Facebook pixel Pepperdine Law Review Hosts 2021 Symposium on Unresolved Issues in Music Copyright Law - Surf Report | Pepperdine Caruso School of Law Skip to main content
Pepperdine | Caruso School of Law

Pepperdine Law Review Hosts 2021 Symposium on Unresolved Issues in Music Copyright Law

On Friday, February 26th, the Pepperdine Law Review hosted its annual and first virtual symposium: Hindsight is 2020: A Look at Unresolved Issues in Music Copyright Law. The event highlighted four current and highly debated music copyright issues, specifically, copyright infringement standards, the 2018 Music Modernization Act (MMA), music rights and race, and copyright protection in China.

The symposium began with a memorable and entertaining keynote address by Professor Peter Menell, the celebrated intellectual property policy expert and professor of law at UC Berkeley Law. In the afternoon, the symposium featured an enlightening presentation by Professor Lateef Mtima, the seminal intellectual property social justice scholar and a professor of law at Howard University School of Law.

The symposium also included four hour-long panels throughout the day, with each panel highlighting a specific unresolved copyright issue. Among the esteemed group of panelists were Ross Golan, a multi-platinum songwriter, playwright, and songwriter advocate; the Honorable Sandra Segal Ikuta of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; and Judith Finell, a renowned forensic musicologist and expert witness in notable music copyright infringement cases, including the "Blurred Lines" case (Williams v. Gaye, 9th Cir. 2018).

Over 300 attendees registered for the symposium and many participated during the event. After each panel, attendees had an opportunity to ask the panelists questions, and the panelists generously spent time after the panels answering audience questions.

The 2021 Pepperdine Law Review Symposium was planned by Symposium Editor, Mariana Orbay. Mariana is a third-year student who will be practicing at Sidley Austin LLP after graduation. She hopes to assist independent innovators and creatives develop their ideas and to advocate for intellectual property policy change.

Additional information on the Pepperdine Law Review may be found here.