Description:
Experienced copyright lawyers discuss the ongoing copyright review process currently playing out in Washington, including the history of amendments to the 1976 Copyright Act; the various players in the current process that may result in significant changes to the statutes, and a description of the debates over various specific issues now being debated.Speakers:
Chris Reed, Vice President, Global Content Protection, Fox Entertainment Group, Los Angeles, CA
Ben Sheffner, Vice President, Legal Affairs, Motion Picture Association Of America, Los Angeles, CA
Chris provides legal advice on copyright and other intellectual property issues, and helps develop strategies relating to protecting creative assets from infringement for all of the Fox Entertainment Group entities worldwide, including 20th Century Fox Film, Fox Searchlight, Fox 2000, Fox Animation, Blue Sky Studios, Fox Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Television, Fox Television Stations, and Fox Networks Group (including Fox Broadcasting Company, FX, National Geographic Channel, and various national and regional Fox Sports properties). Prior to joining Fox Entertainment Group, he was Acting Chief of the Information & records Division and Senior Advisor for Policy & Special Projects at the United States Copyright Office in Washington D.C. Chris is a graduate of Lehigh University, and the University of New Hampshire, School of Law. Following graduation, he clerked for the Honorable Steven J. McAuliffe, United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire.
Ben specializes in copyright policy and runs the MPAA’s amicus brief program. He has previously held in-house legal positions at NBCUniversal and Twentieth Century Fox, and worked as an associate in the Century City office of O'Melveny & Myers LLP, where he litigated copyright and other cases for major movie studios, television networks, and record labels. In 2008, Ben served as Special Counsel on Senator John McCain's presidential campaign where, among other responsibilities, he handled the campaign's copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property issues. Ben previously blogged at http://copyrightsandcampaigns.blogspot.com/, which was named as a top 100 legal blog by the American Bar Association in 2009 and 2010, and wrote a regular column on legal issues in the music industry for Billboard magazine. Ben served as a law clerk for the Hon. M. Margaret McKeown on the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2000-2001.