Sean F. Kane
Attorney

Mr. Kane is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property practice and a member of the Social Media & Games team. Mr. Kane has represented clients on transactional matters involving various entertainment, communications and consumer products business segments, such as video games, virtual worlds, computer software, the Internet, music publishing, records, motion picture (feature and independent films) and television production and distribution. He also has considerable experience litigating complex business disputes in federal and state courts at trial, appellate levels and in ADR forums throughout the country.

Mr. Kane is a member of the American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law (Chair of the Computer Games and Virtual Worlds Committee), as well as a member of the Section of Science & Technology Law (Chair of the Virtual Worlds and Multiuser Online Games Committee). He is also a member of the American Arbitration Association IP Panel of Neutrals. Mr. Kane is a member of the Board of Editors of the LJN publication, Internet Law & Strategy.

Mr. Kane has written and lectured extensively on legal topics relating primarily to intellectual property and entertainment issues. Some of his recent articles are: "Video Game Battle: 1st Amendment Vs. Right of Publicity", published by IP Law360 and Media & Entertainment Law360, March 2012; "Virtual Judgment: Legal Implications of Online Gaming", published by IEE Security & Privacy, Vol 7, No. 3, May/June 2009; Chapter Author of "Virtual Property, Real Law", for the book "Settlers of the New Virtual Worlds" published by BookSurge Publishing, August 2008; and "Virtual Worlds, Real World Perils", coauthored with Benjamin T. Duranske and published in Landslide: A Publication of the ABA Section of Intellectual Property, Vol. 1, Number 1 September 2008.

Prior to joining our firm, Mr. Kane was the founder of Kane & Associates LLC, where he served as Manager for the firm’s Interactive Entertainment Practice Group.

• Successfully obtained a bench trial verdict holding defendant had breached a contract and misappropriated client’s patent rights.
• Litigated action involving the failure of developer to deliver a virtual world in accordance with the terms of the contract.
• Federal Lanham Act litigation involving comparative advertising of the relative performance of certain home carpet cleaning equipment.
• State court action asserting breach of confidentiality provisions of an employment contract and theft of trade secrets contained in proprietary computer software.
• Successfully defended claims against a national retailer of tickets to sporting and entertainment events in connection with numerous putative class actions.
• Successfully defended claims by manufacturer of specialized glass against competing manufacturer alleging infringement of various design copyrights.
• Represented a major advertising agency and its wholly-owned subsidiary in an unfair competition suit against a company offering Website design and corporate branding services using a name virtually identical to the agency’s wholly-owned subsidiary.

United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern District of New York

• Chair of the Committee on Virtual Worlds and Computer Gaming, American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law
• Chair of the Virtual Worlds and Multiuser Online Games Committee, American Bar Association Section of Science & Technology Law
• American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law Liaison to Section of Science & Technology Law
• IP Panel of Neutrals, American Arbitration Association
• Board of Editors, Internet Law & Strategy
• Adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law

• Business Track: When you Get Stepped-on by the (Legal) Giant You Don’t Always Respawn, Speaker, Ottawa International Game Conference, May 2013
• Adventures in Finance, Speaker, Game Business & Legal Affairs Conference, May 2013
• Massively Multiplayer and Social Games: Explosion of the "Fremium" Revenue Model, speaking engagement at The Law of Digital Games Conference, November 2012
• The Next Level in Gameification: Deal Points for Developing Casual and Social Games, speaking engagement at CMJ 2011, October 2011
• Social Currency and Virtual Currency: What You Need to Know, speaking engagement at the Mobile Payment Conference NYC, September 2011
• Regulation of Virtual Worlds, speaking engagement at The Game Behind the Video Game: Business, Regulation, and Society in the Gaming Industry, New Brunswick, New Jersey, April 2011
• How Governments are Changing Where Big Ideas Happen, speaking engagement at South By Southwest Interactive, March 2011
• Managing Your Virtual Economy, speaking engagement at Engage Conference and Expo, New York, New York, February 2011
• Court Rulings Effect on Business and Development, speaking engagement at Game::Business::Law 2011, Dallas, Texas, January 2011
• ‘Technotainment’ for Attorneys Explored, speaking engagement as part of the Knowledge Congress Webinar Series, December 2010
• Top Legal Issues in Gamification, featured speaker at the Gamification Workshop 2010, New York, New York, November 2010
• New Technology Allows Users to Drive their own Entertainment, speaking engagement at PLI Technology and Entertainment Convergence 2010: Hot Business and Legal Issues in “Technotainment”, New York, New York, September 2010
• Exploring the Market Opportunities & Legal Challenges of the Virtual Goods Phenomenon, speaking engagement as part of the Strategy Analytics Webinar Series, April 2010.
• Developing A Dynamic and Engaging Online Play Strategy On a Budget, speaking engagement at the Engage! Expo Conference, New York, New York, February 2010.
• Video Game Law for Attorneys: A 2009 Update, speaking engagement as part of the Knowledge Congress Webinar Series, February 2010.
• The Crossroads of Financial and Legal Issues in Digital Distribution, speaking engagement at the 2010 Game::Business::Law Summit, Dallas, Texas, January 2010.