"Virtual Infringement" - Is it real? How to deal with IP infringement in Virtual Worlds

Jane Perrier, General Counsel for Intellectual Property, Telstra Corporation, Australia

Participating in virtual worlds (‘VWs’) is big entertainment and big business. Given the enormous and diverse participation in these computer generated environments, VWs offer an exciting new channel for intellectual property (‘IP’) owners to promote and test their brands and associated products and services. However, they also present a significant challenge, in the form of widespread infringement of IP rights.

Jane Perrier is the General Counsel for Intellectual Property of Telstra Corporation Limited. She has been with Telstra for 16 years and oversees the administration and strategic management of Telstra’s IP interests. Jane has led Telstra’s submissions to the government on a vast range of IP issues including the Patents Act 1990; the Trade Marks Act 1995; the Ergas Competition Review; the Digital Agenda Act; the IP Chapter of the Australia/US Free Trade Agreement, the Copyright Fair Use Review and most recently the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. Jane is a former member of, and consultant to, the federal government’s Advisory Council on Intellectual Property and a past president of the industry IP body AMPICTA. Jane has been a member of the Internet Industry Association’s virtual taskforce on copyright and is currently a member of the government’s IP Consultative Group, looking at the IP Chapters of Australia’s various free trade agreement negotiations.

Telstra is Australia's leading telecommunications and information services company, with one of the best known brands in the country. Telstra offers a full range of services and competes in all telecommunications markets throughout Australia, providing more than 9.6 million Australian fixed line and more than 9.3 million mobile services, including 3.3 million 3G services.