Lecturer Bios
Valdir Rocha
Valdir Rocha is the National Coordinator of Intellectual Property of Veirano Advogados ("Veirano"), a full practice law firm with offices in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Porto Alegre and Brasilia, with 260 lawyers and 150 trainees and practices in all areas of the law, including Intellectual Property (patents, trademarks, copyrights, software, domain names, filing, prosecution and litigation, technology transfer, franchising) general corporate, banking, project finance, tax, mining, labor, immigration, oil and gas, energy, telecommunications, foreign trade, environmental law, arbitration and litigation. Most of Veirano's clients are foreign and Brazilian multinational companies. In the advertising, marketing and promotion field, Veirano assists several clients, including but not limited to S.C. Johnson & Son, Masterfoods, Phillip Morris, NBA, Mastercard, Yahoo, Newell Rubbermaid, Readers'Digest, Nokia, Stihl, YoutTube, Facebook, Visa and many others.
Valdir Rocha, GALA Brazil, gets local media attention in Brazilian publications Blue Bus and Meio e Mensagem for presentation in New York at ANA Conference with other GALA members.
Peter Le Guay
Peter specializes in advertising and intellectual property law and has over 20 years' experience in advising on and defending his clients' advertising claims and protecting, maintaining and enforcing their intellectual property rights. Whether it is negotiating the resolution of a regulatory investigation concerning marketing claims or advising on the results of a trade mark search, Peter applies his extensive knowledge and experience of the relevant legal issues in a pragmatic context consistently providing his clients with practical and result-orientated advice and solutions.
Peter is also a registered trade mark attorney and has a particular interest and depth of experience in trade marks and copyright. He manages the intellectual property portfolios of many global organizations, conducts intellectual property due diligence audits and drafts and negotiates complex intellectual property licenses and assignments.
Peter regularly advises on and drafts terms and conditions for a range of marketing and promotional devices, such as trade promotion lotteries and games of skill, cash back offers, discount offers and loyalty programs. He understands digital marketing and social media platforms and regularly provides advice in respect of privacy and spam issues, behavioral advertising, user generated content, jurisdictional issues and electronic direct marketing and drafts website development agreements, website terms of use, privacy and spam policies. He also regularly advises on and drafts comprehensive advertising agency, media consultancy and digital marketing agreements as well as talent and sponsorship agreements.
In addition to his transactional and advice based work, Peter is an experienced consumer protection and intellectual property litigator and regularly appears in the Federal Court in relation to competitor complaints concerning the Australian Consumer Law or trade mark disputes. He is experienced in dealing and negotiating with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on behalf of large multinationals concerning consumer protection issues as well as industry based complaint panels such as the Complaints Resolution Panel and the Advertising Standards Board. He also sits as a panel member on the Advertising Claims Board.
Peter is an active member of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and currently sits on one of their committees and is also a participating member of the Copyright Society of Australia and the Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand (IPSANZ).
Peter is responsible for the firm's membership of the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA) and is president-elect of the Asia-Pacific region.
Melissa L. Steinman
Melissa Landau Steinman is a partner in Venable's Advertising and Marketing Practice Group. She assists companies advertising and marketing their products via traditional and online channels. She advises clients on the federal and state laws applicable to marketing, consumer protection and consumer product safety, with a focus on social media advertising and promotions, including sweepstakes, contests, gift cards, “free” gifts, coupons and rebates, loyalty programs and advertising to children.
Ms. Steinman’s unique understanding of the law of prize promotions, digital media, and federal and state regulatory law has led to engagements with a diverse clientele that includes some of the world's largest and most prominent consumer products and services companies, retailers and hospitality providers; media and gaming companies; entertainment personalities; and a wide variety of nonprofits and charitable entities.
Ms. Steinman is a frequent speaker and writer on topics like sweepstakes, contests, gift cards, loyalty programs, and promotions on social media. She served two terms as a member of the Board of Directors of the Brand Activation Association, now part of the Association of National Advertisers. Ms. Steinman wrote and edited the Guide to Federal and State Regulation of Advertising, a comprehensive two-volume book/CD-ROM on the law of advertising and promotions, and contributed chapters to the American Bar Association's Consumer Protection Law Handbook and Globe Law and Business’ International Advertising Law.
Michel Béjot
Michel Béjot heads of the firm's intellectual property and information technology practice group (advertising and promotions, trademark, copyright, software licensing and distribution, internet and electronic commerce, data protection).
In addition to his work in that field, Mr. Béjot conducts a wide-ranging commercial and corporate practice for clients doing business in Europe, and in particular for American companies investing in France (mergers, finance, distribution and information technology issues).
Michel Béjot received a doctorate degree from the University of Dijon, a business degree from the I.A.E., he also attended the Max Planck Institut in Hamburg and the New York University Law School, graduating in 1976.
Michel Béjot is a member of the Paris Bar. He is on the Board of Directors of the European American Chamber of Commerce (France), a member of the Autorité de Régulation Professionnelle de la Publicité, a member of the International Technology Law Association and a member of the International Trademark Association.
Michel Béjot is the author of a number of articles and contributions on advertising, marketing and internet law, as well as a frequent speaker on these topics.
Michel Béjot is fluent in French, English and German.
Marco Antonio Palacios
Attorney at Law graduated from the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. Postgraduate studies in International Commerce and Intellectual Property in Switzerland, Uruguay and the US He has served as a diplomat (First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Guatemala to the United Nations in New Cork), as Director of Commercial Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, and as a member of the City Council of the City of Guatemala. Guest speaker at various related International Trade, Economic Integration Cay Intellectual Property, among others, by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia), the Patent and Trademark EE events. States, UNDP and the Secretariat of Central American Economic Integration (SIECA).; university professor on Intellectual Property Guest Professor, Intellectual Property, University of Los Andes, Venezuela and several universities in Central America. Guest lecturer on IP by the Franklin Pierce Law Center. He has published several works on issues such as intellectual property, economic integration process and International Trade. He served as principal consultant on property for a regional project to develop commercial capabilities SIECA-USAID, for nine years; Vice President for Central America, the Inter-American Institute for Copyright (IIDA). He was awarded the Intellectual Property by AMCHAM in 2006. Languages: Spanish, English, knowledge of French and Italian. Practice Areas: Intellectual Property; -Mergers And Acquisitions Corporate Law; procurement; Financial and Banking Law; International Trade; Integration Law.
Ewa Skrzydlo-Tefelska
She graduated with a law degree from the M. Sklodowska-Curie University in Lublin in 1979, receiving her doctorate in international private law from the same school in 1987, she was awarded her post-doctorate degree (habilitation) in 2013. Mrs. Skrzydlo-Tefelska studied for several years in France and maintains contacts with universities in Paris, Lorraine, lecturing at these institutions and making regular contributions to French legal periodicals and scientific publications. She has also studied in the United States and at the Hague Academy of International Law.
Practice of Dr. Skrzydlo-Tefelska focuses on counseling and litigation in patent and trademark protection law, advertising, marketing and sales promotion law as well as dealing with cases involving application of EU law in Poland. She was admitted to the bar in 1995 and has been associated with SK&S since 1999. She became a partner in 2006. Dr. Skrzydlo-Tefelska is an author of books and articles on various aspects of EU law, especially involving issues of industrial property protection and advertising. She is involved in professional training of judges, advocates and legal advisors on EU law. Dr. Skrzydlo-Tefelska is a frequent speaker in congresses and seminars devoted to the subjects related to her professional expertise. She is also giving lectures on EU law and various aspects of Polish law at some French universities. She is a member of International Trademark Association, International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) and since 2003 she is a member for Poland of the Global Advertising Lawyer's Alliance.
