Key Intellectual Property Considerations for Speaker Agreements at Conferences (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Hi everyone, it's Evan Brown, your favorite technology and intellectual property attorney. So let's say you're going to host a conference, it could even be an online conference, and you want to invite people to give presentations. Well you probably want to enter into a contract with those presenters, and there are some obvious things that ought to be in that contract, such as the obligation to actually show up the topic of the presentation, how long it's going to last, and if there's going to be any payment. But there are some important intellectual property issues that ought to be addressed in that agreement, and let's talk about those issues. The first issue has to do with the marketing and promotion of the event, and this involves primarily the right of publicity. You're likely going to want to generate materials, social media posts, what have you, that have the name and the image of the presenter. You'll want to make sure that you get a release from the presenter that authorizes you to use his or her name and image in connection with the marketing and promotion of the event. The second issue that you'll want to deal with has to do with handout materials or the accompanying documentation. You'll want to make sure that you have the appropriate copyright license in the materials so that you can copy and distribute those materials to the attendees. You also will want to get assurances from the presenter that those materials won't infringe any third-party intellectual property rights. And finally, you may want to have the agreement say that the presenter will indemnify you, pay the costs of the defense, if you get sued by a third party because the handout materials infringe that third party's intellectual property rights. And a third intellectual property issue that you'll want to think about in connection with a speaker's agreement has to do with any content that you actually generate at the event. Let's say, for example, you film the presentation and you want to make the video available to the world so that they can see what the event was like. Well, we're back to the discussion of the right of publicity. Obviously, the presenter's name and image is going to be in that content, so you'll want to make sure that you have a release for that. You also will want to make sure that you, as the host of the event, own the copyright in the actual presentation itself. The speaker will likely want to have a carve-out, so it's clear that you're not getting ownership of any of the background content that he or she talks about in the presentation, but you'll want to make sure that you have the appropriate rights to create the video and distribute it to the world. I hope you have enjoyed this overview of some important intellectual property issues that you ought to think about in a speaker's agreement. If you need any help with a speaker's agreement, please feel free to drop me a line or give me a call. Why don't you go over and read my blog at evan.law. If you're watching this video on YouTube, be sure to subscribe to this channel. I would love that. If you're watching it on LinkedIn or YouTube, be sure to like it, leave a comment, and let me know that you enjoyed it. I'll look forward to talking with you again next time with more information about law and technology. Thank you. Thank you.