Renowned Copyright Scholar to Speak at Law College

Ohio Northern University’s Pettit College of Law will present a lecture by William Patry, senior copyright counsel at Google Inc., in the Moot Court Room at the College of Law on Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m.

Part of the Fred L. Carhart Memorial Program in Legal Ethics. Patry’s lecture, “What Will it Take to Fix Copyright?” will focus on the subpar state of copyright law.

As the Internet makes it easy for the average user to illegally use copyrighted material, the debate over copyright laws has become a more central, controversial issue in the legal community. As a former copyright counselor to the U.S. House of Representatives, policy-planning advisor to the Register of Copyrights, full-time law professor and a private practice copyright lawyer, Patry has become a respected scholar on copyright law. His talk will explore the issues with copyright law as it exists today and what actions should be taken to fix the system.

Patry has authored five treatises, including the 6,000-page “Patry on Copyright,” the largest treatise on copyright ever written. He has also written an abundant number of law review articles and a book, “Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars.” Its follow-up, “How to Fix Copyright Law,” will be published next year.

The Fred L. Carhart Memorial Program in Legal Ethics was established at ONU’s College of Law in 2007 through an endowment from the estate of alumnus Dwight L. Carhart in memory of his father, Fred L. Carhart, a lifelong attorney in Marion, Ohio, until his death in 1948. The program brings eminent scholars, jurists and lawyers to Ohio Northern to actively engage in lectures, seminars and panel discussions for the benefit of students, the college and University communities, the public, and the bench and bar. The Carhart Program funds lectures and symposia in alternating years.

Published: Mon, 09/27/2010 - 2:10pm