Summary

Sean F. Kane is a member of Drakeford & Kane LLC and Manager of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. He counsels clients in the interactive entertainment, video game, virtual world, publishing, licensing, merchandising, sweepstakes and gaming industries. His clients are engaged in all aspects of these industries and he regularly counsels them on various aspects of their business enterprises, including negotiation and completion of business agreements, counseling on the management and protection of intellectual property rights and other matters relating to their business operations, mergers and acquisitions, and representation in resolution of disputes. Moreover, he is regularly involved in transactions ranging from development, financing, publication and distribution of interactive entertainment properties and related technology licensing and licensing & merchandising of brands, character, entertainment and sports properties.

He has substantial experience litigating complex business disputes in federal and state courts at trial, appellate levels and in ADR forums throughout the country. These matters usually concerned either infringement issues or disputes over the contracts that licensed, assigned or otherwise dealt with Intellectual Property. In addition to his work in Interactive Entertainment, his practice has also included negotiation, consultation and client representation in a broad range of other intellectual property transaction involving copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, trade secrets and publicity/privacy rights. While Mr. Kane has a special interest in Interactive Entertainment, video games and virtual worlds, he has represented clients engaged in various entertainment, communications and consumer products business segments, such as music publishing, records, motion picture (feature and independent films) and television production and distribution, computer software, video games, virtual worlds and the Internet. Furthermore, his practice has encompassed many matters arising out of advertising, marketing and promotional issues, embracing contract
disputes and litigation between competitors over claims of false and misleading comparative    advertising.

Prior to founding Drakeford & Kane LLC, Mr. Kane practiced with Hall Dickler, LLP(f/k/a Hall Dickler Kent Goldstein & Wood LLP)from 1998 to 2004.

Experience

Mr. Kane has written and lectured extensively on legal topics relating primarily to Intellectual Property and entertainment issues. His recent articles are as follows: “Virtual Worlds, Real World Perils”, coauthored with Benjamin T. Duranske and published in Landslide: A Publication of the ABA Section of Intellectual Property, Vol. 1, Number 1, September 2008; “Virtual World Industry Outlook 2008-2009” coauthored with Christian Renaud and published by Technology Intelligence Group, August 2008; “A Passport to Virtual Worlds ”, published by Internet Law & Strategy, Vol. 6, No. 6, June 2008; “Virtually Lawless: Legal & Economic Issues in Virtual Worlds”, published by The Computer & Internet Lawyer, Vol. 25, Number 6, June 2008; “Virtual Worlds, Digital Economies and Synthetic Crimes”, published by The Practical Lawyer, Vol. 54, Number 2, April 2008; Contributing Chapter Author of “Virtually Lawless: Legal and Economic Issues in Virtual Worlds”, published by PLI as part of Information Technology Law Institute 2008, New Directions: Social Networks, Blogs, Privacy, Mash-ups, Virtual Worlds and Open Source,March 2008; “Virtual Worlds, Digital Economies and Synthetic Crimes”, published by the New York State Bar Association, Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal, Special Edition 2008, Vol. 19, No. 1, January 2008; “Passporting of Avatars and Property Between Virtual Worlds”, published by E-commerce Law and Policy, Vol. 9, Issue 12, December 2007; “Viacom v. YouTube Does the Highly Publicized Case Deal With The ‘Metaphysics of Law’?”, published by Internet Law & Strategy, Vol. 5, No. 4, April 2007; “Internet Gambling Banned, New Legislation Forces Online Gaming Sites to Decide When to Hold Them and When to Fold Them”, published by Internet Law & Strategy, Vol. 4, No. 11, November 2006; “New Kinds of e-Commerce”, published by e-Commerce Law & Strategy, Vol. 23, No. 4, August 2006; “Protecting Your Client’s Motion Picture Investment”, published by the New Jersey State Bar Association Business Law Section, Vol. 30, No. 1, July 2006; “Asset Creation, Seclusion And Money Laundering In The Virtual World”, published by Internet Law & Strategy, Vol. 4, No. 7, July 2006; “Can The Grokster Settlement Close The File-Sharing Pandora’s Box?”, published by e-Commerce Law & Strategy, Vol. 22, No. 8, December 2005; “Can The Grokster Settlement Close Pandora’s Box?”, published by Internet Law & Strategy, Vol. 3, No. 12, December 2005; “International Film Production Incentives”, published by Entertainment Law & Finance, Vol. 21, No. 7, October 2005; “Virtual Worlds And Digital Rights, Can Stealing An Online Gamer’s IP Or Magic Sword Mean Real-World Legal Hot Water?”, published by Internet Law & Strategy, Vol. 3, No. 9, September 2005; Contributing author to “Inside Grokster” an Internet Law & Strategy Virtual Roundtable, published by Internet Law & Strategy, Vol. 3, No. 8A, August/September 2005; “A Primer On Protecting Investments In Motion-Picture Productions”, published by Entertainment Law & Finance, Vol. 21, No. 4, July 2005; “Protecting Against Defamation Claims From Docudrama Productions”, published by Entertainment Law & Finance, Vol. 19, No. 3., June 2003 and “Securitization May Work Beyond Music Royalty Income Stream”, published by Entertainment Law & Finance, Vol. 19, No. 5, August 2003. Additionally, his frequent commentary on business and law has appeared in publications including The Economist, BNA's Daily Tax Report and National Journal's Technology Daily.

Mr. Kane’s most recent speaking engagements are as follows: October 2008 “Social Media, Web & Mobile Applications, Advertising and Commerce: Monetizing the Interactive Experience”, featured speaker at Digital Hollywood, Santa Monica, California; September 2008 “Get a (Virtual) Life)! The Challenges and Opportunities For Monetizing Virtual Worlds and MMOGs”, featured speaker at the New York Games Conference, New York, New York; September 2008 “My Game, My Rules: the Power and Pitfalls of End User License Agreements in Games”, featured speaker at the Austin Game Developers Conference, Austin, Texas; September 2008 “Managing Copyright Issues in Videogames and Virtual Worlds”, featured speaker at the Austin Game Developers Conference, Austin, Texas; September 2008 “Bringing Films into the Virtual World”, featured speaker at the Virtual Worlds Expo, Los Angeles, California; June 2008 “Managing IP: Who Owns the Rights to Your Blood, Sweat & Tears”, featured speaker at the Paris Game Developers Conference, Paris, France; June 2008 “The Future of Computing, the Internet, and the Law: Legal Developments in Virtual Reality”, speaking engagement at the Second Annual National Institute on Cyberlaw: Expanding the Horizons, Washington, D.C., May 2008 “Virtual Property: Issues in Buying and Selling Virtual Goods”, speaking engagement at the 08 ION Conference, Seattle, Washington; April 2008 “Gaming and Virtual Worlds: The New Legal Frontier”, speaking engagement at the ABA 23rd Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference, Washington, D.C.; April 2008 “Intellectual Property Enforcement”, speaking engagement at the Virtual Law 2008 Conference, New York, New York; April 2008 “Legal Issues in Virtual Currency”, featured speaker at the Virtual Law 2008 Conference, New York, New York; April 2008 “Legal Issues in Virtual Property”, speaking engagement at the Virtual Law 2008 Conference, New York, New York; April 2008 “License Agreements: Best Practices, Avoiding Pitfalls”, speaking engagement at the Virtual Law 2008 Conference, New York, New York; April 2008 “Litigating a Virtual Law Suit”, speaking engagement at the Virtual Law 2008 Conference, New York, New York; March 2008 “Ethical Issues Arising From Virtual Worlds, Social Networks and Blogs”, speaking engagement at the PLI Information Technology Law Institute 2008, San Francisco, California; March 2008 “Ethical Issues Arising From Virtual Worlds, Social Networks and Blogs”, speaking engagement at the PLI Information Technology Law Institute 2008, New York, New York; February 2008 “Managing Copyright Issues in Videogames and Virtual Worlds”, featured speaker at the Game Developers Conference, San Francisco, California; February 2008 “Mashups, Mods & Machinima: Who Owns the Rights to Your Blood, Sweat & Tears”, featured speaker at the Game Developers Conference, San Francisco, California; January 2008 “Get A Virtual Life: Policy Issues Facing Online Worlds and Game Spaces”, speaking engagement at the State of the Net Conference, Washington, D.C.; January 2008 “Virtual Worlds – Real Law”, speaking engagement at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Entertainment Law Committee, New York, New York; October 2007 “Tax and E-money: What Does it Mean?”, speaking engagement at the Virtual Worlds Economic Forum, London, England; October 2007 “IP Wealth and Pitfalls of Synthetic Worlds”, featured speaker at the Virtual Worlds Conference - Fall, San Jose, California; August 2007 “Virtual Law - How Online Games Are Shaping Legal Rules”, speaking engagement at the ABA 2007 Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California; August 2007 “Virtual World – Real Law”, speaking engagement at the ABA 2007 Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California; May 2007 “Before You Sign: Business and Legal Issues”, speaking engagement at the NYC ACM SIGGRAPH Animator’s Boot Camp & Field Manual Workshop, New York, New York; April 2007 “Virtual Law - How Online Games Are Shaping Legal Rules”, speaking engagement at the ABA 22nd Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference, Washington, DC; March 2007 “Legal Ramifications of User Created Content in Open and Closed Virtual Worlds”, featured speaker at the Game Developers Conference, San Francisco, California; January 2007 “UNCITRAL Second International Intellectual Property Colloquium on Secured Transactions”, speaking engagement at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, Vienna, Austria; January 2007 “UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Secured Transactions”, speaking engagement hosted by the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Center, Oxford University, England; October 2006 “Managing Your Intellectual Property Arbitration”, speaking engagement hosted by the Intellectual Property Section of the New York State Bar Association; June 2006 “Legal Issues Arising In Video Games And User-Created Content”, speaking engagement at the ABA Summer IPL Conference; June 2006 “Selecting The Best Arbitrator For Your Case”, speaking engagement hosted by the American Arbitration Association and October 2005 “Lotta Talent v. Sarstruck Management Associates”,a mock    mediation program hosted by the American Arbitration Association on entertainment and intellectual property issues.
      
Mr. Kane is a member of the American Bar Association Section of Science & Technology Law, where he is a Co-Chair of the Virtual Worlds and Multiuser Online Games Committee, as well as the Section of Intellectual Property Law, where he is a Co-Chair of the Securitization of Intellectual Property Section. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association, as well as a member of the American Arbitration Association IP Panel of Neutrals. Mr. Kane is also a member of the Board of Editors of the LJN publication, Internet Law & Strategy. Additionally, he is a Member of the International Game Developers Association (“IGDA”).
      
He earned his J.D. in 1998 from Fordham University School of Law, and his B.A. in 1995 from Villanova University. He is admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey, as well as the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern District of New York.

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