On October 25 and 26, 2017, Venable's Digital Media team, Tamany Bentz, Kimberly Culp, and Po Yi, presented two roundtable discussions on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) featuring leaders in the industry. Held in Los Angeles and San Francisco, the programs served as open forums for discussions on industry trends, common obstacles, and solutions.
The Digital Media team has been a consistent thought leader in AR and VR. In May 2017, Venable published a special edition of the Digital Media Link newsletter focused on AR and VR. If you are interested in the relevant legal and business issues, we hope you will "link" up with us here.
October 25, San Francisco: The roundtable in San Francisco, designed for in-house counsel, was focused on the legal issues posed by AR/VR, including health, safety, product liability, content development, and IP.
Guest Speakers:
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Kelly Lowenberg | Lead Counsel, Oculus
Kelly is Lead Counsel at Oculus, focusing on hardware and software counseling and deals. Before joining Oculus, Kelly was a senior associate at Morrison & Foerster, where she advised high-tech and life sciences companies on intellectual property and commercial deals. She spent her first two years at the firm representing clients in patent litigation and related matters in state and federal courts. She previously served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, for Judge Paul Grewal and Judge Edward Davila. Kelly received her law degree from Stanford Law School and her B.A. in psychology from Pomona College. -
Patrick McGill | Deputy General Counsel, Meta
Patrick McGill, Esq., is Deputy General Counsel at Meta Company, an emerging augmented reality company working to bring about the next generation of computing. At Meta, Patrick directs companywide legal strategy with respect to a variety of matters, including developing and managing Meta’s intellectual property portfolio, dispute and litigation management, licensing, and strategic contracts and partnerships. -
Howard Wang | Legal Director, NVIDIA
Howard Wang is Legal Director at NVIDIA, where he is integrally involved in the company’s partnerships with content developers. NVIDIA invented the graphics processing unit (GPU) that helped fuel the $100 billion gaming industry, and today is at the forefront of fast-growing technology segments, including AI, cloud computing, self-driving cars, and VR. A long-time gamer, Howard is fascinated by the latest developments in VR and AR for gaming and consumer applications.
October 26, Los Angeles: This second roundtable was focused on the business of AR and VR – from creation to production and brand management. Topics included a discussion of the shift from traditional platforms to AR/VR, community initiatives, and cost and other business considerations.
Guest Speakers:
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Eric Shamlin | Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Secret Location
Eric Shamlin is SVP Managing Director of Secret Location (an Entertainment One company). Secret Location is a recognized pioneer in emerging media, having won the first Emmy for VR and the first Peabody for VR, and launched the first-ever VR/TV hybrid series. Eric has leveraged his extensive experience at the intersection of technology, media, and culture to give keynotes and presentations at the Beijing Global Innovators Conference, Unity VR Summit, CES, SXSW, and the Variety Entertainment Summit, and is a recurring guest lecturer at UCLA and USC. From visual effects to virtual reality, manhunts to the Olympics, and ABC News to Apple, Eric’s work over the last two decades has been honored with a list of Emmys, Lions, and patents. -
Luisa Murray | Executive Producer, Here Be Dragons
Luisa Murray has spent close to 20 years "fixing it in post." Having worked at top studios for Animation, VFX, and Editorial on some of pop culture's greatest brands, Luisa believes that as the world embraces Immersive content, she's just getting started. She joins Dragons as Executive Producer and Head of Post-Production after a long stretch as EP at multidisciplinary studio Psyop, where she oversaw culture-shifting work for such clients as Nike, Coca-Cola, Xbox, and Samsung. Her work has been recognized by the AICP, VES, Ciclope, and a Grand Prix at Cannes. -
Rich Goldberg | Global Head of Partnerships & Business Development, JauntVR
Rich Goldberg is a pioneer in the media industry, skilled in structuring partnerships that build new media and create captivating experiences and stories with brands, rights holders, and distribution platforms. His business expertise includes production, business development, corporate strategy, and branding. Rich helped launch and develop premiere media platforms across the globe, including Jaunt, DIRECTV, AnyClip, Bloomberg Television, NBA TV, and TNT.