16th January 2012
FAST Legal Advisory Group (FLAG) leads debate on the future of IP law and enforcement
Event organised to debate the future of IP law following the Hargreaves Review, 18th January 2012, Bird & Bird, London
FLAG, the Federation Against Software Theft’s (FAST) Legal Advisory Group, has organised a unique event at Bird & Bird, London on January 18th 2012 to discuss hot topics including the future of the software business and the government’s progress on reform following the Hargreaves review into intellectual property.
The event will be a special opportunity to hear from Chris Oldknow, IP Enforcement Policy Counsel Microsoft Legal & Corporate Affairs, EMEA, Allen Dixon, owner of International Intellectual Property and Technology Consulting (IIPTC) and leading IP exponent & barrister, Thomas Dillon.
FAST General Counsel, Julian Heathcote Hobbins comments: “The opportunity presented by this FLAG meeting is for the software industry to discuss where we see the future of intellectual property and the key issues we face. The publication of the Hargreaves Review and the Government’s response has provided a lot interesting discussion topics and this particular meeting is the ideal platform for us to have this debate in order to shape the agenda for the FAST legal group at this very time.”
Dawn Osborne, Partner at Intellectual Property specialists Palmer Biggs Legal and Chair of FLAG, added: “2012 will no doubt be a challenging year for IP law. Given the Government reviews into relevant legislation we now have an interesting platform from which to begin intelligent discussion on the future form and impact of new law.”
FLAG’s history is enshrined with the foundation of FAST in 1984, and consists of lawyers from many of the UK’s leading firms with Intellectual Property practices. FLAG meets several times a year to receive presentations on pertinent topics and review legal developments affecting the software industry.
At this event there will also be further debate around IP enforcement in the UK and abroad, a representative from the IPO in attendance to talk about how they intend to follow through on Hargreaves’ recommendations; and also input from Emily Goodhand, Copyright & Compliance Officer at the University of Reading, and regular contributor to the copyright focussed site The 1709 Blog – http://the1709blog.blogspot.com.
Speakers include:
Allen Dixon
Allen Dixon is a leading lawyer and international specialist in the intellectual property and information technology field with more than 20 years experience. Since 2006, he has run the IIPTC consultancy, concentrating on intellectual property and high-technology issues, based in London.
Chris Oldknow
Chris is a highly rated and experienced IP attorney, having spent numerous years dealing with many aspects of anti piracy together with an unmatched knowledge in the tech sector on such issues from his long tenure with Microsoft.
Thomas Dillon, Barrister
Thomas Dillon is a London-based Barrister, admitted in England & Wales (and in California). He studied Classics at Queens’ College, Cambridge, and was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1983. He studied intellectual property and competition law at Queen Mary & Westfield College, London.Thomas will contribute to a debate about linking in a ‘FLAG Reform’ agenda with Hargreaves considering an expected Communications Bill.
Frank Jennings, Partner at law firm, DMH Stallard
Frank has extensive experience in technology law, public sector issues, intellectual property and commercial contracts. He previously worked as an in-house lawyer with a Sony subsidiary and Vodafone.Frank will provide insight into the latest status of the Cloud Industry Forum’s unique code of practice.
Peter Lee, Solicitor, Bird & Bird
Peter is an Associate in Bird & Bird’s Commercial Group. He specialises in providing advice on commercial contracts for clients in a variety of sectors including technology, defence, financial services and manufacturing.Peter will present Bird & Bird’s work on how to record the realities of the evolving development environment where customer and supplier depend on collaboration for success.
Emily Goodhand, contributor, The 1709 Blog
Emily is currently Copyright & Compliance Officer at the University of Reading. With the aim of raising people’s awareness of copyright law, she provides regular training workshops on a range of subjects including copyright, rights management, licensing and photographers’ rights. She is a regular contributor to The 1709 Blog, on which she discusses these issues.
Join FAST and its guest speakers,
16:00 for 16:30 start. Close 18:45.
Bird & Bird
15 Fetter Lane
London, EC4A 1JP
About FAST
The Federation Against Software Theft was formed in 1984; it was the first organisation globally to champion the professional management of legitimate software and protect publishers’ rights. It aims to reduce, restrict and or lessen the incidence of unauthorised dealings in computer software.
FAST is a not-for-profit organisation limited by guarantee and wholly owned by its members. It works on many fronts to promote the legitimate use of software and protect its members’ rights through education, enforcement, lobbying and promoting standards and best practice in business. www.fastiis.org
