West Virginia (WV) Copyright Law CLE Course Catalog

Did you know that authors have “moral rights” that allow them to exercise some measure of control over their works even after those works are sold? In the United States, moral rights are codified in the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (“VARA”) and subsequent case law. Experienced intellectual property litigator Peter Afrasiabi provides an introduction to moral rights while discussing key cases interpreting VARA in the context of various works of art including murals, sculptures, street graffiti, “living art” such as gardens, and other interesting examples.

As business continues to evolve into a more globalized workforce, GCs are being tasked with setting up international offices, aligning resources and coverage, and deciding where to build out legal teams. Understanding cross borders Communications and cultural differences have become business essential, not just to get deals done, but also to maintain strong cross-border partnerships. Join our panelists as they discuss the role of legal in international relations, and share their expertise and lived experiences with all international business dealings.

Who killed JFK? While he doesn’t answer that question, in the latest installment of “The Curious Lawyer” series, Peter Afrasiabi discusses several legal issues arising from the assassination of President Kennedy including copyright, freedom of speech and the press, government takings, prosecutorial overreach, access to government records, and antitrust.

Conversations around generative artificial intelligence are dominating the social stratosphere. By simulating human cognitive thinking, generative AI can produce new types of text, imagery, audio, and synthetic data by using patterns and informational elements obtained from prior works. Because generative AI often relies on pools of data and third-party creations to create new content, there is a concern that generative AI may, whether intentionally or inadvertently, exploit copyright-protected content to develop purportedly original content. Organizations that leverage generative AI tools should be mindful of how the tools are used in a commercial context to mitigate the risk of infringing uses. Likewise, owners of intellectual property should be aware of how their works are used by generative AI models and the users of these tools, and timely action should be taken to defend intellectual property against infringement.

In this program, a panel of thought leaders and practitioners assembled by The Knowledge Group will discuss the recent trends and significant challenges surrounding NFTs and the associated legal landscape, including helpful insights to avoid potential risks.">In this program, a panel of thought leaders and practitioners assembled by The Knowledge Group will discuss the recent trends and significant challenges surrounding NFTs and the associated legal landscape, including helpful insights to avoid potential risks.

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.