New York, NY — December 30, 2013 Thanks to an introduction by Ross Karp this fall we met Ms. Spilman. We have had the pleasure to have her on our list of contacts and coffee date adventures in Manhattan. She hired us to work with her to recreate her brand: logo, tagline and corp-id set-up. We were thrilled. And before we present the visuals (since they are currently at the printer and waiting for their public entrance), here is a bit about Ms. Spilman. Enjoy!
By Euletha Dukes
At some point in our online activities, we have all come across those long legal documents whose terms we must agree to before we can gain access to some websites or are granted permission on some sites to be content creators. This usually comes after we have filled in our particulars — usually our names, addresses, birthdays, phone numbers, a few personal factoids, and (sometimes) our banking information. Most of us just give these “Terms and Conditions” documents our OK without a second thought.
Yet for online consumers and creators alike, a firestorm of questions may come to mind: What, exactly, are we agreeing to when we click on “I agree”? Who else can access our personal information? Can someone else lay claim to our creative content? Or, if we happen to be website creators, what legal rights do we have to use personal information and content from our subscribers?
Very few of us even bother to read these documents, and very few of those who do read them fully understand them. They often concern the specifics of Intellectual Property Law. Most of us know next to nothing about the nuts and bolts of this field of law, which is increasingly important in the rapidly expanding world of digital media. Enter Maia T. Spilman, Esq.
A transactional intellectual property attorney for upwards of 15 years, Maia T. Spilman is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP). Her firm specializes in the law and regulation of the digital world, and provides counsel to clients who want to protect the intellectual property they license or create. With a background in music law and licensing going back to 1998, the year 2004 saw her shift her practice toward the digital space ultimately leading to a field rapidly gaining in significance and increasing in scope — that of Information Privacy.
Perhaps this was a natural progression. Companies such as Napster and iTunes were busy making headlines during those years when the old definitions of creative content and ownership were confronting all the challenges brought on by the increasing influence of digital technology. Ms. Spilman’s passion to educate and her keen interest in the complex arena of Intellectual Property led to the field of Privacy Law becoming her main focus.
Today she advises clients that range from start-ups and entrepreneurs to large corporations. Her areas of expertise include data collection and sharing practices, creating or revising company privacy policies, complying with copyright laws, and negotiating contracts. She runs the firm independently and, being the savvy networker that she is, she also collaborates with or refers clients to other colleagues who may have more expertise in related areas of the law.
One need not be a computer scientist to learn one’s rights in the digital world. To Big Business, where information means power, our personal data becomes a commodity. If left unchecked in the interwebs, that corporate power leaves us consumers with very little control over our own information.
But consumers aren’t the only ones who need training in digital law. Businesses and corporations do, too. Educating consumers, corporations and content creators alike — Ms. Spilman sincerely believes that this is her raison d’être.
My mother raised me with the familiar maxim, ‘To be forewarned is to be forearmed.” The more we depend on technology, the more we need to be informed of our rights as consumers and the options at our disposal if things suddenly go awry.
Maia T. Spilman, Esq., is on to a good thing. So are her clients. She frequently plays the diverse roles of educator, counselor and guide, as she helps individuals navigate the complex world of Information Privacy Law with an honest, clear vision. Such wise counsel as she can provide is invaluable for any businessperson exploring the vast and ever-expanding universe of the Internet.
For more information, go to www.maianyc.com or write to to reach Maia T. Spilman directly.
