Use of Experts in Copyright Cases

Use of Experts in Copyright CaseS

Our moderated panel of experts will discuss representative cases, challenges they have faced, best practices for working with experts in copyright cases, and how copyright litigators can efficiently use experts. The Copyright Society of the USA is a New York State and Pennsylvania certified CLE provider.

Program will provide 1 credit for NY and PA CLE.

Judith Finell is a musicologist and president of Judith Finell MusicServices Inc., a music consulting firm in New York and Los Angeles. She has served as consultant and expert witness involving music copyright infringement. Most recently, she was the testifying expert for the Marvin Gaye family in the “Blurred Lines” case in Federal Court. She has testified in many other notable copyright infringement trials over the past 20 years. She regularly advises HBO, Lionsgate, Grey Advertising, Warner Bros., Disney, and Sony Pictures on musical works for their commercials, films, video games, and television series. In 2018, she was the guest speaker at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Commencement. She also frequently advises attorneys, advertising agencies, entertainment and recording companies, publishing firms, and musicians, on copyright issues arising from electronic technology, digital sampling, and Internet musical usage. She has spoken at the law schools of Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Vanderbilt, and others on music copyright. She is a professor of musicology at UCLA, where she teaches the first forensic musicology course in the country. For fuller information see www.jfmusicservices.com. 

Bill Rosenblatt is president of GiantSteps Media Technology Strategies, a consulting firm. He is program chair and co-producer of the Copyright and Technology conferences. GiantSteps’ clients include content providers and digital media technology companies, ranging from early stage startups to multinationals, as well law and public policy entities and investment firms worldwide. Bill has served as an expert witness in several litigations related to copyright and digital media technologies.  He has advised public policy entities on digital copyright and technology issues in the United States, Europe, and South Korea. Before founding GiantSteps in 2000, Bill held technology management positions in the publishing industry as well as digital media market strategy and consulting roles in the computer industry, and he was CTO of an e-learning startup at Columbia University. He began his career as a software engineer in data communications at Motorola. Bill is author of the book Digital Rights Management: Business and Technology (Wiley, 2001), technical books published by O’Reilly Media, and several whitepapers, book chapters and journal articles on digital media and copyright. He has spoken at conferences on five continents and has guest lectured at various universities and law schools. Bill has degrees in computer science from Princeton and the University of Massachusetts, and continuing education in business and finance from NYU, Harvard, and USC.  He is a member of the Book Industry Study Group, the Open Music Initiative, and the Copyright Society of the USA.

Juli Saitz, CPA, is a Senior Managing Director at Ankura Consulting Ground and is based in New York. She has over 20 years of experience in and financial and economic analysis to attorneys in litigation as a forensic accountant and an expert witness. Juli specializes in intellectual property matters and has significant experience with a focus on copyright and trademarks. Her copyright experience includes jewelry, photography and publishing.

Jeff Sedlik is an expert witness specializing in copyright and right of publicity matters in photography and the visual arts. The president and CEO of the non-profit PLUS Coalition, Sedlik is also a professor at the Art Center College of Design, where he teaches courses on copyright law and the licensing and valuation of visual artworks. Sedlik serves as a director of both the Linked Content Coalition and the American Society for Collective Rights Licensing, and is the former president of the Advertising Photographers of America. Sedlik also serves on both the Creators Advisory Board and Academic Advisory Board of the Copyright Alliance.  An advertising photographer by trade, Sedlik also works as a litigation strategy consultant in matters involving copyright infringement, DMCA violations, actual damages, statutory damages, causal nexus for disgorged profits, fair market value, metadata, digital asset management, breach of contract, rights of publicity, rights of privacy, image manipulation, and related issues.

Hillel I. Parness (Moderator) is a highly-experienced commercial litigator and trial attorney. Over the course of his career, Hillel has represented a broad spectrum of domestic and international companies and individuals in a variety of industries. His clients have included major financial institutions, rapid-growth and technology-leveraged enterprises, and large entertainment and media companies. In particular, Hillel has substantial experience assisting clients with issues arising from the intersection of emerging technology, media and the Internet, as well as matters arising from the complex business activities of both traditional and Internet-based businesses. His prior experience includes serving as Acting Head of Litigation for Warner Music Group Corp. (2014), Partner at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. (2010-2014), and Partner at Lovells LLP (now Hogan Lovells) (2006-2010). Hillel also serves on the Adjunct Faculty of Columbia Law School, where he has been teaching Internet and intellectual property topics since 2002. He is frequently called upon for his views on issues relating to complex litigation, intellectual property and the Internet, and he is a regular writer, speaker and commentator on these issues.

Members: $70
Student Members: $55
Non-Members: $85

Program will provide 1 credit for NY and PA CLE.

Cancellation Policy
Refunds must be requested in writing at least three business days before 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 to attend in your place. Please email rogerio@csusa.org and let us know that person’s name, affiliation, city and state.

Financial Aid Policy
The Copyright Society provides a limited number of scholarships each year to judges, law clerks, professors, students, attorneys, and nonprofit organization employees. For information on how to apply, please click here.