Digital Rights Management: Whose Rights Are Being Managed? Panelists April 30, 2002
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Elizabeth Frazee, AOL Time Warner
Elizabeth Frazee is Vice President, Domestic Public Policy and Congressional Affairs at AOL Time Warner where she focuses on the company's domestic public policy activities and heads congressional affairs. Elizabeth, an attorney who has worked on the Hill and in the entertainment and technology public policy arena for over seventeen years, specializes in issues affecting AOL Inc., Warner Bros. and the Warner Music Group.
Since joining AOL Time Warner in 1999, Elizabeth has helped lead the company's public policy advocacy on Capitol Hill. Before that, Elizabeth was Director of Government Relations for the Walt Disney Company, where she was responsible for intellectual property and Internet/high-tech policy issues for the company. At Disney, Elizabeth was the primary Disney advocate on the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty, including worldwide implementation. In 1998 she served as lead negotiator for the Motion Picture Association in Senate-sponsored negotiations on Online Service Provider liability legislation. As Chair of the Online Privacy Alliance Children's Working Group, Elizabeth worked with Congress to develop reasoned approaches to protecting children's privacy on the Internet which culminated in passage of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Elizabeth also led industry efforts to coordinate America Links Up, a national project dedicated to children's safety on the Internet.
Elizabeth served as Legislative Director and Counsel to Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Press Secretary to former Representative Tom Bliley, (R-VA), and Communications Director for the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. She earned her A.B. in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a J.D. from Catholic University Columbus School of Law.
She currently sits on the boards of the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), the NetCoalition, and the Digital Media Association (DiMA).
Rick Lane, News Corporation
Rick Lane is currently the Vice President of Government Affairs of News Corporation, Ltd. News Corporation is one of the world largest media companies with diversified global operations in the United States, Canada, continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Latin America and the Pacific Basin. Its operations include the production and distribution of motion pictures and television programming; television, satellite and cable broadcasting; the publication of newspapers, magazines and books; the production and distribution of promotional and advertising products and services; the development of digital broadcasting; the development of conditional access and subscriber management systems; and the creation and distribution of popular on-line programming.
As Vice President of Government Affairs, Rick is responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of the Corporation's congressional public policy activities. Before joining News Corporation, Rick was the Director of eCommerce and Internet Technology for the United States Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business organization. While at the Chamber, he helped lead the Chamber's activities relating to e-commerce and Internet policy initiatives.
Prior to working at the Chamber, Rick was employed by the international law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (WG&M) as the Director of Legislative Affairs. While at Weil, he advised and represented clients before Congress on a variety of legislative matters affecting the technology and telecommunications industries. From 1988 to 1993, he worked for U.S. Representative Joseph D. Early (D-MA) as an Associate Staff member to the House Appropriations Committee. While working for Representative Early, his primary responsibilities involved technology, telecommunications, tax, education, and labor and related issues.
Rick's background also includes creating the Modern Educational Technology Center (METEC) and CyberSports, Inc. METEC was an educational technology private-public partnership. CyberSports is a for profit corporation which created the leading college and university sports recruiting software in the nation.
Rick has served in leadership positions on a variety of federal, state, local commissions and committees, including his current participation as a member of the United States Trade Representative's Joint Government-Private Sector Committee on Experts on Electronic Commerce (Joint E-Commerce Committee). He also served on the Federal Trade Commission's Advisory Committee on Online Access and Security. At the local level Rick served as chairman of the Montgomery County Cable & Communications Advisory Committee (CCAC) working to develop the County's cable and communications policy.
Rodney Petersen, University of Maryland
Rodney Petersen is the Director of Policy and Planning in the Office of Information Technology at the University of Maryland. He is also the founder of Project NEThics - a group whose mission is to ensure responsible use of information technology through user education and enforcement of acceptable use guidelines. He is currently on a part-time assignment with EDUCAUSE to support the efforts of the Computer and Network Security Task Force.
He testified on behalf of the national library associations before the United States Copyright Office in the rulemaking process under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. He also provided testimony as part of the recent Section 104 study that concerned digital first sale. He was active in the public policy debates surrounding the introduction and passage of the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act in the Maryland General Assembly and continues to track its developments elsewhere.
His current research focuses on policies and practices concerning copyright ownership at research Universities. He is a frequent speaker on copyright policy issues, including sessions at the annual Stetson Conference on Higher Education Law and Policy and the Cornell University Computer Policy and Law Seminar. He also led an interactive seminar on "Faculty Ownership" for a web-based workshop series offered by the Center for Intellectual Property and Copyright in the Digital Environment that was co-sponsored by the University of Maryland University College and Association of Research Libraries.
He received his law degree from Wake Forest University.
Robert S. Schwartz, McDermott, Will & Emery
Robert S. Schwartz is a partner in the Regulation & Government Affairs Department and a member of the Legislative Group, resident in McDermott, Will & Emery's Washington, D.C. office. He focuses his practice on legislative and telecommunications matters, particularly those related to intellectual property, trade, investment and antitrust.
Mr. Schwartz has extensive experience in forming and maintaining legislative coalitions as advocates of common interests of businesses and trade associations. On behalf of consumer electronics manufacturers, Mr. Schwartz has been active for almost two decades in legislative issues related to home recording and copyright. He has played similar roles in coalitions and advocacy groups devoted to trade, investment and telecommunications issues.
Mr. Schwartz has been a drafter of key elements of major intellectual property and telecommunications legislation -- the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998; the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984, and Section 304 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 -- which mandates competition in the market for Cable "Navigation Devices" -- and in subsequent FCC proceedings. He maintains an active congressional and FCC practice on issues of concern to technology and retail companies. He has been involved in licensing consortia arising out of the Copy Protection Technical Working Group and in similar activity with respect to the Secure Digital Music Initiative.
After serving a federal court clerkship, Mr. Schwartz was for more than four years a trial attorney in the Intellectual Property Section of the U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division. In private practice, he has successfully defended major antitrust grand jury investigations, and has given extensive counseling to overseas and domestic trade associations and companies.
Mr. Schwartz earned his bachelor's degree, cum laude and with distinction, from Cornell University in 1971. He received his law degree, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1974.
Tim Sheehy, IBM Corporation
Tim Sheehy is Director of Electronic Commerce Policy in IBM's Corporate Public Affairs office. In that role, he is responsible for developing IBM's public policy position and priorities in the broad area of e-business. Prior to assuming his present job, Tim was Program Director for Tax and Finance in the Governmental Programs office.
From 1994-1997, Mr. Sheehy worked in the Governmental Programs office of IBM's World Trade Asia Corporation, Tokyo, Japan. While there, he managed issues related to national information infrastructure, technology policy, and public sector procurement.
Gigi B. Sohn, Public Knowledge
Gigi B. Sohn is the President and Co-Founder of Public Knowledge. An internationally known communications policy attorney, Gigi seeks to apply her constituency-building and advocacy expertise to intellectual property policy.
From May 1999 to January 2001, Gigi served as a Project Specialist in the Ford Foundation's Media, Arts and Culture unit. In that capacity, she oversaw grantmaking in the Foundation's media policy and technology portfolio, and advised the Foundation on the future direction of the portfolio. While at Ford, Gigi teamed up with her Public Knowledge Co-Founders, Laurie Racine (President of the Center for the Public Domain) and David Bollier in examining the need for a public interest intellectual property rights organization.
Prior to joining the Ford Foundation, Gigi served as Executive Director of the Media Access Project (MAP), a Washington, DC based public interest telecommunications law firm that represents citizens' rights before the Federal Communications Commission and the courts. In recognition of her work at MAP, President Clinton appointed Gigi to serve as a member of his Advisory Committee on the Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters ("Gore Commission") in October 1997. In that same year, she was selected by the American Lawyer magazine as one of the leading public sector lawyers in the country under the age of 45.
Gigi currently holds two academic appointments. She is an Adjunct Professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, in New York City. Gigi is also a Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne Faculty of Law, Graduate Studies Program in Melbourne, Australia.
Gigi holds a B.S. in Broadcasting and Film, Summa Cum Laude, from the Boston University College of Communication and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.