Event Detail

Ted Claypoole Presents on Business Risks & Rewards in Online Virtual Worlds - September 17

Ted Claypoole will present a "Legal Quickie" on "Business Risks and Rewards in Online Virtual Worlds" during the Association of Corporate Counsel's New to In-house Committee's monthly teleconference Wednesday, September 17 at 3:00 PM EST.

Susanna McDonald, General Counsel, Claimant Management Systems will moderate the call. According to Claypoole, "Millions of people participate in online virtual worlds, and millions of dollars are spent in them. The three-dimensional immersive computing that characterizes these worlds will probably be the future of interactivity online for nearly all businesses. Companies are beginning to participate in these online communities, but the risks and rewards are not always clear."

This presentation will define and explain the significant online virtual worlds and will discuss who is participating in them. The speakers will discuss the various ways that corporations are playing and profiting from these social networks, and the new economies created by new worlds. Finally, the group will analyze and discuss the legal risks and business risks that your company may face if it chooses to play or profit in the virtual space.

In particular, the presentation will focus on legal risks highlighted by the Second Life Banking Crisis of 2007-2008, and on case studies of corporate commitments to virtual worlds.

For more information on virtual worlds, including Second Life, visit the links below:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_world 
• http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9018238&pageNumber=4
• http://virtuallyblind.com/2007/05/04/trademark-infringement-vws/ 
• http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1302

Ted is the host of WombleTech, a quarterly lunch event featuring presentations on cutting-edge technology issues.