Letter from the Chair

To the Architects of Argument and Accord,

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving week, filled with all the food you never wanted to eat in one sitting (and which you took to regretting the next day, just like last year).  I myself was lucky enough to attend a 3 Tofurkeys and a Turkey celebration, and I intend to wear elastic pants, whenever possible through December.

I want to extend a tremendous thanks to the organizers of this month’s IP Entertainment and Media Conference (Elizabeth Rest, Andy Stroud, Dave Branfman, and Julie Maresca), as well as the amazing presenters.  It was a truly entertaining conference, during which we were fortunate to see illustrious experts and practitioners respectfully disagree on a number of pressing topics.  We were also lucky to gain helpful insights into issues such as what to consider and cover when bringing a music infringement claim, key deal terms for the licensing of copyrighted works for AI training, negotiating contract terms on both sides when turning a comic book or graphic novel into a movie, and different types of and reasons for co-promotions, sponsorships, and merchandising deals in film.  We also learned that Shelley Blanton-Stroud (writer of historical novels and the keeper of AI Interest Group Chair, Section Advisor, and panel moderator Andy Stroud) has a new book out. If you missed the conference, don’t fret—it will soon be available on our catalog, and summaries of the panels from our Student Reporters are imminent.

Meanwhile, do keep our online catalog on your radars as we rapidly approach the next CLE deadline, and please reach out if you have an idea for an IP-ethics article for New Matter.  And don’t forget to take advantage of Early Bird Registration for our March 2026 Institute—a Casino Night is on the menu!

Gobble Gobble,
Leaf