TRIESTE, Italy — Industry attorney Marc Randazza recently taught courses on “Intellectual Property and the Porn Industry” in Croatia and “Theories of Free Speech” in Italy.
For the past three years, Randazza has taught “Theories of Free Speech” at a summer institute for European law students and young lawyers in Trieste, Italy. This year, Randazza discussed the rationales for protection of freedom of expression to students from dozens of countries.
The attorney is the managing partner of Las Vegas-based Randazza Legal Group, which represents clients on a wide array of First Amendment issues, copyright and trademark protection and infringement cases, defamation cases, domain name disputes and employment law matters.
“Freedom of expression is something that we hold dear in the U.S.,” he said. “But, that does not mean that it is not an international value. The enlightenment came to us from Europe. Therefore, it is not surprising that the spirit of the enlightenment is still alive in European lawyers and law students and there is a strong interest in robust protections for free speech there.”
“Randazza is deeply devoted to the values underpinning his professional activity and it is impossible not be infected by his enthusiasm,” said Matteo Leffi, one of his students. “As a result, he is extremely effective in transmitting to his students the most valuable art he masters: the art of sowing the seed of the doubt.”
In Opatija, Croatia, Randazza taught “Intellectual Property and the Adult Entertainment Industry” to American, Slovenian and Croatian law students.
During the program, the class discussed his study, “Freedom of Expression and Morality Based Impediments to the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights" and the recent Matal v. Tam decision, as well as a number of copyright issues pertinent to the adult entertainment industry.
“Randazza made an impression in his capstone lecture in Croatia,” said Benjamin Middleton, a Michigan State University student in attendance. “There's no doubt in my mind that if anyone has an issue with anything in the industry from stage names to video content, Randazza is the attorney you want representing you.”
“It was both refreshing and captivating to hear someone speak so candidly about morality, obscenity and how important it is to defend constitutional rights even if you don't necessarily agree with what your client is doing,” said Sydney Spinner, one of his students.