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16th Symposium on Emerging Intellectual Property Issues:

Opportunities and Challenges in Creative and Innovative Industries

February 28, 2020

8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Please join SMU Dedman School of Law for a symposium exploring the latest major controversies, legal developments, and judicial decisions in the field of intellectual property, through panel presentations and discussions with distinguished academics, jurists, practitioners, and leaders in industry. 

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Symposium Topics Include:
Software and Intellectual Property: Should Software Be Free?
Creative Professionals and Copyright
Lunch Keynote: Lawyer to the Stars: Donald S. Passman on the Role of Copyright in Sustaining Creativity
Intellectual Property Legislation in the New Age
War Stories from Creators and Innovators: How Intellectual Property Actually Impacts Creativity and Innovation

Keynote Speaker:

Donald S. Passman 

Our keynote speaker, attorney and author Donald S. Passman, will reflect on his career as a lawyer advising and representing some of the music industry’s greatest stars, including Taylor Swift, Adele, Elton John, Green Day, Pink, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon. 

In particular, he will discuss the role of copyright law in supporting and sustaining creativity, as well as the challenges of modern technology to traditional copyright doctrines.

Mr. Passman is the author of All You Need to Know About the Music Industry and is a partner in the Los Angeles firm of Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman.  

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Ann Bartow, Director of the Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property and Professor, University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law
Shannon Bates, Partner, Harper Bates & Champion LLP and Adjunct Clinical Professor of Law, Patent Clinic at SMU Dedman School of Law
David W. Carstens, Partner, Carstens & Cahoon, LLP and Adjunct Professor, SMU Dedman School of Law
Tom Clees, Vice President, Federal Public Policy, Recording Industry Association of America
Gerardo Con Diaz, Assistant Professor, Science and Technology Studies, University of California, Davis
Russell Farr, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Caris Life Sciences
Kristelia García, Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School
Ellen Harris, Co-Founder and President, DynaStudy, Inc.
Justin Hughes, Hon. William Matthew Bryne, Jr. Chair Professor of Law, Loyola Marymount University, Loyola Law School
Sharon Israel, Partner, Shook, Hardy and Bacon, L.L.P.
Rae Liu, Principal and Founder, DC International, Co-Founder, Leatherology
Adam Mossoff, Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
W. Keith Robinson, Co-Director of the Tsai Center for Law, Science and Innovation and Associate Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law
Robert Sachs, President, Robert R. Sachs PC
Hans Sauer, Deputy General Counsel and Vice President for Intellectual Property, Biotechnology Innovation Organization; Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown Law
David O. Taylor, Co-Director of the Tsai Center for Law, Science and Innovation and Associate Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law

Symposium Details 

16th Symposium on Emerging Intellectual Property Issues: Opportunities and Challenges in Creative and Innovative Industries

February 28, 2020

Symposium Schedule

8:30–9:00 Registration & Breakfast Buffet 

9:00–9:15 Opening Remarks

David O. Taylor, Robert G. Storey Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Co-Director of the Tsai Center for Law, Science and Innovation, and Associate Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law

9:15–10:15 Software and Intellectual Property: Should Software Be Free?

A few years ago, the Supreme Court decided that a computer-implemented invention is not eligible for patent protection unless it includes “something more” than mere instructions to perform steps using a computer. This Term, the Court will answer the question of whether copyright protection extends to a software interface. Should we just declare that software is free—free from the exclusive rights of intellectual property regimes? This panel will explore whether intellectual property rights should be granted to creators of software, and as part of that question the unique challenges software presents to traditional patent and copyright doctrines.

Moderator: Shannon Bates, Partner, Harper Bates & Champion LLP and Adjunct Clinical Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law 

Panelists: Gerardo Con Diaz, Assistant Professor, Science and Technology Studies, University of California, Davis 

Adam Mossoff, Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University

Robert Sachs, President, Robert R. Sachs PC

10:15–10:30 Break

10:30–11:30 Creative Professionals and Copyright 

In recent years, advancements in technology have given creators an incredible amount of control over how their work is distributed and used. With recent developments in copyright law come new practices on behalf of creators. How will creative professionals use copyright law in the future? This panel of nationally recognized scholars will explore topics such as the Music Modernization Act, how societies understanding of gender intersect with copyright law, and why some creators encourage others to infringe their work.

Moderator: W. Keith Robinson, Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, Co-Director of the Tsai Center for Law, Science and Innovation, and Associate Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law

Panelists: Ann Bartow, Director of the Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property and Professor, University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law

Kristelia García, Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School

Justin Hughes, Hon. William Matthew Bryne, Jr. Chair Professor of Law, Loyola Marymount University, Loyola Law School

11:30–11:45 Break

11:45–1:00 Lunch Keynote: Lawyer to the Stars: The Role of Copyright in Sustaining Creativity (Karcher Auditorium)

Our featured speaker, Donald S. Passman, will reflect on his career as a lawyer advising and representing some of the music industry’s greatest stars, including Taylor Swift, Adele, Elton John, Pink, Green Day, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon. In particular, he will discuss the role of copyright law in supporting and sustaining creativity, as well as the challenges of modern technology to traditional copyright doctrines.

Speaker: Donald S. Passman, Partner, Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Inc. and Author, Everything You Need to Know about the Music Industry

1:15–2:15 Intellectual Property Legislation in the New Age

In 2018, President Trump signed into law the Music Modernization Act, which included significant amendments to the copyright statute. More recently, the House of Representatives passed additional legislation further reforming copyright law. With respect to patent law, however, despite recent attempts to pass reform legislation, including recent hearings about amending the patent statute on the issues of patent eligibility and functional claiming, there has not been any legislation that has passed the House or the Senate. What explains the difference? What are the challenges to intellectual property law reform, and how are they overcome?

Moderator: David O. Taylor, Robert G. Storey Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Co-Director of the Tsai Center for Law, Science and Innovation, and Associate Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law

Panelists: Tom Clees, Vice President, Federal Public Policy, Recording Industry Association of America

Sharon Israel, Partner, Shook, Hardy and Bacon, L.L.P.

Hans Sauer, Deputy General Counsel and Vice President for Intellectual Property, Biotechnology Innovation Organization 

2:15–2:30 Break

2:30–3:30 War Stories from Creators and Innovators: How Intellectual Property Actually Impacts Creativity and Innovation

What challenges do creators and innovators face when they try to create new music, books, films, and inventions and bring them to market? What role does intellectual property play in their efforts to bring their creations to market? How can intellectual property attorneys support them in their endeavors?

Moderator: David W. Carstens, Partner, Carstens & Cahoon, LLP and Adjunct Professor, SMU Dedman School of Law 

Panelists: Ellen Harris, Co-Founder and President, DynaStudy, Inc. 

Rae Liu, Principal and Founder, DC International, Co-Founder, Leatherology

Russell Farr, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Caris Life Sciences 

3:30 Closing Remarks

W. Keith Robinson, Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, Co-Director of the Tsai Center for Law, Science and Innovation, and Associate Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law

3:30–5:00 Networking Reception