LA Copyright Society

Latest Event:

December 3, 2025 at 1:00pm PT

Virtual via Zoom

Digital Replicas and the Law:

Who Owns the Virtual Self?

The burgeoning world of digital replicas—whether avatars, virtual likenesses, deep-fakes, or even a blend of assets based on real people—raises pressing questions at the intersection of copyright, publicity rights, contract law, and technology. How should creators, platforms, rights-holders, and brands navigate the evolving terrain of simulated personas and reproduced assets? What legal protections apply, what risks remain, and how can stakeholders address both the expressive and economic dimensions of this emerging space?

Join Professor Jennifer Rothman, America’s preeminent publicity rights scholar, and Ben Sheffner of the Motion Picture Association, as they guide us through actual examples of digital replicas and explore the relevant legal frameworks, including rights of publicity, copyright law, and policy developments. The session will utilize a simple but effective framework to help us better navigate a world where replication is increasingly just a click away.

Speakers

Jennifer E. Rothman is the Nicholas F. Gallicchio Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania and holds a secondary appointment at the Annenberg School for Communication. She is globally recognized for her scholarship in the field of intellectual property law and as the leading expert on the right of publicity. Rothman’s work focuses on conflicts between intellectual property rights and other constitutionally-protected rights, such as the freedom of speech. Her current research focuses on the ways intellectual property law is employed to turn people into a form of property, as well as how it regulates the production and content of expression. Her book, The Right of Publicity: Privacy Reimagined for a Public World, published by Harvard University Press, addresses some of these concerns. Rothman is the author of numerous essays and articles that regularly appear in top law reviews and journals. Her most recent article, Postmortem Privacy, was published in the Michigan Law Review and her 2024 Donald C. Brace Lecture, Copyrighting People, in the Journal of the Copyright Society. Rothman is also the Reporter for the Uniform Law Commission’s Study on Name, Image, and Likeness Rights.

Ben Sheffner is Senior Vice President & Associate General Counsel, Law & Policy, at the Motion Picture Association, where he specializes in copyright, right of publicity, trademark, First Amendment, and other legal and policy issues of importance to the MPA’s member studios. With dual appointments in the MPA’s Legal and Government Affairs departments, Ben works closely with attorneys and policy advocates internally and at the MPA’s member studios to formulate and implement strategies to create a favorable environment for the industry to thrive, both economically and creatively.

Among his several roles, Ben frequently represents MPA before federal and state government officials and entities; manages the MPA’s amicus brief program; and serves as counsel to the Title Registration Bureau. Prior to joining the MPA in 2011, Ben held in-house legal positions at NBCUniversal and Twentieth Century Fox, and worked as an associate in the Century City office of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where he litigated copyright and other cases for major movie studios, television networks, and record labels.

Moderator

Dan Nabel, VP, Legal, leads the legal function for Games, Intellectual Property and Commercial Litigation at Riot Games. He currently serves as the Immediate Past President of the Los Angeles Copyright Society and began his career at Greenberg Glusker LLP successfully litigating numerous cases in diverse areas such as real estate, business, and intellectual property. His proficiency extends to academia, where he taught "Video Game Law" for a decade at USC Gould School of Law and co-authored the notable work "Video Game Law in a Nutshell." Prior to Riot Games, Nabel directed the Intellectual Property & Technology Law Clinic at USC Gould, supervising law students in public interest cases. His leadership resulted in the first-ever Digital Millennium Copyright Act exemption for agricultural machinery repair.