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Fun And Legal Games At Google
by Heather Greenfield
Google has traded lawyers ahead of a legal battle over copyright issues. A team from Mayer Brown will replace Phil Beck of Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott on the case brought by Viacom against the search-engine company.
Google said the change was due to potential scheduling conflicts later in the case. "We decided to make this change because it appeared that scheduling conflicts might pose problems as we move into the more active stages of discovery," Google litigation counsel Catherine Lacavera said. "We are very pleased to have Mayer Brown join the team. Mayer Brown has a substantial presence and history practicing law in New York, where the lawsuits are pending, as well as significant litigation and class-action expertise."
Viacom filed the suit almost a year ago, claiming that Google's video-sharing site YouTube engaged in intentional copyright infringement by allowing people to post clips of Viacom programming. The Viacom suit is part of a broader one after other content providers also sued Google. The cases will be handled in tandem.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt, meanwhile, spoke at a NASA 50th anniversary celebration ahead of another event Thursday to celebrate the new Google lobbying office in Washington. Schmidt demonstrated Google maps featuring satellite images from NASA. He said the collaboration is making commonplace the things that are amazing.
"I've always wanted to climb Mount Everest," Schmidt said. "If you look at me, this is not going to happen, so I did it on Google Earth." He said the Internet-based mapping device really gave him a sense of what it would be like to be on the highest peak on earth.
The Google office party garnered a quorum of FCC commissioners. Chairman Kevin Martin and Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein, Michael Copps, Robert McDowell and Deborah Taylor Tate attended the event, along with other VIPs like former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich.
Several other lawmakers made the trip from Capitol Hill to the new office on New York Avenue. They included: Reps. Chris Cannon, R-Utah; Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.; Charles Gonzalez, D-Texas; Darrell Issa, R-Calif; Patrick McHenry, R-N.C.; and James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.
People News In Broadcast And Cable
The National Association of Broadcasters is adding to its government relations and legal teams. NAB announced that Myra Dandridge will be a new director of government relations and Erin Dozier will be associate general counsel for the legal and regulatory affairs department.
Dandridge will be director of public relations for NAB's digital television transition team and will be a liason to Capitol Hill on DTV issues and other issues impacting broadcasters.
She was most recently communications director for the Congressional Black Caucus. Before that, she was the Florida state press secretary for the Kerry-Edwards 2004 presidential campaign and was a Clinton-Gore presidential appointee at the Labor Department.
Dozier was most recently at the Washington law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, where she was one of three senior attorneys to launch a communications regulatory practice. Before that, Dozier spent four years at the FCC, primarily in the Media Bureau.
She also is an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of America.
The American Cable Association, meanwhile, has a new vice chair of its board: Steve Friedman, chief operating officer of Wave Broadband of Kirkland, Wash.
Friedman is one of ACA's most veteran board members, having served several times since the organization's founding in 1993. Friedman currently serves as ACA's treasurer and as a member of ACA's executive committee.
"Steve brings the best of both worlds to ACA with his long-serving commitment to representing independent cable's policy concerns, while also being on the cutting edge of today's technology and operations," said Patrick Knorr, ACA's chairman of the board and the chief operating officer of Sunflower Broadband/The World Co. of Lawrence, Kan.
"I'm honored by this appointment and proud to be an independent cable operator," said Friedman. "Independent cable does not receive the recognition it should by our industry or by Washington, and I'm committed to changing that for our members and their customers."
ITAA Board Announces Chairman
Grant Thornton, a managing partner at Hank Steninger, will be the new chairman for the Information Technology Association of America.
The ITAA board also announced two new members for 2008 and 2009: Gordon Coburn, chief financial and operating officer of Cognizant Technology Solutions; and Steve Shane, managing director of Accenture's North America government operating unit.
"Hank is a proven leader, we're eager to see him extend his outstanding record in government IT to the industry at large," ITAA President and CEO Phil Bond said. "Gordon and Steve are industry veterans who have demonstrated tremendous vision and leadership. We look forward to their contributions and guidance."
"I look forward to building on ITAA's tradition of leadership in both the commercial and public sectors of the industry," Steininger said. "With association consolidation on the horizon, IT is learning to speak louder in capitols and markets across the globe. What better time is there to be a part of that than in an election year?"
Since becoming managing partner for the global public sector in 2001, Steininger has been responsible for the planning, coordination and execution of Grant Thornton International's government business worldwide. He has been with the company since 1994 and also has served as chief operating officer.
Movie Industry Officials Unpack At New Office
The Motion Picture Association of America has a new set in Los Angeles. MPAA moved its Los Angeles operation to office space in the Sherman Oaks Galleria over the weekend.
The move will give the Classification and Rating Administration two much-needed, state-of-the-art screening rooms. There will also be additional screening space for events and private screenings. The Anti-Piracy Demonstration Center will be better equipped to accommodate staff and house needed equipment.
The new office will also be greener -- environmentally friendly modular carpeting will be used throughout the building, and motion-sensor lights will be used to help conserve energy.
"As the MPAA has evolved into an even more global operation and adopted new approaches to fighting piracy which require new technological capability, we have sought office space that meets different needs," Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman said. "The Sherman Oaks space presents our employees a larger, freer working environment and new screening rooms for the Classification and Rating Administration."
Quote Of The Week
"We are measuring things that are not important, and what's important we're not measuring."
-- Vivek Wadhwa, a retired technology executive now doing research at Duke University, speaking on the challenges of producing students who perform better in math and science.
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