Public Performance Rights in the Age of Internet Streaming: A Discussion of Spanski Enterprises, Inc. v. Telewizja Polska, S.A.

This event is cosponsored by the D.C. Bar Intellectual Property Law Community and the AUWCL Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property.

What is the reach of U.S. copyright law when it comes to online video streaming services?  Addressing an issue of first impression in the courts of appeal, Spanski Enterprises, Inc. v. Telewizja Polska, S.A.; concerns whether a copyright owner’s exclusive right to control the public performance of an audiovisual work in the U.S. is infringed when the work is digitally streamed from foreign servers to viewers in the United States. The U.S. government filed an amicus brief arguing thatSpanski implicates both the interests of the Copyright Office in administering federal copyright law, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice’s ability to prosecute large-scale criminal piracy of copyrighted works by foreign entities that stream copyrighted works over the Internet to U.S. viewers. Come hear more about these issues, which are currently being considered in Spanski by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Featuring: Megan Barbero, the U.S. Department of Justice attorney who argued on behalf of the government before the D.C. Circuit, and Regan Smith, Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Copyright Office. Ms. Barbero and Ms. Smith will discuss the facts and issues in Spanski and its potential impact on U.S. copyright law. In addition, Ms. Smith will discuss how the Copyright Office typically becomes involved in copyright litigation between private parties. They will also take questions from the audience.

Registration is free but required: tiny.cc/publicperformance