SPEAKERS

Patrick Blanar is the Director of Copyright and Trademark Policy Directorate at Innovation, Science and Economic Development.  A graduate of the University of Ottawa Law School, he has worked in IP policy for over a decade, much of that time spent on patent policy with a focus on pharmaceuticals and international trade negotiations. In that role he participated in negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union and on the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. Prior to his joining the public sector, Patrick worked in the telecommunication and pharmaceutical sectors.  

Dr. Brent Lutes is the first chief economist for the United States Copyright Office. He was appointed to the position effective April 10, 2022. Dr. Lutes, an applied economist, is responsible for evaluating the economic impacts of programs and policies relating to the U.S. and international copyright systems. He will advise the Register of Copyrights and other senior Office officials on how these impacts affect the Office, copyright stakeholders, and the general public. He will also be in charge of developing internal and external research projects to support policy determinations and operational decisions. 

Before joining the Office, Dr. Lutes worked in Boston at a global economic and financial consulting firm, the Brattle Group, where he served as a consultant, project manager, and expert witness. He has contributed important economic analyses in high-profile litigation and regulatory matters involving intellectual property in the United States and internationally. His experience spans a breadth of industries, including art and entertainment, technology, telecommunications, transportation, and health care. Before becoming an economist, Dr. Lutes served in the U.S. Army. 

Brent earned an undergraduate degree in economics and quantitative analysis from San Diego State University and master’s and doctorate degrees in economics from the University of California, Irvine, where his research focused on the economic concerns of legislative and regulatory governance.  

Zorn Pink is the Manager of the Copyright Policy Team in the Marketplace & Legislative Policy Branch at Canadian Heritage. A graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School, he is a policy analyst with an extensive history in government administration. Zorn has served as a Senior Policy Analyst with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) where he worked on the implementation of the College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents. He has also acted as an International Copyright Policy Analyst with Canadian Heritage where he worked extensively on the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement and in negotiations with MERCOSUR and at the World Intellectual Property Organization.  

Michael Shedletsky is the VP, Legal & Business Affairs, Entertainment at Spin Master.  Michael currently oversees the Legal and Business Affairs team at Spin Master Entertainment, a division of Spin Master – one of the world’s largest toy companies. Michael’s team handles all aspects of the division’s film and television development, production, finance and distribution/licensing legal needs for the hit pre-school franchise PAW Patrol and popular anime-adventure TV series Bakugan, among many others. Most notably, he was an integral part of the leadership team that successfully launched the company’s first feature film in 2021 – PAW Patrol: The Movie. Prior to moving in-house, Michael practiced as an Entertainment, Corporate and Finance lawyer at Dentons in Toronto and Los Angeles. 

 

MODERATOR

Dr. Nadia Soboleva specializes in the economics of antitrust and intellectual property, particularly in the context of competition agency investigations and litigation involving anticompetitive effects, damages, lost profits across a range of industries including automotive, telecommunications, health care, rail, marine, and air transport, natural resources, information technology, consumer products, among others. Her client work often involves mergers, joint ventures, allegations of price fixing, monopolization and collusion, exclusionary conduct, as well as trade secrets, patents including standard essential patents and FRAND issues, and copyright issues. 

Prior to joining Charles River Associates in Canada, Dr. Soboleva worked on antitrust, competition, and intellectual property issues in the United States at NERA Economic Consulting and Cornerstone Research. She was previously Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Toronto and a consultant at the World Bank where she worked in the Policy Research Department on international economics and economic development. 

Dr. Soboleva received her MA in development economics from Williams College, and an MA, MPhil, and PhD in economics, with a concentration in industrial organization and international trade, from Yale University.