U.S. Supreme Court Touches Dallas: To Decide Future of Technology Innovation

The Second Annual DallasBlue Future of Digital Music Forum, to be held Thursday March 24th in Richardson, will address the Supreme Court’s hearing on peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing software. The Forum features nationally-known speakers, food, and entertainment. The speakers span the range of affected Supreme Court parties from a P2P company founder and CEO to a 4 time Grammy award-winning artist.

On March 29th, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments for MGM v. Grokster on whether P2P software developers violate copyright laws if their users commit copyright infringement.

“The Supreme Court hearing is a landmark case,” said DallasBlue Founder and Executive Director Marc Freedman. “Up to this point, Federal Courts have supported the 1984 Betamax doctrine that ruled technology is neutral and provided for consumer fair use. Overturning this 20-year-old precedent in favor of the entertainment industry directly threatens any technology that could be used for copying, whether it’s P2P, video tape recorders, or personal computers.

“Such a change will chill innovation as we know it today. This case directly affects the DFW Metroplex, from file sharing developer RazorPop and its TrustyFiles software to the strong technology base in the region, including telecom, Internet, and software companies. Hardware and software will have to be designed to prevent potential abuse, essentially giving the entertainment industry veto power over technology products.

The Future of Digital Music Forum is the only major digital music industry conference in the Dallas area. The Forum’s theme is “What’s Beyond iTunes?” The Forum will discuss the Supreme Court case, the current state of the digital music industry, and the future of digital music marketing, distribution, and technology.

Artists Colby Logan and The MizzBehavin’ Band will perform at the Forum. Logan plays a fresh blend of folk, country, and rock. The MizzBehavin’ Band bills itself as Rockin’ Blues with Soul.

FORUM OVERVIEW

WHAT: Second Annual DallasBlue Future of Digital Music Forum: What’s Beyond iTunes?
WHEN: Thursday March 24th 5:30-9pm
WHERE: Swan Court in Richardson
COST: $35 if pre-registered 1 day before the event, $45 cash on site. Includes food, beverage, and entertainment.
WEB SITE/REGISTRATION: Get more information and register online or directly here. Attendees may also register by calling (214) 770-3800.
ENTERTAINMENT: Provided by Colby Logan, and the MizzBehavin’ Band.
SPONSOR: Audio and Video provided by Dallas Digital Studios
ORGANIZATIONAL SPONSORS: MIT Enterprise Forum, Lone Star Community, B2B DFW

SPEAKERS

Trey Bowles, Daedalus Consultants
Trey is an entertainment industry consultant on digital distribution technologies and new media strategies. He has been a reality TV producer, music manager, executive producer, tour manager, and artist developer. He is the former VP Strategic Development at Streamcast (Morpheus).

Chris Christian, CC Entertainment, Home Sweet Home Records, and The Studios at Las Colinas
Chris is a 4 time Grammy Award winner. He is a performer, songwriter, and producer responsible for starting the Christian music career of Amy Grant, over 60 albums, and 10 million copies. Chris is CEO of his own music production and publishing companies, as well as The Studios at Las Colinas.

Marc Freedman, RazorPop, P2P Insider’s Blog, DiaRIAA
Marc is a digital entertainment industry entrepreneur, publisher and activist. He is founder and CEO of RazorPop, developer of TrustyFiles, a leading multi-network P2P software client. RazorPop has promoted top artists like Steve Winwood, Heart, and Sananda Maitreya (formerly known as Terence Trent D’Arby).

Michael Greeson, The Diffusion Group
Michael is President and Principal Analyst of The Diffusion Group, the first research consultancy solely dedicated to the digital home and connected consumer.

Robin Pou, PassAlong Networks
Robin is a founder of PassAlong Networks, a legal digital music download service that launched on eBay. Robin is an attorney. As a former VP E-Business Operations at Gaylord Digital, he managed numerous entertainment properties for 26 business units in the music, media, entertainment, sports and hospitality industries.

ABOUT THE DALLASBLUE BUSINESS NETWORK

The DallasBlue Business Network provides networking and information resources for North Texas technology, media, and entertainment CEOs, executives, and professionals. The DallasBlue newsletter has been published since Spring 2002 with regular news, fun, jobs, and events issues. Subscribe at dallasblue-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

DallasMeet offers events every month so members and guests can meet and network in person, and learn and profit from industry experts. DallasMeet functions include Networking Lunches with top speakers, Power Speed Networking, Executive Career Seminars, the DallasBlue Annual Digital Music Forum, and other events. The current schedule is here.

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