Suzanne Kessler P.O. Box 158967, Nashville, TN 37215 telephone: 615-297-7110 /615-293-6262 (mobile); email: suzannekessler@aol.com EXPERIENCE: Entertainment and Transactional Intellectual Property Attorney/Consultant, Nashville, TN, January 2005 present. Provides entertainment and intellectual property law counsel and consulting services to traditional media and new media clients, including record labels, recording artists, artist managers, Internet startup companies, multi-media companies, and film and television production companies and independent producers. Bone McAllester Norton PLLC, Nashville, TN, September 2015 present. Of Counsel. Same services description as above. Vanderbilt Law School, Nashville, TN, January 2006 present. Adjunct Professor of Law. Two experiential courses within the Vanderbilt Intellectual Property Program ( VIPP ): Entertainment Industry Transactions: Negotiation and Drafting (covering film, television, and music contracts and related new media/digital/mobile issues); and Intellectual Property Licensing (covering copyright, trademark and character, trade secret, right of publicity, and patent licensing). National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), Nashville, TN, February 2004 January 2005. Executive Director, Nashville Chapter. Managed and supervised all operations of the Nashville office of NARAS (the GRAMMY organization), including administration, educational and advocacy programs, entertainment and professional networking events, membership, sponsorship, and community outreach. Zumwalt, Almon & Hayes, PLLC, Nashville, TN, July 2003 January 2004. Consulting Attorney. Entertainment law practice, emphasizing music industry transactions and trademark licensing, including representation of recording artists, producers, record labels, concert and corporate sponsors, and unscripted television personalities. Universal Music Group, Nashville, TN, and Santa Monica, CA, July 1997 June 2003. Vice President, Business Development, Universal Music Group Nashville (Mercury Records, MCA Records, Lost Highway Records), Nashville, TN, July 2001 June 2003. Director, Business & Legal Affairs, Universal Music Group Corporate Business & Legal Affairs, Santa Monica, CA, January 1999 June 2001. Director, Business & Legal Affairs, A&M Records, Hollywood, CA, July 1997 December 1998. During six years with Universal Music Group, handled and supervised all manner of business and legal affairs negotiations and contracts for record labels and Universal Music Group corporate (e.g., negotiated/drafted recording agreements, soundtrack/compilation album agreements, merchandise license agreements, master purchase agreements, master use and other licenses, illustrator/photographer agreements, settlement agreements, and copyright and trademark assignment agreements; handled copyright, trademark, policy, RIAA, DMCA, and digital media and 1
multimedia matters; reviewed and supervised litigation matters; and reviewed and approved album art/packaging). Rosenfeld, Meyer & Susman, LLP, Beverly Hills, CA, October 1994 May 1997. Attorney, Entertainment Department (copyright, film, music, trademark). Handled production legal work for major studio and independent films, legal work for film soundtracks, transactional trademark and copyright matters and infringement issues, and entertainment industry and intellectual property matters for estates of celebrities. EDUCATION: Stanford Law School, Palo Alto, CA. Juris Doctor, 1994. (licensed to practice in Tennessee, California, and District of Columbia). Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition, First-Place recipient, for excellence in copyright law, sponsored by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). 8 th Annual Entertainment Law Writing Competition, Third-Place recipient, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Section. Hilmer Oehlmann, Jr. Award for excellence in legal research and writing. Editor-in-Chief, Stanford Environmental Law Journal. Editor, Stanford Law Journal (Stanford Law School newspaper). Co-Chair, Entertainment Law Society. Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA. M.A. in communication (documentary film production), 1989. Frank Burt Fellowship for excellence in script writing. Brown University, Providence, RI. A.B. in English with honors (creative writing concentration) and in classics, 1986. Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude, honors thesis. Harvey A. Baker Fellowship for pursuit of graduate study. AFFILIATIONS: Include: American Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, Nashville Bar Association, Copyright Society of the South, Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music, W.O. Smith Music School Board of Directors (present) and Advisory Council (2004-2015), Nashville Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors (2004-2007), Leadership Music (Class of 2005), Nashville Bar Association Co-Chair, Entertainment, Sports & Media Law Committee (2014, 2015, and 2016) and Chair, Entertainment and Sports Law Committee (2008 and 2009). RECENT ARTICLES: Nashville Bar Association Journal, November 2010: Termination of Copyright Transfers. RECENT SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS: Nashville Bar Association Entertainment, Sports & Media Law Committee CLE program Annual Entertainment Law Review, December 4, 2015 program producer. 2
Belmont University College of Law 2015 Belmont Law Review symposium Entertainment Law and Music Business in Transition, October 16, 2015: Bringing Blurred Lines into Focus speaker. American Bar Association Forum on the Entertainment & Sports Law Industries CLE program, September 9, 2015: Representing Everyone but the Kitchen Sink: An Ethical Dilemma speaker. Tennessee Bar Association CLE program Doing Business Online: How to Advise the Online Business Owner, June 30, 2015: Online IP Issues for Small Business speaker. April 17, 2015: Music Licensing for the IP Lawyer speaker. Nashville Bar Association Entertainment, Sports & Media Law Committee CLE program Annual Entertainment Law Review, December 3, 2014 program producer. The Reel Nashville: Clips, Commentary, and a Conversation with Suzanne Kessler sponsored by the Entertainment and Sports Law Society at Vanderbilt Law School, November 10, 2014 speaker. Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association Spring 2014 CLE Seminar, May 2, 2014: Update on Copyright Law speaker. April 18, 2014: Recent Developments in Copyright Law speaker. The Reel Nashville: Clips, Commentary, and a Conversation with Suzanne Kessler co-sponsored by the Vanderbilt Intellectual Property Program and the Entertainment and Sports Law Society at Vanderbilt Law School, April 3, 2014 speaker. Recent Developments in Copyright Law presented by the Copyright Society of the South, May 20, 2013 speaker. April 19, 2013: Recent Developments in Copyright Law speaker. Vanderbilt Law School 2013 Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law symposium From Berne to Beijing: The Past, Present and Future of Performers Rights, January 25, 2013: Legal Issues in the Film Industry -- panel moderator. Copyright Recapture and You presented by the Arts and Business Council of Greater Nashville Volunteer Lawyers and Professionals for the Arts, January 27, 2011 -- speaker. Rights and Permissions in a Digital Age presented to the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church (responsible for the denomination s magazine, online publications, and communications), October 26, 2010 speaker. 3
Tennessee Bar Association CLE program Recent Developments in Intellectual Property Law, February 25, 2010: Copyrights -- speaker. Annual Entertainment Law Review, December 2009 program producer. "Protecting Your IP" presented by the Nashville Technology Council Entrepreneurial Series, November 10, 2009 -- speaker. "Know What Intellectual Property You Have and How To Protect It" at BarCamp Nashville, October 17, 2009 speaker. Challenges for the Entertainment Lawyer in a Do It Yourself World, August 27, 2009 program producer. Vanderbilt Law School 2009 Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law symposium Lights, Labor, Action: Labor Controversy in the Sports and Entertainment Industries, March 13, 2009: Maintaining the Musician: Protecting Music, Image and Technology Today -- panel moderator. 2009 National First Amendment Moot Court Competition, sponsored by the First Amendment Center and Vanderbilt Law School, February 19-20, 2009 judge. Annual Entertainment Law Review, December 9, 2008 program producer. Vanderbilt Law School 2008 Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law Intellectual Property Roundtable: User-Generated Content, Social Networking and Virtual Worlds, November 14-15, 2008: From the Mouths of Babes: Protecting Child Authors from Themselves -- discussant; and YouTube and Sharing: Competing Business and Cultural Models in the Digital Era -- discussant. New World, New Challenges for the Entertainment Lawyer, August 28, 2008 program producer. Vanderbilt Law School 2007 Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law symposium User-Generated Confusion: The Legal and Business Implications of Web 2.0, November 2, 2007: The Future of Copyright -- panel moderator. Vanderbilt Law School Technology and Entertainment Law Program Introduction to Music Law lecture, January 24, 2007 speaker. Vanderbilt Law School Technology and Entertainment Law Program Speakers Series: 2006 and 2007 speaker series coordinator and moderator. Deals with the Film, TV & Video Industry at the Southern Regional Entertainment & Sports Law Conference and Intellectual Property Law Institute, sponsored by the State Bar of Georgia, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, November 14, 2004 panel moderator. 4
Music Contracts/The Cutting Edge at the Southern Regional Entertainment & Sports Law Conference and Intellectual Property Law Institute, sponsored by the State Bar of Georgia, in Rose Hall, Jamaica, November 16, 2003 speaker. The Record Deal Explained at The Cutting Edge Music Business Conference/Roots Music Gathering in New Orleans, LA, August 2003 speaker. Music Deals: Thinking Outside the Box at the Southern Regional Entertainment & Sports Law Conference and Intellectual Property Law Institute, sponsored by the State Bar of Georgia, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, November 15, 2002 speaker. RECENT AWARDS: Nashville Bar Foundation Fellow, 2016. Nashville Bar Association President s Award, 2009. Nashville Bar Association Keeping the Torch Award, 2008. RECENT CREATIVE PRODUCTION CREDITS: Executive Producer: Mandy Barnett I Can t Stop Loving You: The Songs of Don Gibson album, released 2013 (Rounder Records/Concord Music Group and CB Music). Co-Producer: Journey Home: On a Mission to Save a Species documentary, released 2013 (for the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, Florida). Executive Producer: Highway to Fame unscripted television series, released 2012 (WealthTV, Legacy, TUFF TV, My Family TV, Caribvision, and American Primetime TV networks). Executive Producer: Mandy Barnett Winter Wonderland album and accompanying audio-visual project, released 2010 (Rounder Records/Concord Music Group and CB Music). Co-Producer: Hairdos and Heartaches: The Women of Country Music documentary, released 2006/2007 (A&E Television Network and The Biography Channel). Producer and Director: Boxing With The Bard documentary, released 2006 (Nashville Public Television - PBS). Production Consultant: American Revolutions: The Highwaymen documentary, released 2006 (CMT/Viacom). OTHER: Recording artist manager. Music production company owner. Currently in pre-production on two music-themed documentary films. 5