Professor Comizio was recently interviewed by Yahoo! Finance about Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the recent vote by stockholders to reinstate his record $55 billion dollar compensation package. The package had been struck down in January by Delaware Chancery Court, which held that Tesla's directors had breached their fiduciary duty when they awarded Musk the largest compensation opportunity ever granted to a public company executive without adequate disclosure to Tesla shareholders about the deficiencies in the corporate process by which the compensation package was approved .
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PIJIP hosted the 10th annual Student and Alumni Mixer at Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center.  The mixer has become a signature event, drawing alumni from around the country and allowing students to network and build mentorships.   
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On Tuesday, May 14, 2024, the Intellectual Property (IP) Law Community of the District of Columbia (DC) Bar will honor Professor Victoria Phillips for her significant contributions to the field of intellectual property. Professor Phillips will receive the esteemed Champion of IP Award. 
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The article published by Tulane Law Review argues that in two recent cases, Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc. (“Google v. Oracle”) and Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Goldsmith (“Warhol”), the Supreme Court ratified its 1994 holding that transformative use is the appropriate analytical framework for applying copyright law’s fair use provision. The Court’s decisions, which represent one-third of the Court’s total merits decisions on fair use, are historic. The principal contribution this Article makes is to demonstrate to courts and parties in future fair use disputes how the holdings in these cases readily synthesize to provide useful guidance that will be relevant, for example, in disputes about generative artificial intelligence.
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On April 22nd, Dean Roger Fairfax and Sheriff Saadallah, Executive Director of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Academy, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to continue the close relationship between American University Washington College of Law's (AUWCL) Program on Information Justice & Intellectual Property (PIJIP) and WIPO.
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Our department has invited the coordinators of the Africa Group, Asia Pacific Group, GRULAC, and their members to an off-the-record technical assistance workshop for delegations and capital officials in preparation for the WIPO Secretary Briefing for the Committee on IP and Development.
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On Thursday, April 4th, the Business Law Program hosted a discussion on standards proposed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) regarding corporate governance and risk management of financial institutions under the FDIC’s authority. The asserted purpose of the proposal is to update bank corporate governance standards to address regulatory concerns raised by the 2008 financial crisis and recent bank failures in 2023. The discussion featured perspectives from experts in corporate law and fiduciary duties, administrative law, and financial services. The panel was moderated by Professor Jerry Comizio, Associate Director of the Business Law Program and included WCL alum Jacob Sciandra, a Partner in the Financial Services Regulatory Practice at PwC; Kenneth Anderson, Professor of Business Law at WCL; and Daniel Cohen, Adjunct Professor of Administrative Law at WCL.
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On Friday, April 5th, the Business Law Program co-sponsored the American University Business Law Review (BLR) and Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief (SDLP) Symposium, Navigating Equity and Justice within Climate Finance, Energy Regulation, and ESG. The symposium centered on a conversation about the role of business and climate finance mechanisms in the discussions surrounding climate change mitigation, renewable energy initiatives, and ESG. The day featured several panels including: Financial Mechanisms for Developing Climate Resilience and Adaptation, International Climate Finance Tools to Implement a Global Just Energy Transition, Exploring the Impacts of Renewable Energy Initiatives in Business, and, in a panel moderated by Professor Jerry Comizio, Associate Director of the Business Law Program, The Role of Environmental, Social Governance (ESG) in the Global Energy Transition and Climate Change Commitments.
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The Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law is pleased to present the winners for the 2024 Human Rights Essay Award, sponsored by the Academy of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.
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