| EXPERIENCE: Catherine (Cathy) Kirkman is a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, California. Her practice focuses on intellectual property, licensing, and commercial transactions, with specialized expertise in media and technology law, including content rights and open source software. Prior to joining the firm, she practiced at the entertainment law firm Loeb & Loeb in Los Angeles, California, where she specialized in motion picture, television, and music deals. Cathy has extensive expertise in digital media, copyright, and Internet law. She regularly advises clients on new business models, content rights issues, copyright and DMCA issues, online contracts and e-commerce, privacy, spam, and spyware, as well as patent and technology licensing issues relating to digital rights management and compression standards. Her broad experience in traditional media has led her to advise companies and venture capitalist on media law issues. She has worked on film projects such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Young Guns II, and For the Boys, and received a personal screen credit as production counsel in The Linguini Incident starring David Bowie and Rosanna Arquette. Cathy also worked on television mini-series such as A Woman Named Jackie and The Jacksons: An American Dream. In various merchandising-licensing programs, Cathy has represented clients such as Converse, The North Face, and MCI Communications, and she has done numerous merchandising deals for major entertainment and sports properties. Cathy also has broad experience in software, hardware, and technology licensing. Her practice covers development agreements, supply arrangements, strategic alliances, technology transfers, outsourcing, and merger and acquisition transactions, including intellectual property asset deals, with work in this area for major technology companies, as well as numerous venture-backed start-up companies. She managed commercial and licensing due diligence for Hewlett-Packard's $8 billion spin-off of Agilent and assisted 3Com and Network Associates in their respective spin-offs of Palm and McAfee.com.  Catherine Kirkman
continued | Cathy also has specialized expertise relating to open source software. She has advised clients on open source issues in connection with merger and acquisition transactions, including use of GPL and LGPL software. She has counseled clients on the use of open source software in product releases, including licensing and indemnification issues, and worked with clients on selection and drafting of licenses for open source releases. She has counseled clients on implementation of open sources policies and assisted with specialized open source implementation issues, such as compliance with open source obligations in the context of copyright protection systems. She publishes the Silicon Valley Media Law blog, www.svmedialaw.com, and for many years she published one of the first listservs on the interactive media industry, the "Interactive Media Weekly Recap." She also has been a contributing editor to Miller Freeman's Web Techniques magazine and to the Computer Game Developers Association's CGDA Report. She has taught at Stanford Law School's Law, Science & Technology Program and has spoken at forums such as Digital Hollywood and MacWorld. Cathy has a long history of pro bono service to the community. She served for many years as Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's liaison to the East Palo Alto Community Law Project and has received the firm's Pro Bono Service Award and Community Service Award. Her pro bono work includes assistance to Rubicon Programs, the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula, the East Palo Alto Boxing Club, Legal Advocates for Children & Youth, the Public Library of Science, and the International Museum of Women, among others.
SELECT DIGITAL MEDIA CLIENTS: - Amazon.com
- AudioFeast
- Bad Boy Technologies (P. Diddy)
- Creative Commons
- Fox Family Music
- FoxKids.com
- Google
- Gracenote
- InfoSpace (Moviso)
- Liquid Audio
- LookSmart
- Lucasfilm
- Mercora
- MusicGremlin
- Napster
- Shopping.com
- Synergy Media Group
Catherine Kirkman
continued | SELECT ENTERTAINMENT AND SPORTS CLIENTS: - Converse
- MCI Communications
- The North Face
SELECT GAMING AND INTERACTIVE MEDIA CLIENTS: - 3DO
- A&M Records
- Brilliant Media (Peter Gabriel)
- Creative Wonders (ABC/EA Home Software)
- Disney
- Global VR (EA Sports)
- Maxis (SimCity)
- Morgan Creek Productions (Ace Ventura)
- Opcode Interactive (Woodstock)
- Universal Studios
SELECT TECHNOLOGY CLIENTS: - 3Com
- Broadcom
- Hewlett-Packard
- McAfee.com
- Network Associates
- Palm
- Tut Systems
SELECT TRADITIONAL MEDIA CLIENTS: - Coordination Group Publications
- Environmental Media Fund
- Gartner Group
- Hype TV
- International Video Network
- Jerry & Jacqueline Rice Entertainment
- Pixar
- Preview Media
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Catherine Kirkman
continued | SELECT VENTURE CAPITAL CLIENTS: - BV Capital
- Hummer Winblad
- Mayfield Fund
- Worldview Technology Partners
EDUCATION: - J.D., Stanford Law School, 1989
With Distinction; Member, Order of the Coif; Research Assistant to Professor Paul Goldstein in connection with his treatise, Copyright Principles, Law & Practice - Undergraduate degree, Harvard University, 1986
Magna Cum Laude; Phi Beta Kappa
ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS: - Chair, Committee on Government Relations to Copyright
- Co-chair, ABA Special Committee on Online Copyright Issues
- Co-chair, Bar Association of San Francisco's Sports and Entertainment Law Section
- Corporate Secretary and Legal Counsel, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
- Member, Bar Association of San Francisco's No Glass Ceiling Task Force
- Member, Board of Editors, American Lawyer Media's Internet Newsletter
- Member, Planning Committee, Stanford Law School E-Commerce Best Practices Conference
- Member, Planning Committee, USC Law School Intellectual Property Law Institute
HONORS: - Named a Northern California Super Lawyer by Law & Politics magazine for 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 in the area of Arts & Entertainment Law (top 5% of all attorneys)
- Recipient, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's Community Service Award
- Recipient, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's Pro Bono Service Award
SELECT MEDIA COMMENTARY: - "Web Sites for Video Invaded by Piracy," Arkansas Democratic Gazette, August 8, 2005
- "Coming to Grips with Grokster," Business Week, July 11, 2005
- "Slowing the Flow of Illicit Uploads: Web Sites Make Copyright Data More Vulnerable," San Jose Mercury News, July 10, 2005
- More media commentary
- Please see wsgr.com for a complete list of media commentary.
SELECT PUBLICATIONS: - Co-author, "Internet Law and Practice," Thomson West
Catherine Kirkman
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SELECT SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS: - "Advanced Issues in Strategic Alliances," Practising Law Institute, August, 2005
- "Investor Liability for Intellectual Property Infringement," Santa Clara County Bar Association, February 2005
- "Report on Government Relations to Copyright," American Bar Association, January 2005
- More speaking engagements
- Please see wsgr.com for a complete list of speaking engagements.
ADMISSIONS: |