MIT Enterprise Forum: Digital Rights Management Debate - What Should the Model Be? November 26, 2007

Distribution options for digital media are now extensive and expanding. Consumers around the world are becoming very comfortable with downloading, uploading, sideloading, sharing, streaming, etc. their digital content. Owners of content are trying to adapt their business models to the digital world to capture a "fair" share of revenue as they see their traditional non-digital distribution channels decline. What started as largely an issue for the music industry has expanded to other markets and media types including movies, TV shows, radio, art and theater. The impact is massive as wireless and broadband is now available is every country in the world, making digital content available worldwide.

These issues provide the foundation for a raging debate about the "rights" to digital media. This panel will evaluate the following issues:

* Who owns the "rights" to digital media?
* What ownership rights model provides good value to the consumer and also maximizes the return to the original creator?
* What group should be responsible for defining and monitoring digital rights guidelines?
* Should any government groups be involved in the debate?
* What technological approach should be used for digital rights management?

Panel

Steve Henry, Wolf Greenfield
Walter McDonough, Future of Music Coalition
Jake Shapiro, Executive Director, Public Radio Exchange (PRX)
Robert Weber, Strategy Kinetics

Kevin Wiant , Airwide Solutions [moderator]

Steve Henry, Wolf Greenfield
Steve Henry has broad experience in all aspects of intellectual property, with special expertise in the protection of computer-related inventions (hardware and software) and electronic technology; his practice spans the entire range of prosecution, litigation, licensing and client counseling. He is particularly interested in fostering the growth of technology-based companies, large and small, by developing and executing for them effective intellectual property strategies.

Steve is called upon frequently to speak on protecting computer-related inventions, including software, at legal and computer industry conferences such as the Massachusetts Software & Internet Council, MIT Enterprise Forum Technology Transfer Conferences, European Technology Roundtable Exhibitions (ETRE), Israel Export Institute, Massport Export Seminars, and Licensing Executives Society, among others. For several years, he was an adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School, where he taught patent law. He also has served as an arbitrator in technology-related disputes. Steve served as President and Managing Partner of the firm from 1995 to 2000.

Walter McDonough, Future of Music Coalition
Walter F. McDonough is the General Counsel and one of the founders of the Future of Music Coalition. Mr. McDonough is a professor of copyright law at Suffolk University Law School. He also serves as a board member on the United States performing rights society Sound Exchange and the Alliance of Artist and Recording Companies. Mr. McDonough has traveled throughout North America to speak at the University of Texas Law School and the World Congress of Information Technology, the American Bar Association Annual Intellectual Property Conference, Canadian Music Week, South by Southwest, the MUTEK International Music and Technology Conference, the Harvard Law School Berkman Center Signal/Noise 2k5 Conference, the Columbia Journal Of Law And the Arts Symposium, the University of Alberta, Music and the Entertainment Industry Educators Association Annual Conference, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Harvard Law School Journal of Law & Technology. Mr. McDonough is also an attorney who represents, among others, the Dresden Dolls and Mission of Burma. Mr. McDonough was an associate at Carroll Guido & Groffman in New York City, one of America's leading music law firms, a former assistant Massachusetts Attorney General and a law clerk for the Honorable Edward F. Harrington of the United States Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Jake Shapiro, Executive Director, Public Radio Exchange (PRX)
Jake Shapiro is the founding Executive Director of the Public Radio Exchange (PRX), a nonprofit web-based service for distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. Since its launch in 2003 PRX has been a leading innovator in public broadcasting, pioneering new digital distribution models and social media applications. Prior to PRX, Jake was Associate Director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, where remains a Fellow. Jake is a frequent speaker at media and technology events and is an advisor and consultant to a variety of public media organizations, media funders, and Internet startups. Jake serves on several nonprofit boards, including the Association of Independents in Radio, Open Source Media, the Integrated Media Association, and the Conversations Network. He is also an independent musician and has recorded and performed on guitar and cello with numerous groups, most frequently with Boston-based rock band Two Ton Shoe.

Robert Weber, Strategy Kinetics
Bob Weber has been deeply involved in copyright-related issues for nearly 20 years. His consulting practice is focused on DRM-related business models and technologies. Previously he was SVP, Business and Technology Strategy, at InterTrust Technologies, where he made substantial contributions to InterTrust’s extensive patent portfolio that was licensed to Microsoft for nearly a half billion dollars. Earlier as a Principal Consultant at NCRI (before its acquisition by NerveWire), he created and led popular public workshops on Mapping the Future of Publishing, which was co-sponsored by the Association of American Publishers, and later on Mapping the Future of Information Commerce. His NCRI clients included Lexis-Nexis, AAP, IBM, and Intel. His 18 issued US patents address, generally speaking, DRM techniques and business models, rights-enabled email, DRM-related backend clearinghouse functions, and data structures for DRM. He is a member of the IEEE Boston Entrepreneurs’ Network and previously served as Vice Chair, Programs.

Official Website: http://www.mitforumcambridge.org/DigMediaSIG.html