Generative AI: Infringement or Innovation?

Friday, 31 May 2024 at 09:00 AM

7th Annual Innovation and Technology Law Conference

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. (virtual conference)

Cost: Free

Sponsored by the Seattle University School of Law Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics (TILE) Program and Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE); Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law (SJTEIL); and Miller Nash LLP

About the Innovation and Technology Law Conference

The Innovation and Technology Law Conference kicks off Seattle U Law's innovative Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE — pronounced CITY). This free, virtual conference will feature a panel of plaintiffs' lawyers for several of the pending copyright infringement cases against OpenAI, as well as other timely technology-related topics. 

Register on Zoom

Schedule for Friday, May 31, 2024 (virtual)
Time (all times PDT) Event Event details
9:00 a.m.PDT Welcome Dean Anthony E. Varona, Seattle University School of Law
9:10-9:40 a.m. Overview of Generative AI Technology

LeighAnne Thompson, Seattle University School of Law, Associate Director, Law Library Digital Innovation, Associate Director, TILE

9:40-10:50 a.m. Reimagining Copyright in the Generative AI Era

Moderator: Margaret Chon, Donald and Lynda Horowitz Endowed Chair for the Pursuit of Justice, Co-Director, TILE, Seattle University School of Law

Panelists:

  • Juan Carlos Reyes
    • Associate Professor of Creative Writing, Seattle University 
  • Edward Lee
    • Professor of Law, Director of the Program in Intellectual Property Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law
  • Matthew Sag
    • Professor of Law in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Science, Emory University Law School
10:50-11:00 a.m. Break
11:00-12:30 p.m. The Case for Infringement

Moderator: Steven W. Bender, Associate Dean for Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Co-Director, TILE, and Professor, Seattle University School of Law

Panelists:

  • Steve Cohen, Pollock Cohen LLP (counsel for voice actor class action)

  • Ian Crosby, Susman Godfrey L.L.P. (counsel for New York Times v. OpenAI and Microsoft)
  • Joseph R. Saveri (counsel for Sarah Silverman et al. v. OpenAI and Meta)

The Case for Innovation

Panelists: 

  • Tim O'Reilly, Founder and CEO, O'Reilly Media Inc.; Visiting Professor, University College London Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
12:30-12:40 p.m. Break
12:40-1:40 p.m.

Keynote Speaker

Digital Resurrection: Immortality or Imposter?

Victoria Haneman, Associate Dean of Research and Innovation and Frank J. Kellegher Professor of Trusts & Estates, Creighton University School of Law

Commentators:

  • Yonathan Arbel, Associate Professor of Law and Director of Artificial Intelligence Initiative, University of Alabama School of Law

  • Robert Cumbow, Miller Nash LLP and Adjunct Professor, Seattle University School of Law

1:40-1:45 p.m.

Break
1:45-3:05 p.m. Generative AI and Artists

Moderator: Steve Tapia, Distinguished Practitioner in Residence, Seattle University School of Law

Panelists:

  • Moorisha Bey-Taylor (award winning entertainment attorney representing creatives)
  • Sarah Duran, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
  • Heather Johnson, Systems Director, SubPop Records
3:00-3:15 p.m.  Break
3:15-4:00 p.m. Generative AI Tort Liability  Mark Chinen, Professor, Seattle University School of Law (author of The International Governance of Artificial Intelligence, and Law and Autonomous Machines: The Co-Evolution of Artificial Intelligence and Technology)
5:00-6:30 p.m. Post-Conference Live Reception at Miller Nash LLP

605 5th Ave. S, Suite 900 Seattle WA 98104 (one block south of the International District streetcar line)

[Reception RSVP will be supplied to conference registrants]

View the schedule (PDF):

This year’s conference builds on past annual themes of 2018’s Blockchain and FinTech: Innovation and Regulation (sponsored by Fenwick & West LLP); 2019’s RegTech: The Transformation of Regulation & Compliance (sponsored by Perkins Coie LLP); 2020’s Data Justice: Legal and Policy Issues in Data Collection, Usage, and Ownership (sponsored by Perkins Coie LLP); 2021’s Innovating for the Social Good (sponsored by Perkins Coie LLP); 2022’s Deep Innovation Dives; and the 2023 conference, Enabling Innovation in Law and Society (sponsored by Perkins Coie LLP).

More about the Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship

Seattle is the beating heart of a vibrant entrepreneurial community that pulses with creativity and ingenuity. Learn how to contribute legal expertise to these cutting-edge innovators at Seattle University School of Law’s Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE — pronounced CITY) where law students can:

  • Gain an insider’s view into Seattle’s startup culture by connecting with lawyers and executives at the region’s most innovative companies.
  • Learn from faculty with deep expertise in technology, real estate, artificial intelligence, intellectual property, and more.
  • Confront current policy issues while immersing yourself in both the theory and the practice of counseling business innovators and innovation.
  • Participate in a unique structure that allows students to earn up to seven transferable law school credits in just five weeks of on-site instruction.

Students are encouraged to take the Immersion Course: Lawyering for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Students can also choose from three additional courses on related topics, including artificial intelligence, the role of in-house counsel, and advising start-ups.