In this panel we’ll look at the latest on some high profiles copyright infringement cases including Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You,” Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” and Dua Lipa’s “Levitating.” We’ll talk about where this rash of infringement cases has come from. We’ll also discuss the new CASE Act, which is basically a small claims court for copyright infringement and what it means to you. And we’ll tie all this in to issues of social justice; past, present and, hopefully, with some solutions for the future.
Speakers:
• Heather A. Antoine, Esq. is a Partner and Chair of the Firm’s Trademark & Brand Protection practice and Co-Chair of the Privacy & Data Security practice group. Heather’s practice is focused on protecting a company’s intellectual property; a fundamental feature of every business. Her practice includes trademark clearance and selection, domestic and foreign trademark prosecution, enforcement, proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), licensing, trade secret protection, copyright, rights of publicity, domain names disputes, and counseling on brand and IP strategy. Heather believes in supporting companies at each stage – from due diligence when choosing a name, to ongoing brand management, to ensuring portfolios are safeguarded and ready for sale. Heather is also focused on guiding businesses through the ever-expanding patchwork of privacy laws, both domestically and internationally. This includes drafting privacy policies, and guidance on how to comply with specific privacy regimes, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA), and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Heather works with companies to design and strengthen their privacy and data security policies and practices, to help them prevent data security breaches, and to minimize the risk of a data breach. Heather serves as Chair of the California Lawyers Association Intellectual Property Section. Heather frequently speaks and writes about IP, Internet, tech, and privacy issues. She has been quoted in publications such as the Los Angeles Times and CNBC. Heather has been recognized by her peers for excellence in her practice, having been selected by Thomson Reuters as Southern California “Super Lawyer®” and “Rising Star®.”
• Judith Finell is a musicologist and the president of Judith Finell MusicServices Inc., a music consulting firm in New York and Los Angeles, founded 25 years ago in New York. Since then, she has served as consultant and expert witness involving music copyright infringement, advised on artist career and project development, and a wide variety of music industry topics. Recently, Ms. Finell was honored to be the 2018 commencement speaker at UCLA’s Herb Albert School of Music. She was also interviewed by NBC/Universal for a 2018 documentary entitled “The Universality of Music,” in which she discussed the ways in which she sees music as being an international language that can bridge cultural barriers that spoken language does not. Judith was the testifying expert for the Marvin Gaye family in the milestone “Blurred Lines” case in Federal Court. She has testified in many other notable copyright infringement trials over the past 20 years. She and her team of musicologists regularly advise HBO, Lionsgate, Grey Advertising, CBS, Warner, Disney, and Sony Pictures on musical works for their commercials, films, and television series. Ms. Finell also frequently advises attorneys, advertising agencies, entertainment and recording companies, publishing firms, and musicians, addressing copyright issues, including those arising from digital sampling, electronic technology and Internet musical usage. Judith was invited to teach the first course in the country on forensic musicology at UCLA in 2018. She holds an M.A. degree in musicology from the University of California at Berkeley and a B.A. from UCLA in piano performance. She has written numerous articles and a book in the area of contemporary music and copyright infringement and has appeared in trials on Court TV and before the American Intellectual Property Law Association. She is a trustee of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A., and has appeared as a guest lecturer at the law schools of Harvard University, UCLA, Stanford, Columbia, Vanderbilt, George Washington, NYU, and Fordham, as well as the Beverly Hills Bar Assn., LA Copyright Society, and the Association of Independent Music Publishers. She is co-founder and editor of Your Inside Track, a music copyright newsletter.
• Kevin J. Greene joined Southwestern’s faculty in 2020. Professor Greene is a nationally recognized entertainment and intellectual property law scholar and an expert witness consultant for copyright, trademark, publicity rights, and entertainment contract disputes. He is a highly committed, outstanding teacher as well as a passionate leader and an IP law influencer. He teaches Contracts and Copyright Law. Professor Greene was most recently a tenured Professor of Law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. He has also been a visiting professor at the University of San Diego School of Law. In addition to Contracts and Copyright, he has also taught IP, Entertainment Law, Music Law, Publicity Rights, International Entertainment Law, and IP in the Cannabis Industry.
Moderator:
• Eric Polin, Sr. VP, Music Publishing, Universal Pictures & LA Chapter Board Member