Chris Bennett is an IP and IT lawyer, and the head of the firm's Trade-marks, Technology & Outsourcing, and Video Games & Interactive Entertainment Law Practice Groups. He is also a member of the firm's Intellectual Property Law and Franchise & Distribution Law Groups, and he is the Chair of the firm's Environmental Sustainability Task Force. He primarily advises clients in connection with the following:
· creating, protecting, enforcing and commercializing intellectual property and technology
· developing, distributing, licensing and supporting software, video games and other technology
· negotiating athlete, event and corporate sponsorship agreements
· negotiating gift card agreements and drafting gift card terms
· complying with privacy legislation and drafting privacy consents and privacy policies
· complying with promotional contest laws and drafting contest rules and waivers
· establishing and protecting internet-based businesses, franchise systems and other distribution systems
Recognition
· AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
· One of the 2009 Business in Vancouver Top 40 under 40
· One of the 2008 Lexpert® Rising Stars: Leading Lawyers Under 40
· Wesbrook Scholar
Directorships, Memberships & Professional Activities
· Advisory Board Member, International Legal Technology Standards Organization
· Advisory Board Member, 2009 Pacific Legal Technology Conference
· Registered Canadian Trade-mark Agent
· Member, Law Society of British Columbia
· Member, Canadian Bar Association
· Chair, Computer Law Section, Canadian Bar Association (2001-2003)
· Co-instructor, New Media and Law Course, British Columbia Institute of Technology
· Affiliate, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada
· Affiliate Member, Canadian Franchise Association
· Member, International Game Developers Association
· Member, New Media BC
· Overseas Member, The Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys
Publications & Seminars
· Information Technology Standards, The Lawyers Weekly, June 3, 2011.
· Co-presented a Canadian Bar Association seminar on social media for law firms, June 7, 2011.
· Video Game Theme Parks Have Arrived, The Lawyers Weekly, November 19, 2010.
· Moderated a roundtable discussion on summary expungement (section 45) proceedings for the International Trademark Association (INTA) on October 29, 2010
· Presented a seminar on video game theme parks at the International Bar Association Annual Conference in Vancouver, as part of a joint session between the North American Regional Forum and the Technology Law Committee, October 2010.
· "Canadian Trade-marks - Keep your head up on the ice!", August 2010 issue of Corporate Counsel Magazine.
· "Tech liability: tales of the unexpected", BC Technology Magazine, June 2010.
· The risks of using social networking sites, The Lawyers Weekly, June 2010.
· VeRO-fying IP rights on eBay, The Lawyers Weekly, November 27, 2009.
· Pannelist for session on licensing new media, Alliance for Commercialization of Canadian Technologies (ACCT Canada) Annual Meeting, November 2009
· Presentation on IP law, IT law and technology licensing at Davis LLP seminar on IP due diligence, November 2009
· UBC law school guest lecturer - IP and technology law, October 2009
· Presented a seminar on IT law at the BC Law Society's Pacific Legal Technology Conference in Vancouver, October 2009.
· Gift Card Legislation, The Lawyers Weekly, August 7, 2009.
· Presented a seminar on "Web 2.0 Legal Issues" at Insight Internet Law Conference in Vancouver, April 2008.
· "Copyright Liability for Electronic Postings", The Lawyers Weekly, March 13, 2009.
· "Why sound marks law needs to catch up in Canada", The Journal of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys, March 2009.
· Presentation on IP law and IT law to Okanagan Science and Technology Council (OSTEC) in Kelowna, January 14, 2008.
· Online defamation case summary: Crookes v. Wikimedia Foundation, E-commerce Law Reports, December 15, 2008.
· "Trade-marks Rock: Canada should accomodate the registration of sound marks", The Lawyers Weekly, November 21, 2008.
· Co-chaired Insight Internet Law Conference in Vancouver, November 2008.
· Presented a seminar on "Basics of IP Law" to Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems (MITACS) on behalf of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, September 2008.
· "Clearly descriptive trade-marks land owners in hot water" The Lawyers Weekly, May 2, 2008.
· "Ask the Legal Experts" article on Privacy Legislation, FranchiseCanada, May/June 2008.
· Presented a seminar on "IP law issues in the Video Game Industry" to the Licensing Executives Society, April 2008.
· "What is clearly descriptive?", The Journal of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (first publication), March 2008.
· Davis LLP Video Game Law Blog
· "What's new in Canadian Trade-mark Prosecution?" The Lawyers Weekly, January 18, 2008
· "Double Double Trade-mark Trouble", The Journal of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (first publication), December 2007.
· Presented "Basics of Contracts" Module at the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada's Basics of Law course, November 2007.
· Presented a seminar on "IP Licensing Agreements" at the Federated Press Negotiating and Drafting Major Business Agreements conference, October 2007.
· "Trade-mark News Update From Canada", The Journal of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (first publication), October 2007.
· "Trade-mark News Update From Canada", The Journal of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (first publication), September 2007.
· "E-Commerce for Successful Franchisors" by John Rogers, Chris Bennett and Sony Grewal, published in IFA's Franchising World, August 2007, p. 23.
· "Massively Multiplayer Online Games and the Law", Internet and e-commerce Law in Canada, July/August, 2007, p.33.
· "Lawyers' Practice All Fun and Games: Vancouver Firm Specializes in Video Game Industry", Vancouver Sun, July 29, 2007.
· "Turning a gaming obsession into a niche", The Lawyers Weekly, July 13, 2007.
· "Johnny Depp 2.0: The rise of the movie pirate", CBA's Addendum, June 2007.
· Presented a workshop on Intellectual Capital for Game Companies at the Vancouver International Game Summit, May 2007
· "Contracts in the MMO World", co-authored with Andreas Lober, SchulteRiesenkampff (Germany), and published in the CBA National Magazine's Addendum, April 19, 2007
· Commentary on anti-violence video game legislation, The Lawyers Weekly, March 9, 2007
· Co-authored Gamasutra feature on the dispute between Activision and Spark Unlimited regarding Call of Duty: Finest Hour, January 12, 2007
· "The games people play online can generate major liability for game companies", in Business in Vancouver, December 2006
· "Negotiating Computer Contracts for Franchisors and their Franchisees" in Franchising World, May 2006, pp. 80-83, authored by David Spratley, Chris Bennett and John Rogers
· Presented a seminar on "Third-Party Video Game Licence Agreements" at the Gamer Technology Law conference in Beverly Hills, March 2006
· "Video games create a whole new world of legal liabilities" November 18, 2005 issue of The Lawyers Weekly
· "Running Contests in Canada -- Rules Applying to Franchisors" in Franchise and Distribution, Volume XI, No. 2, co-authored with John L. Rogers and Dave Spratley, 2004
· "New Canadian Privacy Legislation Applies to All Franchises In Canada", by John Rogers and Christopher Bennett, International Journal of Franchising Law, 2004, Volume 2, Issue 5, p. 31
· "Master Franchising in Canada", John L. Rogers and Chris Bennett, Franchising World Magazine, July 2004, p.52
· "Use 'em or Lose 'em: Protect Your Trade-marks", p.1, Intelligence, Spring 2004
· Twitter page: twitter.com/chrisbennettlaw
Media Commentary
· Quoted in Global News article entitled "Video Game Law in Canada", June 27, 2011.
· Quoted in Lawyers Weekly article entitled "Many lawyers still Luddites resisting technological advances", February 4, 2011.
· Quoted in Lawyers Weekly article entitled "Virtual law offices gaining popularity in Internet age", August 2010.
· Quoted in Lawyers Weekly, article entitled " Legal blogs that work", June 11, 2010 issue
· Quoted in Business in Vancouver article entitled "Online defamation spreads from the personal to the professional", May 4-10, 2010
· Quoted in Globe and Mail article on blogging, January 5, 2010
· Quoted in Bartalk article entitled "How Technology Impacts Privacy", December 2009
· Quoted in Business in Vancouver article on Vancouver game developers, November 17-23, 2009
· Lawyers Weekly, "Copyright liability for electronic postings" March 13, 2009
· Quoted in Business in Vancouver article on the Vancouver Video Game Industry, February 10-16, 2009
· Quoted in ABA Law Practice article on "Riding the Net's Second Wave", January/February 2009
· Quoted in Globe and Mail article regarding potential liability of video game companies in connection with video games played by minors, October 27, 2008
· Quoted in "Practising Law with Software as a Service (SAAS)", National Magazine, September, 2008
· Quoted in "New Distribution Channels Provide Fresh Incentives for Independent Publishers", Business in Vancouver, April 29, 2008
· Quoted in "New Asia Internet domain gaining traction in B.C." Business in Vancouver, March 18, 2008
· Quoted in "Virtual Worlds Ripe for Real-World Lawsuits", Financial Post, March 12, 2008
· Quoted in "Building your Blawg", CBA BarTalk, February 2008
· Quoted in Business in Vancouver Article "Courts Wrestle With Virtual Assets", February 5-11, 2008; issue 954
· Quoted in CBC News article "Virtual Worlds", December 7, 2007.
· Featured in Financial Post Business Magazine "Job Shadow" article, December 2007, p. 33.
· Quoted in The Langara Voice article "Two Lives Are Better Than One," October 24, 2007.
· Davis LLP's Video Game Law Group and Second Life office featured in Vancouver law firm hangs up its virtual shingle in Second Life, September 26, 2007.
· Featured in Lawyers hang their virtual shingles online in Second Life, September 7, 2007.
· Featured in the article "The new landscape of law" published in the National magazine, July/August 2007
· Quoted in Vancouver Sun article on Microsoft Gaming Division, July 18, 2007.
· Special guest on CBC Radio One, discussing the legal issues surrounding massively multiplayer online video games, November 2006
· Quoted in "Are virtual-reality games the new Wild West, and if so, who will police them?" article in Backbone Magazine, November 2006
· Davis Video Game Law Blog selected as website of the month in Edge magazine, November 2006
· Quoted in Edge magazine article on video game patents and copyrights, entitled "Escaping the IP Maze", August 2006
· Quoted in CBA National magazine article on video game law entitled "Playing with Power", August 2006
· Quoted in BC Business article entitled "Lawblogs", July 2006
· Quoted in "Game On" article in Backbone Magazine, May 2006
· Quoted in The Lawyers Weekly article entitled "Blog builds video game law practice group's credibility and profile", February 24, 2006
· Quoted in CBALink, "New Media Marketing, Part I - Blogs: How Lawyers Can Become Thought Leaders in a Niche Market", February 2006
· Quoted in Vancouver Sun, National Post, Calgary Herald and Ottawa Citizen articles regarding use of Red Cross Trade-marks in video games, February 2006
· Quoted in Vancouver Sun and Globe and Mail articles regarding employee overtime in the video game industry, October 2005
· Special guest on 640 Toronto, Mojo Radio, discussing video game legislation, July 2005
Publications
Video Game Law: Video Game Theme Parks Have Arrived
Trade-mark Law: Keep Your Head Up On The Ice!
Tech liability: tales of the unexpected
Why sound marks law needs to catch up in Canada
Clearly descriptive trade-marks land owners in hot water
Davis Franchise Connection No.5
Double Double Trade-mark Trouble (from ITMA Review) Dec. 2007
Two Lives Are Better Than One published in The Langara Voice October 24, 2007
Trade-mark News Update from Canada (from ITMA Review) Oct. 2007
Trade-mark News Update from Canada (from ITMA Review) Sept. 2007
Recent Highlights in Canadian Trade-mark Law
Are You Ready for Dot Asia? - Technology & Outsourcing Law Alert
No more disclaimer requests - Intellectual Property Law Alert
Trade-mark News Update from Canada (from ITMA Review)
Massively Multiplayer Online Games and the Law
E-Commerce for Successful Franchisors
National Magazine Excerpt on Chris Bennett
Contracts in the MMO world
ITMA Review - Report from Canada: what is 'clearly descriptive'?
The Standing Committee on General Gov't Adopts Amendments to Bill 51
Privacy Bulletin Information Security Breaches
Negotiating Computer Contracts for Franchisors and their Franchisees
Beginning of .EU Domain Name - Act Quickly!
intelligence July 2005
Privacy Alert - USA Patriot Act concerns
Intelligence
New Canadian Privacy Legislation Applies to All Franchises in Canada
Master Franchising in Canada
intelligence Spring 2004
Privacy Compliance Program
Have You Protected Your Customer's Privacy?
New Canadian Privacy Legislation Will Soon Apply to All Franchises in Canada
Finding the Right Franchisor
Boilerplate Language in IP Licence Agreements - What does it Accomplish?
Franchisors Need Strategy to Protect Their IP online
Who Should Own the Franchise System in Canada?
Protecting Your Intellectual Property on the Internet
intelligence July 2002
Establishing, Managing and Enforcing Trade-marks and Business Identities on the Internet
intelligence Fall 2001
Franchising in Canada: a Guide for International Lawyers
Expanding Your Franchise System To Canada
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ('PIPEDA')
The Domain Name System and Dispute Resolution
.ca Domain Name Alert
intelligence September 2000
Canada Has a New Privacy Law and it Affects You!
develop magazine features Davis in supplement
(Also at Vancouver, BC Office)