Digital Rights Discussed

Marquee names in tech industry, plus government, will convene to take on the hot-button topic..

Powerhouse companies in the entertainment, computer and content industries, as well as government, are gathering together early next week to discuss and debate the hot-topic issue of digital rights.

On April 23 and 24 at the tony Four Seasons Hotel Beverly Hills in Los Angeles representatives from Disney, Time Warner, Microsoft, Google and Fox among others will gather to discuss emerging practices, trends and laws regarding digital rights management, according to a news statement. Debates over digital rights have flared up because of the practice of downloading and trading content that companies deem as protected by intellectual property ownership.

The seminar, which will cover topics like the challenges of managing intellectual property rights in today’s digital marketplace, is sponsored by entertainment publication Variety and LexisNexis.

Speakers scheduled to date include: Sandra Aisters, IP Counsel at Time Warner, Inc., Alan Braverman, Senior Executive VP and General Counsel, Walt Disney Co., Clemens Ceipek, Senior VP for LexisNexis U.S. Corporate Markets, Richard Cotton, Executive VP and General Counsel, NBC Universal, David Drummond, Senior VP and General Counsel, at Google, Inc., Michael Fricklas, Executive VP and General Counsel at Viacom, Inc., Marybeth Peters, U.S. Register of Copyrights, Steve Potash, CEO, OverDrive, Inc., Brad Smith, Senior VP and General Counsel, Microsoft, Inc., Mike Walsh, President & CEO of LexisNexis U.S. Legal Markets, Ronald Wheeler, Senior VP at Fox Legal Group.