Copyright Office Discusses the Software-Enabled Consumer Products Study

Today, copyrighted software is integrated into everything from self-driving cars to refrigerators.  In December 2016, the U.S. Copyright Office released its Software-Enabled Consumer Products Study, which reports on the “impact of existing copyright law on innovation and consumer uses of everyday products,” including issues such as “resale, repair and tinkering, security research, and interoperability.”

The Copyright Office conducted the Study at the request of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.  The Committee recognized the “ever-increasing role [that software plays] in defining consumer interactions with devices and products” and asked for clarity about how “copyright laws enable creative expression, foster innovative business models, and allow legitimate uses in [the] software-enabled [device] environment.”  

Key drafters of the Study will present the Copyright Office’s findings and recommendations to the DC Chapter of the Copyright Society on January 25, 2017 at 6:30 pm, Tasher Great Room, George Washington University Law School.  Students and interested members of the public are encouraged to attend the program as well.

SPEAKERS

Sarang (Sy) Damle is general counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights for the United States Copyright Office. He was appointed to the position effective July 31, 2016. In his position as general counsel, Damle provides legal guidance to the various divisions and programs of the Office, including the national registration and recordation systems, and he is frequently called upon by congressional offices, the U.S. Department of Justice, and other federal agencies for advice and assistance. He also has primary responsibility for the formation and promulgation of regulations and the adoption of legal positions governing policy matters and practices of the Copyright Office.Damle joined the Office in 2014 after several years of government service. From 2013 to 2014, he was senior counsel in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Before that, he was an appellate litigator in the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, where he served as lead counsel in over 40 appeals, with a focus on intellectual property, separation of powers, and administrative law matters. Damle began his legal career as a law clerk to the Hon. Sandra L. Lynch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.Damle received his JD from the University of Virginia, where he graduated first in his class. He also holds engineering and business degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

Emma Raviv is a Barbara A. Ringer Honors Fellow in the Office of the Register of Copyrights.  Emma works on studies and copyright litigation matters. She also serves on the Copyright Review Board.Previously, Emma worked as an associate at the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in the Copyright, Trademark, Internet & Advertising practice group. She earned her J.D.from Harvard Law School and her B.A. from University of Maryland, College Park.

John R. Riley is an Attorney-Advisor for the Office of the General Counsel. Prior to joining the Copyright Office in 2013, John worked as the Senior Manager of Intellectual Property Enforcement at the United States Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center. John earned his LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from The George Washington University Law School and his JD from the Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law. At the Copyright Office, John has contributed to the United States Government’s briefs in the Petrella and Aereo Supreme Court cases, the Copyright Small Claims, Copyright and the Music Marketplace, and Software-Enabled Consumer Products reports, and the sixth triennial Section 1201 Rulemaking. He has been recognized by the American Intellectual Property Law Association for his distinguished service and contributions in the field of intellectual property law.

COST

CSUSA Members: $5

Student Members: FREE (Use promo code DCStudentJan2017 at checkout. Must present valid ID at check-in) Student Memberships are $25 for the year. To join, please click here.

All Others: $7

CANCELLATION POLICY

Refunds must be requested in writing three (3) business days prior to the event. Refunds will not be issued after that point. Unfortunately, we will not be able to credit your registration payment toward a future event, but you may allow another person attend in your place.