Changing Tech, Changing Law School

I'll be speaking Thursday at the 2013 Chapman Law Review Symposium on how law school (and particularly IP law) curriculum should change to keep pace with technology.  Our moderator is the brilliant John Tehranian (TWiL fans will remember him from Episode 120), and it'll be great to meet David Levine (me = huge fan of Hearsay Culture) and Deven Desai (me = huge and very long-time fan of Concurring Opinions).  

Here are some points I'd like to raise:

From Ruocaled on Flickr (CC/Attribution)Online distribution, licensing, and selective enforcement.  A traditional IP law education probably equips lawyers to help clients address the "Hey, they're using my thing and I didn't say they could" problem.  I don't know if it adequately equips lawyers to help clients with the "Hey, how do I get them to use my thing?" issue, however.  How can clients effectively use Creative Commons?  How can they effectively partner with YouTube and other distribution hubs?  In the case of Psy, thousands of parodies and remixes of an original work turned relative obscurity into global ubiquity.  A modern IP curriculum should give granting rights equal shrift with establishing and preserving them.

IP for all, and terms of service.  IP lawyers are traditionally well equipped to help commercial clients manage IP, but IP is increasingly something that touches people in their daily lives.  Can Facebook sell photos of your kid to AT&T?  What happens to IP you've posted to a social networking site after you terminate your account?  After your death?  Even though people don't read terms of service they care a lot about what rights they may be granting in their online photographs, reviews, tweets, blog posts, etc.  Lawyers should be learning how to draft IP terms of service that are clear and not overbroad.  They should also be learning how to advise clients about their rights in materials submitted to social networks, and about related right of publicity issues. 

From crschmidt on Flickr (CC/Attribution)Globalization.  I don't know how well a traditional IP law education equips lawyers trained in the U.S. to deal with the fact that a business with an online presence or business model is an international one.  Lawyers should be learning about treaties and global policies that effect IP considerations around the world.

IP Policy.  I hope a modern IP law curriculum looks at the state of
IP lawmaking:  recent unsuccessful attempts to extend IP protections
(SOPA, PIPA), the competing interests shaping IP legislation,
copyright and patent reform, etc.

If you're a law student and have any thoughts about what kind of changes you'd like to see in the IP law curriculum, please chime in.  (You'll be doing me a huge favor, as the last time I directly experienced IP law in the law school context, Ronald Reagan was President.)  

TWiL 103 Video — It's All About Media

Episode 103 Discussion Points. Video archives for this WEEK in LAW are available at TWiT.tv, on YouTube, and ODTV.  TWiL is on Twitter and Facebook, if you're so inclined. Please also rate the show in iTunes.

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Supernova Early Registration Ends Friday (Wave Invites Too!)

Supernova is one of the best tech conferences I've attended or been involved with.  I'm somewhat overwhelmed to be in the company of this year's phenomenal roster of speakers, and the attendees always make the conference a don't-miss event.  In addition to its usual interesting and current discussions, this year Supernova features an entire legal track and is offering CLE credit for lawyers.  (Kevin Werbach, Supernova's founder and driving force, is one of the very first blawgers, co-led the review of the FCC for the Obama-Biden Transition Project, and will join us on TWiL this Friday, October 16.)  I'll be moderating the session on Social Networks in the Workplace on December 1 at 9:00 a.m., joined by Twitter's general counsel Alex Macgillivray and others.

Early bird registration, which gets you $500 off the regular price, ends this Friday, October 16.  Additionally, if you use the priority code "dhlegal" you'll get an additional $200 off the registration price, over and above the early bird discount ("dhlegal" will still get you $200 off should you miss the early bird deadline — but don't!).  Better still, using "dhlegal" gets me a "bounty"/finder's fee on your registration, and I've secretly always wanted to be a bounty hunter — "blawg," "Dog," etc. ...

You can keep up with the conference on Twitter @supernovahub.  Also, if you're hankering for a Google Wave invitation, sign up for this Thursday's Network Age Briefing call with Wave's lead developer Lars Rasmussen:  "Those atttending this free call will receive Google Wave invitations (while supplies last)."  I'll also be hosting one of these briefings on November 12, topic to be determined, suggest away please!

I suppose that's enough plugging and flogging for one post, but do join us at Supernova, a fantastic venue for informed debate and insight about the ramifications of online tools and communications.  And a great place to catch up with friends.

Peer Forum On The Working Web And Enterprise 2.0

I'll be speaking Thursday at 11:00 a.m. PDT at Qualcomm in San Diego to the 2.0 Council: a forum of BigCos where members share ideas about how to innovate and adapt.  I'm a big fan of companies working together in this way, and am pleased to have the chance to work with this group. 

If your company could benefit from such a forum — and let's face it, most could — you might want to look into it further.  Here's the a copy of the email invitation/agenda for this week's event at Qualcomm:

So far 3M, American Express, Clorox, Chevron, Deloitte, GE, General Mills, ITT, Qualcomm, State Farm, and United Healthcare have joined forces to share ideas and experiences on Enterprise 2.0.

Why?  
Because it’s the way work is getting done these days.  It’s where productivity and innovation meet.  It’s where knowledge is shared, networks are built and new business opportunities are emerging.  It’s where customers and the general public learn about your organization, your values and your culture.
With this emerging world of work comes many risks to mitigate, both inside and outside the organization.  Learning directly from others is the most effective way deal with these emerging issues.
The next 2.0 Council meeting will be hosted by Qualcomm in San Diego on September 17-18.  All of our meetings are confidential and membership is by invitation only.

For more background on the Working Web and the new 2.0 Council go to http://2.0council.org/