Appointed Board Member of the Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance (GIPA)

GIPA improves society with a global model for the most efficient and effective IP ecosystem, facilitating the creation, protection & enablement of ideas that serve the common good. 
Part of my role: 
- Secured four Governor Proclamations, including Georgia IP Month (Oct. 2018) 
- Co-Founder/Co-Organizer: GIPA/GSU Corporate IP Institute, 2007-present 

Article: Protecting Ownership Interests and Intellectual Property Rights on a Shoestring Budget

In December, I'll submit this article to a law journal:

Abstract

This article highlights a team project for Entrepreneurship students, focusing on the most common mistakes that people make in the formation of a business, without legal counsel.  In the assignment, four hypothetical business partners are full-time students, with only $500 for initial legal costs.  Students are instructed to allocate these funds; assess personal and company risk levels; draft a Shareholder agreement entailing different roles and capital contributions; and write a Work for Hire agreement with a clause conferring intellectual property ownership. 

Speaking on Social Media Use for Bermuda Delegate Association on October 11

Looking forward!

Warren Buffett said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” People worldwide affirm that statement daily with ill-advised social media posts in their professional and personal lives.  
This article describes how social media promotes “instantaneous dissemination of thought, oftentimes without filter or reflection,” in “a participatory forum of real time information clutter.” My interactive projects are designed for students to recognize good from bad digital behavior and become 24/7 brand ambassadors for wherever they work, as well as for themselves.
Click to continue reading

Firing Employees for Their Social Media Posts: Ethical and Legal Issues: A Business Case

Firing Employees for Their Social Media Posts: Ethical and Legal Issues 

Forthcoming/Accepted for publication in SAGE Business Cases

Abstract - Case & Teaching Notes

This business case provides a hypothetical set of facts, in which an employee uses social media to complain about an employer.  The employee made the complaints on their own time and using personal equipment.  The student is placed in the role of a restaurant manager, who must navigate the ethical and legal boundaries of workplace speech and company Social Media Policies, by interacting with social media and human resources professionals, and the very employee posting questionable content on social media.  This case also has students explore perspectives on workplace privacy issues, and whether employees are responsible for their actions, while off company time and on personal equipment.

Presenting Law Essentials for Entrepreneurs, May & July 2018

Looking forward to this session, which includes a practical discussion of Intellectual Property and...

Entrepreneurs: Common Law Mistakes

    - Incorporating before a trademark search

    - Entity selection

    - Attorney-Client Privilege

◦      Joint Representation agreement – ill-advised

    - Shareholders Agreement

◦      Protecting self-interest (Group Exercise)

    - Work for Hire Agreements

◦      Transfer of IP

Using #SocialMedia to Teach Students to Become Ethical Digital Citizens in (and Out) of the Workplace

Published in The Saporta Report:

Warren Buffett said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” People worldwide affirm that statement daily with ill-advised social media posts in their professional and personal lives.

In 2007, the infancy of social media, I opened a Facebook account. With a bit of trepidation, I asked my students to add me as a “friend,” find inappropriate online content written by griping employees, post it to my wall and discuss it in class. Since then, I created several projects to educate students on appropriate uses of social media. Recently, I published these activities in a journal article, titled “Creating Social Media Law Projects to Sensitize Business Students to Appropriate Digital Conduct.”

The article describes how social media promotes “instantaneous dissemination of thought, oftentimes without filter or reflection,” in “a participatory forum of real time information clutter.” My interactive projects are designed for students to recognize good from bad digital behavior and become 24/7 brand ambassadors for wherever they work, as well as for themselves.

Continue reading in The Saporta Report

Panelist: IP Issues with Creative Assets on the Blockchain

Had a great time this week, speaking about "Smart Contracts" and IP issues in using cryptocurrencies (like Bitcoin), for artists to sell their work in a secure manner - and without a middleman controlling royalties (e.g., not using Spotify, and selling songs directly to consumers).  So instead of a Business-to-Business model, it is a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) model.

Thank you to GSU Creative Media Industries Institute and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute for putting this panel together.

Fun and informative for me, and hopefully for all.

Click here for Video Recap of Panel (2:59) and 
Links to my Technology Law for Entrepreneurs class.