud to partner with the Copyright Alliance and the Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA) to bring you a three-part series, “Black in Copyright.” Join us for the first panel of the series, which will be a moderated discussion focused on being Black in Copyright. We will provide awareness about the Black experience in Copyright with the hopes of facilitating a dialogue and understanding to lead to more inclusivity, acceptance, and diverse representation in all areas of Copyright. This panel will specifically discuss personal experiences, action steps, and tools to support the growth and inclusion of Black people in Copyright. It is a panel for all, and it is our hope that we will all leave with more knowledge and insight to start to transform our beloved Copyright world.

Christopher Binns is a litigation associate at Loeb & Loeb LLP handling a wide range of complex litigation and trial matters relating to insurance, healthcare, labor and employment matters, white collar criminal defense and investigations, intellectual property, and general business litigation. He represents clients in federal and state litigation and arbitration, in single plaintiff, multi-plaintiff and class actions, focusing on matters relating to contract disputes, Title VII, ADA, New York State and City Human Rights Laws, Fair Labor Standards Act, False Claims Act, and restrictive covenant issues. In addition, Christopher conducts confidential internal investigations and counsels companies on employee handbooks, the implementation of employment policies relating to employee relations, discipline, performance management, terminations, reasonable accommodations, labor force reductions, wage and hour issues, intellectual property issues, and restrictive covenants. Christopher also has experience in representing individuals and companies in internal investigations and responding to government inquiries from federal and state regulators, including the New York Stock Exchange, Federal Trade Commission, and the New York Attorney General’s Office. Prior to starting his private practice, Christopher served as a staff attorney for the New York City Commission on Human Rights and an assistant district attorney for the Bronx District Attorney’s Office. He also clerked in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis. He is currently an adjunct professor of advanced legal methods at New York Law School.

Bernadette Beekman recently joined Legal Innovators as Director of Business Development. She has more than 20 years’ experience as in-house counsel with some of the world’s leading corporations, including IBM Corporation, Warner Bros. and Orion Pictures Corporation, as well as over a dozen years’ experience at New York City-based legal recruiting firms.
In addition to her background as an accomplished attorney and human capital solutions expert, Beekman has been a long-standing member of the NYC Bar’s Committee on Women in the Legal Profession and is a member of the Global Advisory Board
of Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF). As a member of the growing team at Legal Innovators, Bernadette will offer solutions to diversify the pipeline to legal departments and law firms which will improve hiring, pricing, diversity, and inclusion in their organizations by prioritizing opportunity, training, and mentorship for today’s junior legal talent.

Rebecca Beliard is an Associate Corporate Counsel at Amazon Music. In her role as Associate Corporate Counsel, she negotiates deals with major record labels, independent record labels, performing rights organizations such as BMI and ASCAP and works on podcast deals for Amazon Music’s newly launched podcast platform. Prior to working for Amazon Music, Rebecca worked at Akerman LLP. Her practice focused on a wide range of transactional matters including contract negotiations, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property and general corporate matters. Prior to Akerman, she worked at several media and entertainment companies including CBS Corporation, Sony Music Entertainment and Emmis Communications (Hot 97). Rebecca earned her B.S. and M.A. from St. John’s University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Florida. While attending law school, Rebecca served as an editor for the Journal of Technology Law and Policy and the Journal of Law and Public Policy. Rebecca was also the Vice President of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society and helped to revive the annual Entertainment and Sports Law Symposium. Rebecca currently serves as an advisory board member for the Sports Business and Leadership Association and as an Ambassador of African American Art for Miami’s Perez Art Museum (PAMM). Rebecca regularly speaks on topics regarding the entertainment industry, professional development, networking and DEI matters. Most recently, Rebecca served as the Professional Development Coordinator for South Florida’s Black Professional Network. Rebecca is also involved in national and local bar associations such as ABA’s Forum on Entertainment and Sports law, the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association, the Haitian Lawyers Association and the Caribbean Bar Association. In her free time, Rebecca enjoys outdoor activities including going to the beach and bike riding, attending concerts, trying out new foods, traveling and mentoring young black aspiring lawyers.

Lateef Mtima is the Founder and Director of the Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice, an accredited Non-Governmental Organization Member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and also a Professor of Law at the Howard University School of Law. After graduating with honors from Amherst College, Professor Mtima received his JD degree from Harvard Law School. He is the author of numerous works on intellectual property law, including Intellectual Property, Entrepreneurship and Social Justice: From Swords to Ploughshares (Edward Elgar 2015).

Karyn A. Temple is Senior Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel for the Motion Picture Association. One of the world’s leading authorities on copyright, Ms. Temple oversees all of the Association’s legal affairs and content protection efforts around the world. Prior to joining the Motion Picture Association, Ms. Temple served more than eight years in the U.S. Copyright Office, most recently as the Register of Copyrights, where she led the 400-person agency and its eight divisions representing law, policy, international affairs, financial operations, registration practice, public records, and outreach and education. In this role, she testified multiple times before both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and oversaw the Office’s policy and legal activities among others. Prior to leading the U.S. Copyright Office, Ms. Temple headed its Office of Policy and International Affairs, which includes a staff of attorneys focusing on domestic and international copyright law matters. Ms. Temple served on both U.S. delegations for the most recently adopted WIPO treaties (the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances and the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Public Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled). Ms. Temple also served in policy and litigation roles at the U.S. Department of Justice, most recently serving in the Obama Administration as Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General of the United States. Ms. Temple also has extensive private-sector experience. She previously served as Vice President, Litigation and Legal Affairs for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) where she managed a wide variety of anti-piracy litigation matters on behalf of RIAA member companies. She also spent several years as a litigation associate at the prominent D.C.-based law firm Williams and Connolly LLP. Immediately after law school, Ms. Temple served as a law clerk for The Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Ms. Temple has served in several prominent volunteer positions in the copyright community, including as an elected Trustee for the Copyright Society, co-chair of the International Chapter of the Copyright Society, steering committee member of the D.C. Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Law Section, and Chair of the Copyright Committee of the D.C. Bar’s IP Law Section. Ms. Temple received her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, Senior Editor of the Columbia Law Review, and Chairperson of the Columbia Black Law Students’ Association. She received her B.A. in English from the University of Michigan.

Sean Jefferson has wide-ranging experience in all areas of entertainment and media, representing financiers, production companies, producers, documentary filmmakers, directors, athletes, writers and independent distributors. He has negotiated complex single picture and slate multi-party financings both on behalf of producers and financiers. He has also represented producers in recent cutting edge political documentaries. Mr. Jefferson is experienced in structuring and negotiating rights acquisition, content distribution, sales agreements both domestic and foreign, and co-production and financing agreements. Variety included Mr. Jefferson in its 2020 Dealmaker Impact Report “Up Next” List. Mr. Jefferson was also recognized in the First Edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for Entertainment and Sports law. The LA Times also recently featured Mr. Jefferson in its article, “Finding outside help to finance movies: Pandemic uncertainty has prompted the studios to partner with new investors.” Prior to joining Frankfurt Kurnit, he served as an associate in the Business and Legal Affairs Department at BRON Studios where he helped structure and draft rights acquisition, financing, and production deals and assisted with the negotiation of distribution deals for several feature films, including “Assassination Nation” and “Leave No Trace.”

COST:

CLE CREDIT:

Instructions for verifying attendance will be emailed to registrants prior to the program. Please see below for specific jurisdiction information.

California
The Copyright Society is a Certified CLE Provider in California. Program will satisfy 1.0 credit hour in the “Recognition and Elimination of Bias in the Legal Profession and Society” category.

New York
The Copyright Society is an Accredited New York State CLE Provider. Program will satisfy 1.0 NY Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias credit. The program is appropriate for experienced attorneys.  

Newly Admitted Attorneys in NY: Please note that while you are encouraged to participate, the transitional CLE requirement for newly admitted attorneys (those admitted to the New York Bar for 2 years of less) does not include a Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias CLE credit component.

Ontario
1.0 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) credit pending approval by the Law Society of Ontario.

Tennessee
Approved for 1.25 general hours.

Virginia
1.0 MCLE credit pending approval by the Virginia State Bar.