The Music Business and Music Copyright: In Honor of Mark Fischer, Esq.

The panelists’ experience in music making, music business and music copyright is wide-ranging. They will discuss current issues they face as leaders in the music business, from the perspectives of business people, legal advisors, reform advocates, archivists, curators and distributors, as well as educators. This event aims to be a broad discussion on the local music industry as well as national trends and a networking opportunity for those in the field or hoping to get into it, as well as those interested generally in the particular problems of music copyright in our digital age.

Cost

Free, but please register

Speakers

Chris Bavitz, Managing Director, Harvard Law School, Cyberlaw Clinic
Christopher T. Bavitz is the WilmerHale Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where he co-teaches the Counseling and Legal Strategy in the Digital Age seminar and teaches the seminar, Music & Digital Media. He is also Managing Director of HLS’s Cyberlaw Clinic, based at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. And, he is a Faculty Co-Director of the Berkman Center. Chris concentrates his practice on intellectual property and media law, particularly in the areas of music, entertainment, and technology. He oversees many of the Clinic’s projects relating to copyright, speech, advising of startups, and the use of technology to support access to justice, and he serves as the HLS Dean’s Designate to Harvard’s Innovation Lab. Prior to joining the Clinic, Chris served as Senior Director of Legal Affairs for EMI Music North America. From 1998-2002, Chris was a litigation associate at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and RubinBaum LLP / Rubin Baum Levin Constant & Friedman, where he focused on copyright and trademark matters. Chris received his B.A., cum laude, from Tufts University in 1995 and his J.D. from University of Michigan Law School in 1998.

Alvin Carter, Curator at Harvard Hip Hop Archive
Alvin Benjamin Carter III is the Innovation Director at Hiphop Archive and Research Institute (HARI) at the Hutchins Center at Harvard University, a first year law student at Northeastern University School of Law (NUSL), and an independent museum and gallery consultant. As HARI’s Innovation Director he plays a key role in the Classic Crates sampling project. This record sample collection project features collaborations with Grammy Award winning producer 9th Wonder and Harvard’s Loeb Music Library. Prior to this role Alvin was the Associate Director of Programs and the Program Coordinator at HARI for nearly six years. He was also the Website and Multimedia Coordinator at Harvard Art Museums from January 2014 – June 2015. As an entrepreneur, he the founded the Combat Sports Hall of Fame, AppClickable Inc. (web application development), 3Productions LLC (music management, production, and booking), and “Don’t Say Bingo! “(clothing). Currently, Alvin is the 1L Co-chair of the Intellectual Property Society at NUSL. He earned a B.S in Music Industry at Northeastern University where he took David Herlihy’s Copyright course. He received a Master’s in Museum Studies from Harvard University Extension School where he wrote his graduate thesis about archiving and starting a hall of fame. Alvin also participates in sonic spaces by DJing, providing artists management services, and producing Hiphop and EDM records under the moniker DataBlack.

Adam DeFalco, Esq., Counsel and Founder, Traffic Entertainment, Malden, Massachusetts
Traffic Entertainment is a music and video distribution company, one of the top distributors of independent music worldwide. Specializing in hip-hop, disco, reggae, funk, and soul, the company serves as an outlet for cutting-edge indie artists and genre-defining pioneers. Founded in 2002, Traffic Entertainment Group has carved a niche, servicing smaller distributors, one-stops, and boutiques on an international scale. Traffic Entertainment also has an in-house Master Restoration Lab to reanimate lost tracks, bringing to life sought-after music considered gone forever, and revitalizes aged and weathered record jackets. Its award-winning art department designs consistently beautiful covers for its clientele. Adam is a graduate of Suffolk Law School, a Partner at Brick Records (since 1996) and the legal counsel for Traffic Entertainment since 2010.

David Herlihy, Full Teaching Professor, Music Industry Department, Northeastern University
David Herlihy received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Boston College in 1979 and a J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1982. David lectures on copyright law and the music industry, and he supervises Northeastern University’s record label. David maintains a law practice which concentrates in entertainment law, intellectual property, copyright, trademark, licensing, and new media. His clients include authors, publishers, record companies, recording artists, songwriters, composers, performers, producers, recording studios, visual artists, e-business innovation companies, software and service providers, webcasters, and entrepreneurs. David was the lead singer and principal songwriter for O POSITIVE (a Boston-based musical group with full length albums on Epic Records and several independent record labels) for which he won three Boston Music Awards for “Outstanding Male Vocalist” as well as twice topping the Boston Phoenix/WFNX Best Music Poll as “Best Local Male Vocalist.” He is still active in the recording studio and occasionally performs live with the band Toyboat.

Mark A. Fischer (1950-2015) was a Copyright Society member and co-chair of the Society’s New England Chapter. A partner at the law firm Duane Morris, he was known for his eloquence, droll wit and indomitable spirit as well as his tremendous professional accomplishments. Please click here for more information about Mark.

Our thanks go out to Kiel Greene (Northeastern University Music Business student and JD candidate) for helping to put together this program.

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