2010 Spring Symposium: Copyleft vs. Copyright: Artist and Author Rights in Tomorrow’s Digital Age

Date: March 5, 2010
Location: Wake Forest University – Worrell Professional Center, Room 1312

On March 5, 2010, the Wake Forest School of Law Intellectual Property Law Journal will hold its annual symposium. This year’s topic will focus on how current copyright laws are applied to tomorrow’s technologies. The keynote speaker will be Ms. Laura N. Gasaway, a professor of law at the University of North Carolina’s School of Law.  Ms. Gasaway is a scholar in the field of copyrights, focusing primarily on the intersection of authorship rights and cyberspace law. The symposium will feature a unique composition with two individual panels focusing on copyright issues in the areas of music and software development and use.

Copyright law has fallen under increased scrutiny as new technological developments have made it harder for traditional copyright laws to remain applicable. New development techniques, such as the use of open source software, have obscured the need for traditional copyright protections, and instead require a “new look” approach. Our symposium will seek to address these problems and attempt to propose innovative solutions.

We are bringing together a wide variety of legal experts from the music and software fields to discuss these issues.

Keynote Speaker:

Ms. Laura N Gasaway
, University of North Carolina School of Law

Lolly Gasaway is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and a Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina.  She teaches courses in cyberspace and copyright law, and will present issues pertaining to copyright law with a focus on music and software.

Music Panel:

Mr. Robert Monath
, The Monath Law Firm

Mr. Monath will examine the Derivative Work Exception (“DWE exception”) to the Copyright Act, and will discuss the extent to which a terminated publisher/assignee may continue to share in the licensing royalties of the original author after termination of the original grant.

Mr. Coe Ramsey
, Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP

Mr. Ramsey will discuss pending federal sound recording performance copyright legislation that has put the broadcasting and recording industries at odds and the impact of copyright law on the ability of DJs, artists, and producers to create music using new technologies and sampling and “mashup” production techniques.

Ms. Kimberliann Podlas
, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Ms. Podlas will re-frame the issue of musical copyrights, questioning whether the music industry’s strategies to prevent piracy operate in the best interest of the artist.

Dr. Michael Rothkopf
, Interim Dean at the University of North Carolina, School of the Arts (“UNCSA”)

Dr. Rothkopf will discuss the balance between fair use and infringement, particularly in the context of educational institutions with a large population of working artists.

Software Panel:

Dr. Andrew Chin
, Professor of Law, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Dr Chin will discuss intellectual property rights in the context of monopolization and antitrust law, with specific focus on legal trend resulting from the IBM and Microsoft cases.

Mr. Robert Rehm
, Partner, Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, LLP

Mr. Rehm will discuss the rights, or lack thereof, associated with a business’s use of open source software, and how the use of such software can impact the business’s formation, operation, and later acquisition.

Dr. Yaorong Ge
, Assistant Professor, Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Dr. Ge will consider the legitimacy of the rights an inventor possesses for his/her investment in software technology, contrasting the entitlements of the entrepreneur with the needs of the public.

Mr. Timothy Wilson
, Senior Counsel, SAS

Mr. Wilson’s discussion will focus on the interests of the private developer of software, considering to what extent traditional intellectual property rights protect the needs of entrepreneurs.