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Maren Christensen

Experience in copyright law and litigation serves Maren Christensen well in her position as general counsel at Universal Studios. A graduate of the University of Southern California Law Center, Christensen was named Universal’s top lawyer in 2005 after eight years as its senior intellectual property counsel. As counsel, Christensen oversees the worldwide legal operations of the theatrical motion picture, home entertainment, consumer products and theme park businesses. But it is the protection of Universal’s content in the digital age that is the number one issue she faces. As films and other content are available to mobile devices, such as iPods, through electronic sales and rentals to the home via the Internet, new high definition DVD formats and digital distribution to cinemas, Christensen spends her time dealing with the legal aspects of those platforms. On the security side, Christensen was involved in the strategizing and briefing of the Grokster case in the U.S. and in a critical case involving the ability of French consumers to make “private copies” of copyright protected DVDs. She also testified before Congress in 2003 about the dangers of piracy. “I also spend substantial time dealing with copyright policy in foreign jurisdictions where we have piracy problems, particularly in various EU countries and China,” Christensen said in an e-mail to the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. Prior to joining Universal, Christensen was an entertainment/intellectual property litigator for 20 years at the Rosenfeld, Meyer and Susman law firm in Beverly Hills. Her background as a copyright lawyer gives her the ability to handle both litigation and legislation on a worldwide basis in regards to privacy issues, Christensen said. “My experience as a litigator in the entertainment industry is critical to my ability to supervise the company’s litigation matters and in the effort to avoid becoming engaged in litigation,” Christensen said. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter for its Women in Entertainment issue, Christensen said that as a litigator she carried her workload into the weekend and that one of the reasons she took the job with Universal was so she wouldn’t have to spend her Sundays getting ready for court the next morning. In the same interview, Christensen said that while piracy will never be eradicated the industry would like to contain it enough to continue getting product out and be paid for it. She has served as president of the Los Angeles Copyright Society and as a member of the Intellectual Property Section of the California State Bar, and is a member of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. Christensen serves on numerous boards for charitable organizations, including United International Pictures (UIP), Bet Tzedek, and Century Lift, which provides after-school tutoring to at-risk children. Mark R. Madler

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