Archives: SXSW

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SXSW: Virtually Legal: Insights on AR, VR, and the Law

As demand for augmented reality and virtual reality continues to rapidly expand, inevitable legal issues abound. For example, are companies in the clear for using in a VR short Ryan Gosling’s voice, taken from content from the movie First Man? The panelists of “Virtually Legal: Insights on AR, VR, and the Law”—Mary Innis, managing partner … Continue Reading

SXSW: Privacy by Design and by Directive

The SXSW workshop Privacy by Design and by Directive tested audience members’ knowledge of the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, and the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. Both measures are designed to protect people’s personal data that is collected by businesses. The panel aimed to show attendees how, as business owners, they can … Continue Reading

SXSW: Reaching the Final Frontier: An Exploration of Space Law

A panel of attorneys discussed the ever-evolving galaxy of space law, including disabusing the notion that space law is “unregulated,” during a panel session at South By Southwest. Franceska Schroeder, a principal in Fish Richardson, provided an overview of the laws governing space and space exploration including the Commercial Space Launch Act, or CSLA; the … Continue Reading

SXSW: AI-powered media manipulation and its consequences

Researchers and legal scholars at a SXSW panel warned that machine-learning technologies are exploding the scope of media manipulation, prompting society wide concerns. Experts on a panel titled “AI-Powered Media Manipulation and its Consequences” highlighted various manipulation techniques powered by artificial intelligence, such as “Deepfake,” a term used for a technique that synthesizes images of … Continue Reading

SXSW: Chatbots & AI—business, legal, and ethical concerns

What are the general policies businesses should follow when interacting through virtual assistants and chatbots? A recent panel at South by Southwest in Austin discussed best practices, current laws, and upcoming legislation that will affect how companies do business. “The law is the tortoise and technology is the hare,” said Hannah Taylor, counsel to Frankfurt … Continue Reading

SXSW: When the internet turns violent and abusive

A private attorney, a federal prosecutor, and a legal scholar tackled the challenges of combatting invasive online crimes such as sextortion, doxxing, and cyberstalking during a South by Southwest panel titled “When the Internet Turns Violent and Abusive.” Mona Sedky, a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section, … Continue Reading

SXSW: Taming the Orwellian surveillance state

The harvesting of data via artificial intelligence, biometrics technology, and digital data collection is currently outpacing laws regulating its use according to a recent panel at the South by Southwest Conference & Festivals taking place in Austin this week. Myriad information is created through many means, such as posting to or having profiles on social … Continue Reading

Should you pursue life rights for movies?

When it comes to actors, musicians, and other notable people, much information—from major events in their lives and careers to the personal fodder for tabloids—is made public and can generally be used for fiction films and documentaries. But the intimate, sometimes sordid details of the subject may not always be readily available on your average … Continue Reading

The future of licensing music on social media

Panelists Tracy Gardner, senior vice president of digital strategy and global business development for Warner Music Group, Bobby Rosenbloum, vice-chairman of global entertainment and media practice at Greenberg Traurig, and Ted Suh, vice president of digital music at musical.ly, discussed some of the hot-button issues in social media music licensing at SXSW session this month. … Continue Reading

How Lenz changed the music industry

In 2007, Stefanie Lenz uploaded to YouTube a 29-second clip of her 13-month-old son dancing to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.” Universal Music Corp., the owner of the copyright of the song, filed a takedown notice in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, to YouTube. In response, YouTube removed the post. What followed … Continue Reading

What happens when AI gets creative?

When artificial intelligence creates something; who gets the credit? Is it the programmer, the designer, the artist, or the AI itself? What about when AI destroys? Who or what takes the blame? Panelists Jessica Fjeld, a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic, Sarah Newman, a creative researcher at metaLAB at Harvard, Alexander Reben, … Continue Reading

Morals clauses multiply in Hollywood

Sally Helppie, a film producer and entertainment attorney with Vincent Serafino Geary Waddell Jenevein in Dallas, and Amy E. Mitchell, an Austin-based entertainment attorney focused on music and television, discussed morals clauses during a panel last week at SXSW in Austin. “A morals clause is a contractual condition that gives one contracting party, usually a … Continue Reading

The GDPR and Europe’s new digital economy

Depending on whom you talk to, the footprint you leave online, whether it is the websites you visit or the emails you send, is essentially private and shouldn’t get in the hands of advertisers or anyone else. But to others, that history is merely business—data that can be used by companies to tailor ads to … Continue Reading

Can racial bias and privacy concerns be corrected in face recognition?

Face recognition has its benefits in securing iPhones or, in the case of artificial intelligence company Kairos, its use in helping people with Alzheimer’s identify family members without feeling embarrassed or helping law enforcement identify criminals as founder and CEO Brian Brackeen said of his business’ work at a panel discussion at the Fairmont during … Continue Reading
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