Blockchain In the Media & Entertainment Industry? Fit or Mismatch?

Thank you to the Interactive Entertainment & Media Committee and the Startup Committee for hosting this webinar. Thank you to Dirk Spacek, Interactive Entertainment & Media Committee Co-Chair; James Gatto, Startup Committee, Co-Chair; and Tim Ryan for an excellent webinar on the use of blockchain in the entertainment and media industry. 

Webinar recording and slides can be found on Member Center.

 

Blockchain In the Media & Entertainment Industry? Fit or Mismatch?

The use of blockchain technology in the media and entertainment industries is growing. However, voices also express doubt as to whether this technology is a fit for the business realities of the media & entertainment sector or not. This webinar will address the applicability of blockchain to these industries and some of the legal issues that arise with its use. The Webinar will be conducted as follows:

1. Dirk Spacek: Introduction to Blockchain and the realities of the media & entertainment sector.
2. James Gatto and Tim Ryan: Applicability of and select Legal Issues with Blockchain arising in the media and entertainment context including in particular:

• Games
• Digital Collectibles
• Music
• Movies
• Digital Media & Content

James and Tim will share their experiences in this sector and will particularly assess whether, in their view, blockchain is a promising path to revolutionize and improve the current business models.

 

Dirk Spacek is a managing associate in the IP/IT-team of Walder Wyss Ltd. His areas of legal work are media- and information technology (IT), intellectual property (IP), data protection and general contract & commercial matters. He primarily advises companies of the media, technology and industry sector as well as financial institutions on technology-related matters. Dirk is vice-chair of the digital media & entertainment law committee of ITechLaw. He graduated from the University of Zurich (lic.iur. 2002, Dr.iur. [PhD], 2005) and Columbia University in New York, USA (LL.M. 2012 with a focus on International Media, IP/IT and Corporate M&A).

 

 

 

Jim Gatto is a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group in Sheppard Mullin’s Washington, D.C. office. He is Leader of the firm's Blockchain Technology and Digital Currency team and its Social Media and Games industry team. He was recently named as one of a handful of lawyers in the National Law Journal’s inaugural Trailblazers for Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and Fintech.
He provides a broad range of advice to companies leveraging blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, including financial regulatory issues with ICOs and other TGEs, patent and other IP strategy, advice regarding smart contracts, crypto games, crypto collectibles, and other legal issues.
He also focuses on all aspects of legal issues with digital media and interactive entertainment.  He advises clients on legal strategies, IP and regulatory issues relating to games, AR, VR, music and other interactive media.

 

Tim Ryan, a Partner at DAC Beachcroft and Head of its national TMT team, is a leader in the firm's technology sector activity.
He is an experienced commercial lawyer whose team advises across a variety of matters in technology, media and telecoms, with clients ranging from scale-ups to listed companies.
In addition to leading on large technology projects and transactions, Tim is heavily involved in working with his clients on a wide range of matters in digital business, ranging from software development, hosting and cloud computing, licensing and data analytics to ecommerce, emerging technologies and digital media.