WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.330 --> 00:00:01.530 My name is Michael Allan, 2 00:00:01.530 --> 00:00:04.113 I'm a 1998 graduate of the law school. 3 00:00:05.240 --> 00:00:08.410 I work at Steptoe & Johnson in Washington D.C. 4 00:00:08.410 --> 00:00:10.710 and I am chair of the copyright practice 5 00:00:10.710 --> 00:00:13.580 and co-chair of the trademark practice. 6 00:00:13.580 --> 00:00:16.150 So, intellectual property is a property right 7 00:00:17.020 --> 00:00:19.210 much like real property. 8 00:00:19.210 --> 00:00:22.020 If you own a house or a car or a physical thing, 9 00:00:22.020 --> 00:00:24.320 this is sort of intangible. 10 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:26.570 It's an intangible piece of property and asset. 11 00:00:26.570 --> 00:00:29.670 It could be an idea, it could be an invention, 12 00:00:29.670 --> 00:00:32.070 it could be some sort of source designation 13 00:00:32.070 --> 00:00:33.343 you have for branding. 14 00:00:34.250 --> 00:00:36.770 It could be some particular piece of know how 15 00:00:36.770 --> 00:00:38.500 that would constitute a trade secret, 16 00:00:38.500 --> 00:00:42.790 so it's anything that doesn't have a physical.. 17 00:00:42.790 --> 00:00:46.020 Necessarily, have a physical attribute to it, 18 00:00:46.020 --> 00:00:49.050 but is nonetheless very valuable and protectable. 19 00:00:49.050 --> 00:00:53.310 And, you know, some companies in the world, 20 00:00:53.310 --> 00:00:55.490 their most valuable assets are entrepreneurial properties, 21 00:00:55.490 --> 00:00:57.410 their patents, their trademarks, their copyrights, 22 00:00:57.410 --> 00:01:00.196 their trade secrets, those sorts of things. 23 00:01:00.196 --> 00:01:03.200 I represent a lot of companies in the luxury brand space 24 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:05.540 that have very valuable trademarks 25 00:01:05.540 --> 00:01:09.870 and we go after folks that infringe those trademarks. 26 00:01:09.870 --> 00:01:12.750 I represent several companies, 27 00:01:12.750 --> 00:01:14.240 particularly in the music space, 28 00:01:14.240 --> 00:01:18.110 that their entire value of their company 29 00:01:18.110 --> 00:01:20.760 is based on the copyrights they own in their songs. 30 00:01:20.760 --> 00:01:22.033 So, when people infringe those songs, 31 00:01:22.033 --> 00:01:24.690 we go after those folks. 32 00:01:24.690 --> 00:01:28.170 I'm also involved on the trade secret side 33 00:01:28.170 --> 00:01:29.990 in defending a lot of companies 34 00:01:29.990 --> 00:01:32.520 that are accused of trade secret theft, 35 00:01:32.520 --> 00:01:37.260 and most times these are international cases. 36 00:01:37.260 --> 00:01:39.310 Competitor to competitor type cases, 37 00:01:39.310 --> 00:01:42.780 which can wind up in very substantial litigations. 38 00:01:42.780 --> 00:01:45.210 What I do and what kind of decisions I make? 39 00:01:45.210 --> 00:01:46.380 It's every one of them.. 40 00:01:46.380 --> 00:01:50.410 It's from staffing the case to what are the complaints, 41 00:01:50.410 --> 00:01:52.260 what are the accounts we put in the complaint, 42 00:01:52.260 --> 00:01:54.550 or for affirmative defenses we put in the answer.. 43 00:01:54.550 --> 00:01:55.750 What's the discovery plan, 44 00:01:55.750 --> 00:01:57.583 who are the witnesses we take or defend, 45 00:01:58.842 --> 00:02:01.440 what experts do we need and who are they, 46 00:02:01.440 --> 00:02:03.370 what's the trial strategy plan, 47 00:02:03.370 --> 00:02:07.070 who do we have for the trial team, 48 00:02:07.070 --> 00:02:08.420 what's the theme of the case.. 49 00:02:08.420 --> 00:02:10.190 The theme is really hugely important 50 00:02:10.190 --> 00:02:12.400 from kind of the get go, 51 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:14.770 and, you know, if you actually go to trial, 52 00:02:14.770 --> 00:02:17.530 what do you argue to the juries, assuming there's a jury? 53 00:02:17.530 --> 00:02:20.040 What works, what's not gonna work? 54 00:02:20.040 --> 00:02:23.360 A lot of times these are very technically complicated cases 55 00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:26.220 and you've got to really explain this to, you know, 56 00:02:26.220 --> 00:02:27.640 depending on your jurisdiction, 57 00:02:27.640 --> 00:02:29.650 eight, ten, twelve laypeople 58 00:02:29.650 --> 00:02:31.560 who don't understand a lot of this stuff, 59 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:35.150 and so, you know, kind of the whole package soup to nuts 60 00:02:35.150 --> 00:02:38.790 is what I have to look at when I take a case in 61 00:02:38.790 --> 00:02:42.200 and kind of prepare the case to give it the best shot 62 00:02:42.200 --> 00:02:43.413 we have for winning.