GIPA’s Mission for Entertainment, Arts & Sports (EAS)
To provide great networking, opportunities for members, education of IP, breaking down silos and bringing people together (communities of: arts, music, film, sports, education, literary, gaming, animation etc.), protecting content and brand, protecting NIL (name, image, likeness) and work to grow membership, partnerships and participation in GIPA throughout Georgia.
GIPA Entertainment, Arts & Sports Virtual IP Roundtable (March 2022)
This virtual event was hosted by the Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance Committee for Entertainment, Arts & Sports. During the roundtable, speakers discussed the importance of IP, how to protect your IP, NFTs, and the evolution of the digital world.
Beginning with the importance of IP, Scott Frank (President/CEO, AT&T IP) discussed how IP is everywhere. When it came to fighting the pandemic, IP was a crucial aspect in the creation of the COVID-19 vaccine. IP can take many different forms and the purpose of the committee and roundtable is to educate citizens about Intellectual Property.
While it is important to understand the significance of IP, it is also relevant to note scenarios in which IP can be compromised by cyber hackers and how we as patrons of the internet can protect ourselves. In a scenario shared by Karla Redding-Andrews of the Otis Redding Foundation, she explained how she got locked out of the foundation’s accounts along with her personal social media account, as she fell victim to a scammer’s ploy. Will Lewis and Peggy Still Johnson discussed the importance of IP and protecting your IP in general giving examples from their experience while agents from Homeland Security discussed in further detail how to protect yourself on the internet. For example, in order to prevent yourself and others from having something similar happen, the agents gave advice which included looking out for “if it’s too good to be true,” meaning if the price of something is unreasonably low in comparison to the market value. Following this, it is key to look at the phone numbers and email addresses used in correspondence with the person you’re doing business with, and to see if it is a fraudulent number or address. Lastly, it is of value to change your passwords frequently, make them more complex, have a password manager, and ensure that antivirus software is up-to-date. Many people can fall victim to breaches of cyber security; therefore, it is helpful to know what to look out for and how to stop it.
The 2nd panel discussed one of the newest forms of IP: NFTs. Elizabeth Strickler (GSU Creative Media Industries Institute) moderated the panel with Nea Simone (Melanated Studios) and Jon Parise (GigLabs) and explained that NFTs are similar to files; they are created and owned by someone, yet within these files are data such as who previously owned it, the artist that created it, when it was created, and where it was created. When buying an NFT on the blockchain with crypto, you get all of this information and can choose to keep, trade, or sell the NFT.
Because of the large role of IP, we must be vigilant in shielding ourselves from cyber threats, while understanding NFTs, and broadening our awareness of the constantly changing digital world around us. Nea spoke of how NFT’s are a big part of her company which sells high end visual art and Jon mentioned how trends are following this creation and bringing everything we are “comfortable with and incorporating it into the digital world.” An example of this would be baseball cards. Instead of having a physical baseball card, you can now create a digital card as an NFT and can be told the value of that card and how it has been traded. Another way that the digital world is transforming is through social media platforms. One statistic that was shared by Professor Strickler emphasized how the younger generation places more emphasis on a person’s social media presence rather than an in-person encounter. This shows how society is becoming more consumed with social media and how the digital communities are gaining momentum.
Overall, the roundtable was an informative discussion that recognized IP’s importance, how to protect your content, examples of IP lawsuits, and the transforming world of digital communities. Within the last few years, digitization has improved dramatically. We moved from VCR tapes to DVDs, and to now having a cell phone where you can stream your favorite movies from anywhere in the world. In this same manner, the world of IP has been continually growing in importance and changing the way we live. Instead of exchanging a few dollar bills, you can now trade your crypto currency online through bitcoin. What else will become of this digital environment? Will physical currency be completely wiped away? It is interesting to consider Intellectual Property and how it changes the way we live.
Writeup © 2022 Charity Myers: Charity Myers is a junior majoring in Business Management at Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business in Atlanta, GA.
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