Arkansas (AR) Intellectual Property CLE Course Catalog

In this fun and timely program, Peter Afrasiabi examines the colorful history of politicians using popular songs at campaign events and the legal disputes with musicians who opposed their works being used in this way. From such famous examples as President Reagan using Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” and former President Trump using Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” this program delivers a tour-de-force analysis of copyright, trademark and right of publicity law applied to musical compositions used to sell political campaigns.

Peter Afrasiabi, an experienced intellectual property lawyer and litigator, gives a comprehensive overview of intellectual property rights and how the four key legal frameworks – copyright, trademark, patent and trade secrets – are relevant to all lawyers. At the end of the presentation, you’ll not only be able to spot intellectual property issues when they arise in your practice but have a good sense of how to deal with them, and also when you may want to bring in an expert to provide additional advice or assistance.

These days, manufacturers of nearly every consumer product under the sun are catching false advertising claims. If you make a consumer-facing product, the odds are, litigation like this is not a matter of if but when, which means, false advertising litigation is just another business risk to be managed, mitigated, and optimized. This program takes a closer look at the landscape, and offers some practical advice and key considerations for how a business might implement some systems to manage this risk. Social media can be a powerful tool for companies to help build relationships with their customers and employees. However, with the benefits of this tool come corresponding risks. If your company distributes content on-line, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act can be your best friend -- and your worst enemy -- often at the same time. This program gives you the advice you need to prosecute or defend on-line copyright infringement claims.

Did the TV series “Battlestar Galactica” infringe on the copyrights owned by Lucasfilm in the movie “Star Wars”? Experienced intellectual property litigator Peter Afrasiabi reviews this famous case and several others where the copyright, trademark and right of publicity interests in “Star Wars” were litigated. Along the way, Peter provides an expert overview of copyright, trademark and right of publicity law that will be useful for all practitioners.

This program reviews how courts have applied the substantial similarity test for copyright infringement in the context of popular feature films and television series. The presenter also shares several important practice tips for litigating copyright infringement cases when feature films and television series are in issue.

Using some examples of lawsuits involving Ford, Ferrari and other famous cars, this program review show courts have applied the standards for trade dress protection in the context of litigation over automobile designs.  The presenter also shares several important practice tips for litigating claims of trade dress infringement involving any type of product.

Veteran intellectual property lawyer Peter Afrasiabi traces the origins of the right of publicity and explains how this right applies when recordings of mimicked human voices are used for commercial exploitation.

The Schrems II decision to invalidate the EU-US Privacy Shield has had far-reaching ramifications for cross-border data transfers and cloud computing, including Microsoft 365 (M365). In this panel discussion, industry experts will review the high-impact challenges when it comes to M365 specifically and outline a way forward for attendees.

This CLE session is a highly relevant panel discussion on cybersecurity risk management in our new "Work From Anywhere" world in the COVID19 era. Speakers from leading law firms, managed review, hosting and cyber security companies, will discuss issues the legal community faces with remote workers. Topics include document review planning and staffing, project initiation, management, and quality control -- all with an eye on infosec and data loss prevention at a moment where most contract document review attorneys are working from home. With time for participation and Q&A, session attendees will take away several rich perspectives on cybersecurity and compliance issues facing legal teams engaged in remote review projects.