Robert Rehm Participates in a Panel Discussion Entitled “Avenue of the Arts: Connecting Creativity, Economics, and the Law"

RALEIGH, N.C. – Robert Rehm, a partner in Smith Anderson’s Intellectual Property practice group, participated in a panel discussion among intellectual property law practitioners and academicians during a symposium sponsored by the Wake Forest Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law. The symposium, entitled "Avenue of the Arts: Connecting Creativity, Economics, and the Law," was held on Friday, March 23, 2012 at the Wake Forest University School of Law in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The panel's discussion topic, "Intellectual Property and the Creative Arts," primarily focused on the role of copyright law in protecting artists’ and artisans’ rights in the creative and expressive elements of their works of the presentation authorship. It also identified various pitfalls which can jeopardize and, in some cases, completely undermine such protection. Rehm also discussed certain statistics showing a strong correlation between copyright protection and economic development. Additionally, he elaborated upon ways in which attorneys can help to stimulate such development by providing pro bono legal services to authors of creative and expressive works.

Mr. Rehm regularly represents a variety of clients in connection with technology commercialization matters with a particular emphasis on matters involving software, hardware, and other assets relating to information technology. His practice focuses on technology licensing and commercialization and the acquisition as well as licensing and protection of patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other intellectual property rights. Prior to practicing law, Mr. Rehm was an electrical engineer for 16 years.