I’m pleased to announce the third annual Copyright and Technology New York conference, which will take place Wednesday, December 5 at the Manhattan Penthouse in NYC.  (We’re adding “New York” to the name to distinguish it from the London conference we began this past June.)  I’m equally thrilled to be presenting this event with Gotham Media Ventures, which produced our last two events in NYC.

Here is the conference agenda, which is subject to change.  At this point, we are seeking moderators, speakers, and sponsors.  Deadline for speaking submissions is Friday, September 21, and as usual, moderating proposals will be given priority.  We are also seeking sponsors; a brochure is available on request.  The top-level Conference Sponsor will be able to work with me to define a panel during the morning plenary session.  As the number of sponsors has increased at each of our conferences, it’s evident that the sponsors are getting value for their participation!

As with our past events, the agenda will feature a morning plenary session with opening remarks by me, a keynote address, the Conference Sponsor session, and a panel designed to appeal to a wide variety of attendees.  Then in the afternoon, we will split up into two parallel tracks.  We expect to offer New York State CLE credit for our legal panels.

Here are the panels for which we are seeking moderators and speakers.

• After the Ordeal: SOPA/PIPA Failed. Now What?
  The flameouts of SOPA and PIPA early this year led to lots of soul-searching by media industry interests that pushed for it — as well as by a few from the online community who recognized that some attention must be paid to online copyright infringement, even if not through those legislative channels.  What is the future likely to hold for legal action on online infringement?  Will media industry bodies try to bring new legislation, and if so, what will it look like?  Are copyright owners betting on outcomes of big litigations, such as Viacom v. YouTube in the Third Circuit?  Our panel of experts will weigh in with their views.
• The Holy Grail or the Enemy of the Good? Rights Registries and Copyright Hubs
  One of the major obstacles to the development of legal content services is lack of easily available information about content and rights.  Many people agree that online databases of rights information are necessary to solve this problem, and several projects have been started to build such systems.  But solutions have proven not to be easy.  Is there such a thing as “good enough” in rights registries and copyright hubs, or is it really necessary to dot every i and cross every t before any progress can be made?  What are the obstacles and how can they be overcome?  We hear from a panel of people who are involved in these efforts.
• Hollywood’s Next Big Thing: The UltraViolet Ecosystem
  UltraViolet is Hollywood’s attempt to provide digital video content that people can interoperate and share among their devices.  After years of development, a robust ecosystem around UltraViolet has begun to develop this past year, including the establishment of several infrastructure providers and support from various major retailers. This session will explore the status of UltraViolet, technology components and services that are available to retailers, DRM strategies, and other topics relevant to those who are interested in joining the UltraViolet movement.
• The Center for Copyright Information
  The Center for Copyright Information (CCI) is an initiative being set up this year by companies from the media and ISP industries. It’s a private-sector analog to government regulatory bodies such as HADOPI in France. Many questions exist about the CCI: as a non-government entity, what power will it have over user behavior such as uploading and downloading files containing copyrighted material? What are its goals, and how will it measure success? Who will fund it? This session will feature key players who will provide answers as well as CCI-watchers who will comment on its likely impact.
• Hitching a Ride: Online Advertising and For-Profit Infringement
  YouTube is now the most popular way for young people to listen to music online.  Music copyright holders get a share of YouTube’s advertising revenue.  But there are many cyberlockers, torrent sites, blog networks, and other services that offer infringing files while making money from advertising and not sharing any of it with rights holders.  How big a problem is this, whose responsibility is it, and what can be done to stop it?
• Oh Yeah, Those Guys: The Artists’ Rights Movement
  The bulk of the focus in the so-called copyright wars has been on big media companies that own or control lots of copyrights, and their trade-association representatives.  Yet there’s a major constituency that hasn’t had its point of view heard very much: the artists who create copyrighted works — musicians, songwriters, photographers, filmmakers, visual artists.  An Artists’ Rights community that represents these people has taken shape recently.  How do their aims differ from those of Big Media?  Who are their friends and enemies in the digital age?  Attend this session, which will be filled with leading Artists’ Rights spokespeople, and prepare to be surprised by the answers.

Once again, the deadline for moderating and speaking proposals is Friday September 21.  Please email your proposal(s) with the following information:

• Speaker’s name and full contact information
• Panel requested
• Moderator or speaker request?
• Description of speaker’s experience or point of view on the panel subject
• Brief narrative bio of speaker
• Contact info of representative, if different from speaker*

As mentioned above, the agenda is subject to change.  If you have another idea for a panel, we’d love to hear about that as well.

If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, we have three levels, which are described in our brochure; please ask and we’ll send you one.  The top-level Conference Sponsorship is a single opportunity that we offer on a first-come, first-served basis.  Thanks in advance for your interest!

*Please note that personal confirmation from speakers themselves is required before we will put them on the program.