JAMS Virtual Roundtable: Copyright Dispute Resolution

January 2011Article

This is a rare opportunity to bring together copyright lawyers and a studio business affairs executive to talk about copyright and idea theft disputes, how they can be resolved, and how they are being affected by currents and changes in copyright law. Copyright law is often technical, counterintuitive and intertwined with notions of idea theft.

I want to first discuss dispute resolution in these cases, and then talk about some recent decisions and their practical impact on copyright practices. Has it been your experience that when dealing with idea theft/copyright infringement claims, mediation and settlement discussions are often hampered by the technical inexperience of plaintiffs in the field of copyright and copyright pre-emption? If so, how do you deal with it and how can a mediator help?