Cyberlaw Central

I’ve been meaning to put these up for a while, here are the slides from the presentation I gave to the Chicago Bar Association’s seminar on website operator liability on May 15, 2009. My presentation focused on the DMCA and discussed four recent cases.
thompson-presentation-2009-05-15-10-years-of-the-dmca

I’d also like to thank those who submitted pictures for the recent Blawg Review, those who “sherpa-ed” behind the scenes (Colin Samuels, Diane Levin, Victoria Pynchon) and to Ed. for giving me the opportunity to host on Towel Day. And thanks to all who commented, sent links, or otherwise helped spread the word. You all are hoopy froods who know where your towels are.

Here are the slides from my presentation to the Chicago Bar Association’s Cyber Law and Data Privacy committee on February 17, 2009 entitled “Fan Generated Content on the Internet.”

I talked about the Harry Potter Lexicon case, including the changes to the book which were made in order for it to be publishable. Then, we discussed different forms of fan-generated content on the Internet. I framed the discussion by providing examples of fan content made by people who (like me) are fans of the Joss Whedon TV show “Firefly” and the movie “Serenity.”

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments!

I was honored to be asked to participate on the excellent Lawyer 2 Lawyer podcast on the topic of the recent stipulation entered into between Viacom and YouTube (Google) over user data that the Judge in that case ordered to be turned over to Viacom. My fellow guest was Lauren Gelman, the Executive Director of Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society, and the discussion was very good. Of course, the hosts, J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi, did their typically great job as well. I regularly listen to show during my commute, so it was fun to be on it for a change.

Please feel free to leave comments on the podcast here.

Here is a link to the show page, where you can download the show or listen online. You can also use the links on the left side of the page to subscribe to the show in Itunes.

Here are my slides from the presentation I gave on April 1, 2008 at the Chicago Bar Association as part of the Internet Intellectual Property Issues for Small Businesses seminar.

My presentation is entitled “Copyright Issues for Small Businesses.”

Also presenting were Gina Durham and Paul McGrady.

The first of the IPLAC High Tech Committee’s lunchtime discussions will be held on November 16, 2007 at John Marshall Law School from 12-1:30. As the chair, I can say that I am really excited to have this come together.

If you can join us, please do! The details on how to register are in the flyer.

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Please join the IPLAC High Tech Committee on November 16, 2007 from 12:00-1:30 PM at John Marshall Law School for a presentation by Christopher J. McGeehan entitled “Secondary Trademark Infringement Liability on the Internet: A Comparison of American and International Approaches.” This is the first presentation of our Lunchtime Discussion series. The members of the High Tech Committee will lead a discussion of this topic after the presentation. The registration fee of $15.00 covers the cost of a box lunch and a beverage.

Here are the slides for my talk on October 24, 2006 to the Chicago Bar Association’s Computer Law Committee on the subject of Network Neutrality.  My thanks again for being asked to speak, it was fun to prepare.

I’ll be the speaker on October 24th at 12:15 PM at the Chicago Bar Association’s Computer Law Committee.  My topic is an objective look at Network Neutrality, looking at the competing proposals still pending before Congress to legislate the Internet one way or the other.  I’ll also give a short overview of just how some of the Internet protocols work, since I won’t presume that everyone knows how they work.  It should be fun, I was happy to say yes since this is the committee I used to be the chair of from 2001-2002.  For more information on the CBA, including directions if you need them, visit http://www.chicagobar.org.

Sorry for not posting much here lately.  Work has been keeping me very busy, which is a good thing but I just haven’t been able to justify posting here when I had clients waiting.  Hopefully things will remain on the current upward trend so I can devote more time here.

I am one of a panel of speakers on July 27, 2006 at an afternoon seminar entitled “IP Law and the Internet” sponsored by the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (“IPLAC”) Internet Law Committee, and Northwestern Law School.

The event will be held at Nortwestern University, and will feature a keynote address by the USPTO’s Commissioner for Patents, John Doll.  Other speakers will include Professor Clint Francis from Northwestern University School of Law and Professor Douglas Lichtman from the University of Chicago School of Law.  There will be panels of practitioners (like me!) on topics such as patent, trademark and copyright law developments relating to the Internet.

Here is a flyer for the seminar with instructions about how to register.  The cost is $15 for IPLAC members and students, $25 for non-members.

I hope to see people there!

UPDATED 7/26/06 TO ADD: The seminar has been cancelled, and will be rescheduled for the fall.  I hope shortly to post materials I had prepared for my talk on trademark issues as they relate to the Internet.