BroadbandBreakfast.com Launches New Series: ‘The Intellectual Property Breakfast Club’

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2010 – BroadbandBreakfast.com, a broadband and internet technology news service on Monday – Intellectual Property Day – launched a new series of breakfast events entitled “The Intellectual Property Breakfast Club.”

The series, which will occur on May 11, June 8 and July 13, complements BroadbandBreakfast.com’s highly popular “Broadband Breakfast Club,” which will continue to meet each month.

Sponsored by Intel Corporation and Time Warner Cable, the new series will probe a diverse set of topics, including the Google Book Search case and e-book licensing; increasing controversies over retransmission consent; and international progress against counterfeiting.

As with broadband policy, now is an exciting time for copyright, patent and trademark experts to gather in a neutral form to discuss the policy, business, legal and technological issues surrounding intellectual property. Intellectual property industry advocates, policy-makers, journalists, top officials and the general public, all seeking to trade insights on these important issues, are invited to attend the events.

The events will be moderated by Sarah Lai Stirland, Assistant Managing Editor, BroadbandBreakfast.com. Lai Stirland joins BroadbandBreakfast.com from a background of covering business, finance and legal affairs, telecommunications and tech policy for 15 years from New York, Washington and San Francisco. She has written for Red Herring, National Journal’s Technology Daily, Portfolio.com and Wired.com. She’s a native of London and Hong Kong, and is currently based in San Francisco.

The Intellectual Property Breakfast Club will meet at Clyde’s of Gallery Place, at 707 7th St. NW, Washington, on the second Tuesday of the month (except August) starting on May 11, 2010. Breakfast is served at 8 a.m. and the program begins shortly after 8:30 a.m. and runs until 10 a.m.

The Broadband Breakfast Club continues to be held on the third Tuesday of the month – same hours and same venue.

Tickets to the events include full American and Continental breakfasts, for $45.00, plus a registration fee. All events are on the record and open to the public.

For the inaugural Intellectual Property Breakfast Club, a diverse group of experts will discuss the progress of the Google Book Search case. The panel will discuss whether the class-action settlement be adopted, and how the agreement would affect both literary fair use and e-book licensing.

Lai Stirland, the moderator, has written extensively about the subject over the years.

“Sorting out the question of how we distribute and manage our creative work in the digital world is crucial to the economic health of an increasingly idea-driven economy,” Lai Stirland said. “I look forward to participating in the discussion and facilitating a constructive dialogue between policymakers in the next few months.”

The Intellectual Property Breakfast Club’s second event will focus on new battles over retransmission battles and video licensing. Although intended to level the playing field between local broadcasters and large cable operators, retransmission rules may be a significant hurdle to a smoothly operating marketplace, with competing distribution platforms (cable, satellite, and telecom) and distribution business models (linear, on-demand, and internet). Join the panel of experts in discussing video licensing and regulation in the broadband environment.

Registration for the events are available at http://ipbreakfast.eventbrite.com.

CONTACT:
Sylvia Syracuse, Director of Marketing and Events
sylvia@broadbandcensus.com
646-262-4630
http://BroadbandBreakfast.com