Hip-Hop Beyond 50: Protecting and Promoting Culture
On February 21, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. eastern time, the U.S. Copyright Office hosted the online event "Hip-Hop Beyond 50: Protecting and Promoting Culture" in recognition of Black History Month. Hip-hop, a uniquely American art form rooted in African American culture, marked its official fiftieth anniversary in 2023. The musical genre has been popularized all over the world, encompassing MCing, DJing, breakdancing, graffiti art, beatboxing, and more.
In this sixty-minute session, attendees learned from the Copyright Office, industry experts, and practitioners about how hip-hop has influenced creators worldwide and about the Office resources available on sampling, interpolations, and beat stores.
Guest speakers include:
- Dae Bogan, Head of Third-Party Partnerships at The Mechanical Licensing Collective
- Jamila Sams, Founder and CEO of We Do it for the Culture™ and Go to Ms. Sams
- Bruce Waynne, Grammy Award–winning music producer, publisher, and label executive; President of Vyre
- Junious Brickhouse, Director of Next Level, Hip Hop Diplomacy Program
The Copyright Office aims to broaden public awareness of what the copyright system encompasses and how to participate. A cornerstone of our current strategic plan is Copyright for All, and the Office dedicates itself to making the copyright system as understandable and accessible to as many members of the public as possible.
Dae Bogan
Dae Bogan serves as head of third-party partnerships for the Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC), where he leads The MLC's strategy for engaging third-party entities to support initiatives in rights administration, data management, operations, and membership services. He also was the founder of companies TuneRegistry, RoyaltyClaim, Maven Promo.
Jamila Sams
Jamila Sams is an educator and the founder of Go to Ms. Sams Inc., providing services in the areas of school climate and culture, youth program development and training, and strategic partnership development. In 2020, she launched the We Do it for the Culture™ curriculum—a culturally responsive social emotional learning curriculum rooted in hip hop culture for grades 6–12.
Bruce Waynne
Bruce Waynne is a highly accomplished songwriter-producer and music business professional, working at the intersection of entertainment and technology. With a career spanning over two decades, Waynne has established himself as a prominent figure in the realm of production, A&R, music supervision for television-film, and content acquisition and strategy.
Junious Brickhouse
Junious L. Brickhouse is an internationally recognized scholar practitioner dedicated to the sustainability of hip-hop cultures. He serves as director of Next Level, driving the strategic direction of the program's cultural diplomacy and global conflict transformation initiatives, activating more than thirty years of community engagement in over sixty countries. Junious founded Urban Artistry Inc. and serves as co-chair of the Cultural Diversity Committee at the American Folklore Society and as an executive board member at the National Council for the Traditional Arts.
Vanessa Bailey
Global Director of Intellectual Property Policy, Intel Corporation
Vanessa P. Bailey is Global Director of Intellectual Property Policy at Intel Corporation where she counsels on all aspects of patent, copyright and trade secret law and policy as well as legislative issues like the Defend Trade Secrets Act and global patent and copyright reform, including the role of intellectual property law in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. Ms. Bailey has broad intellectual property experience in both law firms as well as inhouse. Prior to working at Intel she worked at Jones Day and Dorsey & Whitney, and over 12 years at Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks where she developed litigation and licensing strategy including global and domestic issues on SEPs, FRAND and remedies, and managed various multi-jurisdictional patent litigation cases in Japan, China, Germany, United States, France, England, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Ms. Bailey received her undergraduate degree and her J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. She has a LL.M. from the University of London, Queen Mary and Westfield College in Commercial Law with a specialization in international patent law. In addition to U.S. courts, she is also admitted to practice before the courts of England and Wales as a U.K. Solicitor.
Jason Boog
West Coast correspondent for Publishers Weekly
Jason Boog is the west coast correspondent for Publishers Weekly. His writing has appeared in Towards Data Science, NPR Books, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Believer, and Salon. He is the author of Born Reading: Bringing Up Bookworms in a Digital Age, and his second book, Crisis Generation: How Writers Survived the Great Depression is forthcoming from OR Books.
Joel Douek
Cofounder of EccoVR, West Coast creative director and chief scientist for Man Made Music, and board member of the Society of Composers & Lyricists
Ahmed Elgammal
Professor at the Department of Computer Science, Rutgers University, and Director of the The Art & Artificial Intelligence Lab
Dr. Ahmed Elgammal is a professor at the Department of Computer Science and an Executive Council Faculty at the Center for Cognitive Science at Rutgers University. He is the founder and director of the Art and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Rutgers, which focuses on data science in the culture domain. Prof. Elgammal has published over 160 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and books in the fields of computer vision, machine learning and digital humanities. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2006. Dr. Elgammal's research on knowledge discovery in art history and AI-art generation received wide international media attention, including several reports on the Washington Post, New York Times, NBC, CBS News, the Daily Telegraph, Science News, and many others. Dr. Elgammal artworks, generated using AI has been exhibited in several venues in New York City, Frankfurt, Beijing, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Dr. Elgammal received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in computer science from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 2000 and 2002, respectively.
Mark Gray
Attorney-Advisor, Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Copyright Office
Mark works in the Copyright Office’s Office of General Counsel on a variety of legal matters including litigation, rulemaking, and advising other federal agencies on copyright matters. Before joining the Copyright Office, Mark litigated copyright and patent cases at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP in Redwood City, California. Mark earned his JD from Berkeley Law, and he studied copyright issues in Taiwan on a Fulbright Scholarship.
Andres Guadamuz
Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law, University of Sussex and Editor in Chief of the Journal of World Intellectual Property
Dr. Andres Guadamuz is a Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law at the University of Sussex and the Editor in Chief of the Journal of World Intellectual Property. His main research areas are on artificial intelligence and copyright, open licensing, cryptocurrencies, and smart contracts. Andres has published two books, the most recent one of which is "Networks, Complexity and Internet Regulation", and he regularly blogs at Technollama.co.uk. He has acted as an international consultant for the World Intellectual Property Organization, and has done activist work with Creative Commons.
Francis Gurry
Director General, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
Francis Gurry is an Australian lawyer who has served as Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) since October 1, 2008. He holds law degrees from the University of Melbourne, a Ph.D from the University of Cambridge and is an honorary professor of, and holds honorary doctorates from, universities in a wide range of countries. He is the author of a number of publications, one of which has become a standard legal text in the UK and is published by Oxford University Press as Gurry on Breach of Confidence. Francis Gurry speaks English and French.
Melody Drummond Hansen
Partner and Chair, Automated & Connected Vehicles, O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Melody Drummond Hansen is Chair of the Automated & Connected Vehicles Group and an IP and Technology partner in O’Melveny’s Silicon Valley office. With fourteen years of experience in technologies from mobile telecommunications and streaming video to voice recognition and artificial intelligence, she thrives at the frontiers of technology and law. Melody guides established market leaders and emerging companies alike through patent, copyright, trade secret, data security privacy, contract, and unfair competition matters, and helps clients overcome regulatory hurdles and evaluate litigation risk. A thought leader in the developing law for autonomous vehicles, Melody has been quoted by sources including CNN, The Recorder, and Law360. The National Law Journal recognized Melody as a 2019 Technology Law Trailblazer, and the Daily Journal named her as a 2019 Top Artificial Intelligence Lawyer. (Photo: Erin Beach Photography.)
E. Michael Harrington
Composer, Musician, Consultant, and Professor in Music Copyright and Intellectual Property Matters at Berklee Online
Dr. E. Michael Harrington has served as consultant and expert witness in hundreds of music copyright/IP matters involving The We Shall Overcome Foundation, Pharrell Williams, Robin Thicke, Taylor Swift, Led Zeppelin, Katy Perry, Dixie Chicks, Adele, Steven Spielberg, Led Zeppelin, Steve Perry, 50 Cent, Tupac, Lady Gaga, Deadmau5, Danger Mouse, Jib Jab, Adam Levine, Busta Rhymes, Samsung, HBO and others. As expert witness, he is responsible for freeing the iconic civil rights anthem, “We Shall Overcome,” on January 26, 2018: nyti.ms/2Eiibuo On August 30, 2016, his writings and interviews were cited as authorities in the “Brief of Amici Curiae, 212 Songwriters, Composers, Musicians, and Producers in Support of Appellants” in the “Blurred Lines” decision at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit bit.ly/2FApIqI. He co-authored the Brief of Amici Curiae Musicologists in Support of Williams & Thicke, Led Zeppelin and Katy Perry in their appeals to the Ninth Circuit. He has been interviewed by media including New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Bloomberg Law, NPR, Bravo, CNN, BBC, CBC, The Guardian, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, Huffington Post, Fortune, Esquire, Salon and others, and lectured at Beverly Hills Bar, Texas Bar, Boston Bar, Minnesota Bar, Harvard Law School, Harvard Business, the American Bar Association, GWU Law, Cardozo Law, BC Law, UNH Law, Vanderbilt Law, Penn State Law, Brooklyn Law, William Mitchell Law, Arizona State Law, NYU, and more than 300 universities, festivals, conferences and organizations. As Course Author at Berklee Online, Berklee and Coursera, he created the Coursera/Berklee Copyright Law in the Music Business which has attracted students from 116 countries: bit.ly/2zFPLfB. He also created the Berklee Online Graduate Music Business Law course bit.ly/2sifg03, and the Berklee Online Music Business Capstone course bit.ly/2HiHfDv. He was the Jemison Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and has taught at University of Miami, Ohio State, University of Pittsburgh, William Paterson University, Belmont University, Berklee and Berklee Online. He has bicycled twice from Los Angeles to Nashville (2,500 miles) and once from Oregon to Nashville (3,400 miles). bit.ly/UyfCdd
Sarah Howes
Director and Counsel, Government Affairs and Public Policy, SAG-AFTRA
Sarah Howes, Director and Counsel of Government Affairs and Public Policy for SAG-AFTRA, is an advocate for American performers and broadcasters. Her primary focus areas are right of publicity, copyright, internet platform accountability, non-compete agreements, the performance of sex scenes and nude scenes, and workplace sexual harassment. Her duties are split between public policy, contract enforcement, and bargaining. Previous experience includes Director of Legal Affairs & Fellow for the Copyright Alliance in Washington, D.C. and the Legal Programs Manager for the Minnesota Lawyers for the Arts program at Springboard for the Arts.
David Hughes
Chief Technology Officer, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
David is the Chief Technologist for the Recording Industry Association of America. He has 25 years’ experience in digital technology, focusing for over 20 years on online music distribution. He joined the RIAA in 2006 where he represents the recording industry’s technology interests and coordinates technology efforts. His responsibilities include the development and promotion of technical standards, emerging technologies and new formats, as well as outreach to the broader technology community. David has contributed to a number of formats and standards including MPEG, DVD-Audio, SACD, Blu-ray, Ultraviolet and DDEX. He is very active in the promotion of Hi-Resolution and Immersive Music. Prior to the RIAA, David was at Sony Music where, as Vice President of Technology Strategies and Digital Policy, he created and headed the industry’s first Global Digital Business department. His responsibilities included the creation of both the technical and business infrastructures required to enable mass online distribution. He began his career at Sony Corporation in Tokyo, Japan. David holds a Masters of Management Science from the University of Tsukuba in Japan. He is a member of the Audio Engineering Society and the Recording Academy, sits on the Library of Congress’ National Recording Preservation Board, and is inventor of over a dozen U.S. and international patents.
Andrei Iancu
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
In his role as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Andrei Iancu provides leadership and oversight to one of the largest intellectual property offices in the world, with more than 12,000 employees and an annual budget of over $3 billion. He also serves as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Commerce on domestic and international intellectual property policy matters. Prior to joining the USPTO, Mr. Iancu was the Managing Partner at Irell & Manella LLP, where his practice focused on intellectual property litigation. Mr. Iancu appeared in a variety of high-profile matters in front of the USPTO, U.S. district courts, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the U.S. International Trade Commission. He has represented clients across the technical and scientific spectra, including those associated with medical devices, genetic testing, therapeutics, the internet, telephony, TV broadcasting, video game systems, and computer peripherals. Mr. Iancu has also taught patent law at the UCLA School of Law, and has written and spoken publicly on a variety of intellectual property issues. Prior to his legal career, Mr. Iancu was an engineer at Hughes Aircraft Company. Throughout his career, many organizations have recognized Mr. Iancu for his work. Among his legal community accolades, the Daily Journal, California Lawyer magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America, and many others have acknowledged his expertise in commercial litigation and intellectual property law. Mr. Iancu has also been the recipient of the Patent and Trademark Office Society 36th Annual Rossman Award, the Hughes Aircraft Malcolm R. Currie Innovation Award, and the Melville B. Nimmer Copyright Award. Mr. Iancu holds a Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law. He also has a Master of Science in mechanical engineering and a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering, both from UCLA. Mr. Iancu was born in Bucharest, Romania. He has lived in the United States since the age of 12. He and his wife, Dr. Luiza C. Iancu, have two children, Ariella and Robert.
Robert J. Kasunic
Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Registration Policy and Practice, U.S. Copyright Office
Robert J. Kasunic is Associate Register of Copyrights and director of registration policy and practice for the United States Copyright Office. He was appointed to the position effective April 16, 2013. In his position, Kasunic heads the Office of Registration Policy and Practice, which administers the U.S. copyright registration system and advises the Register of Copyrights on questions of registration policy and related regulations and interpretations of the copyright law. He is a recognized copyright expert and is one of four legal advisors to the Register. Kasunic joined the Copyright Office in 2000 as a senior attorney in the Office of General Counsel and was appointed deputy general counsel in 2010. Prior to arriving at the Office, he worked in private practice on a variety of copyright, trademark, and cyberlaw issues. He has been an adjunct professor of law for over twenty-five years and currently is an adjunct professor at American University’s Washington College of Law and was previously on the adjunct faculty of the Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Baltimore School of Law. Kasunic earned his JD from the University of Baltimore School of Law and his BA in political science from Columbia University.
Whitney Levandusky
Attorney-Advisor, Office of Public Information and Education, U.S. Copyright Office
Whitney Levandusky is an Attorney-Advisor for the Office of Public Information and Education, where she advises the Public Information Office, teaches in the Copyright Academy, manages various administrative functions, and provides legal guidance for external facing Office materials. She joined the Copyright Office in 2015. She is also a lecturer at the Johns Hopkins University for the Museums and Society Program. Before joining the Office, Levandusky spent time in various government and non-profit organizations focused on legal administration for creative and education professionals She began her legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable William M. Nickerson of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. She graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, and has a BA from the Johns Hopkins University. Levandusky is a member of the NIH Philharmonia and runs the sand pit for the Kinetic Sculpture Race in Baltimore, Maryland.
Amanda Levendowski
Associate Professor of Law and founding Director of the Intellectual Property and Information Policy (iPIP) Clinic, Georgetown Law
Amanda Levendowski is an Associate Professor of Law and the founding Director of the Intellectual Property and Information Policy (iPIP) Clinic. Her clinical projects and research focus on developing practical approaches to cutting-edge legal problems. Her recent scholarship examines how existing intellectual property law can be used creatively to address challenging social issues that intersect with privacy and technology, such as nonconsensual pornography, biased artificial intelligence, and secret surveillance technology. Prior to joining Georgetown, Levendowski co-taught the Technology Law and Policy Clinic at NYU Law, where she was also a research fellow at the Information Law Institute. She previously practiced with Kirkland & Ellis and Cooley. She received her JD from NYU Law, where she received the Walter J. Derenberg Prize for copyright law, and her BA from NYU, where she developed a concentration in Publishing, Copyright & Technology.
Ros Lynch
Director, Copyright & IP Enforcement, U.K. Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO)
Ros joined the UK Intellectual Property Office in February 2014 as Director of Copyright and IP Enforcement. As Director, Ros leads the work to shape the direction of policy and operational work in copyright and enforcement, ensuring that the UK legal framework is up-to-date and fit for purpose. The role also involves extensive international engagement both within and outside Europe. Ros holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Hull and is the co-author of the report ‘Copyright Works’ with Richard Hooper CBE which recommended measures aimed at streamlining copyright licensing in the digital age.
Alexander Mitchell
Founder and CEO, Boomy
Alex Mitchell is the founder and CEO of Boomy Corporation (boomy.com), a company using artificial intelligence to create "instant music" products. A serial music entrepreneur, Mitchell previously founded Audiokite Research, the leading market research platform for independent music, which was acquired by ReverbNation in 2016. In addition, Mitchell has worked with music companies including Artiphon, Shady Records / Goliath Artists, Verifi Media, and Krantz Media Group in consulting and advisory capacities.
Mary Rasenberger
Executive Director, the Authors Guild and Authors Guild Foundation
Mary Rasenberger is the Executive Director of the Authors Guild and Authors Guild Foundation. Prior to joining the Guild in November 2014, Mary practiced law for over 25 years in roles that spanned private practice, the government and corporate sector, as a recognized expert in copyright and media law. From 2002 to 2008 Mary worked for the U.S. Copyright Office and Library of Congress as senior policy advisor and program director for the National Digital Preservation Program. Immediately prior to coming to the Guild in late 2014, Mary was a partner at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard, and previously Counsel at Skadden Arps, where she counseled and litigated on behalf of publishing, media, entertainment, and internet companies, as well as authors and other creators, in all areas of copyright and related rights. Earlier in her career, Mary worked at other major New York law firms and for a major record company. Mary is a frequent speaker, lecturer and writer on copyright law and authors’ rights. She is on the Council of the American Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Section; an Advisor to the Executive Committee of the Copyright Society of the USA; a founder of Copyright Awareness Week, and an Adviser to the American Law Institute’s Restatement of Law, Copyright. Mary received her J.D. from Harvard Law School, an M.A. in Philosophy from Boston College, and her B.A. from Barnard College.
Meredith Rose
Policy Counsel, Public Knowledge
Meredith Rose is Policy Counsel for Public Knowledge, where she focuses on intellectual property, emerging technologies, and telecommunications policy. Her work focuses on consumer rights, and how non-specialist users interact with the complex legal systems governing technology and culture. She is also a professional lecturer in law at George Washington University, where she advises students on the Federal Communications Law Journal. Meredith received her J.D. and A.B. from the University of Chicago.
Catherine Zaller Rowland
Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Public Information and Education, U.S. Copyright Office
In her position at the United States Copyright Office, Rowland oversees PIE as it provides authoritative information about the copyright law to the public and establishes educational programs. PIE publishes the copyright law and other provisions of Title 17; maintains a robust and accurate public website; creates and distributes a variety of circulars, information sheets, and newsletters, including NewsNet; responds to public inquiries regarding provisions of the law, explains registration policies, procedures, and other copyright-related topics upon request; plans and executes a variety of educational activities; and engages in outreach with various copyright community stakeholders. Rowland joined the Office in 2010 as attorney-advisor for the Office of the General Counsel. From 2012 to 2015, she served as senior counsel for policy and international affairs. In February 2015, Rowland was appointed senior advisor to the United States Register of Copyrights. In that position, she assisted the Register on a full range of policy, legal, and governance issues relating to the United States Copyright Office and its agency responsibilities. Her duties have included a wide range of statutory and regulatory functions, including assisting with policy studies and rulemakings, representing the United States as a member of intergovernmental delegations at trade negotiations, and co-chairing public hearings. Before joining the Office, she spent several years in private law practice in Washington, DC, where she represented a variety of companies in intellectual property matters. Rowland began her legal career as a law clerk for the Hon. N. Carlton Tilley Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Rowland earned her JD from William and Mary Law School, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. She earned her BA in political science from American University.
Ian Slotin
SVP, Intellectual Property, NBCUniversal
Ian leads the Innovation, Technology and Policy team in NBCUniversal’s Intellectual Property practice. His team supports the company’s film, television and animation advanced technology groups on R&D and emerging technology initiatives, including virtual/augmented reality, artificial intelligence and cloud computing projects. He also advises business leaders on the business, legal and policy ramifications of disruptive technologies, and works with the company’s government affairs group to formulate the company’s policy strategy on copyright, right of publicity, and other IP disciplines around the world, including on issues at the intersection of technology and copyright. His team also handles all elements of NBCUniversal’s patent strategy.
[Before joining NBCUniversal, Ian was an associate at the law firms of Irell & Manella, LLP and TroyGould LLP, and served as a law clerk to the Honorable A. Howard Matz in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He is a graduate of the Yale Law School.]
Regan Smith
General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights, U.S. Copyright Office
Regan Smith is the General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights for the United States Copyright Office. She was appointed to the position effective May 27, 2018. In her position as General Counsel, Smith provides legal guidance to the various divisions and programs of the Office, including the national registration and recordation systems, and she is frequently called upon by congressional offices, the U.S. Department of Justice, and other federal agencies for advice and assistance. She also has primary responsibility for the formation and promulgation of regulations and the adoption of legal positions governing policy matters and practices of the Copyright Office. Smith joined the Copyright Office in 2014 as assistant general counsel and advanced in 2015 to associate general counsel. She was named deputy general counsel in 2016. Before joining the Office, Smith spent several years in private practice in Chicago, where she represented a variety of clients in matters concerning copyright, technology, media, and related intellectual property issues. Smith earned her JD from Harvard Law School, where she served on the Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. She earned her BA in philosophy and political science from the University of Michigan.
Maria Strong
Acting Register of Copyrights and Director, U.S. Copyright Office
Maria Strong is the Acting Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office. She was appointed to the position effective January 5, 2020. Strong leads a 400-person workforce and directs the administration of important provisions of the United States Copyright Act, Title 17. Strong also serves as Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Policy and International Affairs, directing a team that focuses on domestic and international policy analyses, legislative support, and trade negotiations. The Office of Policy and International Affairs represents the Copyright Office at meetings of government officials concerned with the international aspects of copyright protection and enforcement, and provides regular support to Congress and its committees. Prior to her April 2019 appointment as director of PIA, Strong served as its deputy director since January 2015. Upon joining the Copyright Office in 2010, she served as senior counsel for policy and international affairs and also served as acting general counsel from April to July 2013. Before joining the Office, Strong spent nineteen years in private practice in Washington, DC, where she represented clients in the media, technology, and entertainment sectors and provided analyses and advocacy on global and domestic issues involving copyright law, enforcement, trade policy, and e-commerce. She began her legal career as a staff attorney at the Federal Communications Commission. Strong earned her JD from George Washington University Law School, her MA in communications management from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communications, and her BA in communication studies from UCLA.
Ulrike Till
Division of Artificial Intelligence Policy, WIPO
Dr. Ulrike Till is the Director in AI Policy at the World Intellectual Property Organization. She is an experienced IP lawyer with significant commercial background and exposure to complex international litigation, commercial negotiations, competition law, settlements and agreements. Dr. Till has a technical background with a PhD in Chemistry, management training (MBA Oxford) with 10+ years’ in legal private practice and 7 years in house experience. She qualified as both an English solicitor and German Rechtsanwalt with a deep understanding of both common law and civil law jurisdictions and wide experience in Europe, the US and APAC. Dr. Till has broad industry experience including pharmaceuticals, medical device and IT technology sectors. Prior roles include Partner at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP, Assistant General Counsel at Mylan Pharmaceuticals and Global Head of IP at Sandoz.
Miriam Vogel
Executive Director, EqualAI
Miriam Vogel is Executive Director of EqualAI, an organization founded by Arianna Huffington, Jimmy Whales (Wikipedia) and Rob LoCascio (LivePerson) to illuminate and reduce implicit bias in Artificial Intelligence. Ms. Vogel is also a Senior Advisor to WestExec Advisors and teaches Technology Law and Policy in the Digital Age at Georgetown University Law Center. Ms. Vogel has worked in all three branches of federal government, including two tours at the White House and most recently served as Associate Deputy Attorney General under former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. Ms. Vogel led the creation and development of the Implicit Bias Training for Federal Law Enforcement while at the Department of Justice. Prior to that, Ms. Vogel served as acting Director of Justice and Regulatory Affairs at the White House, and in that position led the President's Equal Pay Task Force to promote equality in the workplace for women and minorities (as announced in the State of the Union, 2010). She resides in Chevy Chase, MD with her husband and two daughters.
Michele Woods
Director, Copyright Law Division, WIPO
Michele Woods is the Director of the Copyright Law Division at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). She serves as Secretary of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR). She was also part of the Secretariat for the Diplomatic Conferences that adopted the texts of the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances in June 2012 and the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled in 2013. The Copyright Law Division supports WIPO Members in activities related to the ratification and implementation of these and other WIPO copyright treaties. The Division also provides legislative advice on copyright and related rights at the request of WIPO Members.