Speaking Engagements

Speaking Engagements

I love educational work and I do presentations and panels on a wide variety of topics. I have done presentations for anywhere from five people to five hundred and if you can find me a bigger audience, I’ll happily improve my record. My best topics, which I mix and match a lot, are:

Intellectual Property Law for Businesspeople / Interested Non-Lawyers

Examples:

  • Copyright Law for Artists and Creators and/or Small Business
  • Trademark Law for Small Business
  • Patent Law for Independent Inventors and/or Small Business

Law and Pop Culture

Examples:

  • What Can and Can’t I Do With My Fanfic / Cosplay/ Fanslation / Unauthorized Sequel?
  • What Can and Can’t I Do With Reviews / Let’s Plays?
  • How Do People Get Permission to Use Famous Stuff to Make Their Own Products?
  • I Want to Have a Geeky Business, What Do I Do Now?

The Law and Video Games

Examples:

  • Can I Patent My Video Game Thing?
  • Is It Really Illegal to Put (That Thing, You Know, the Thing) In My Game?
  • Lootboxes: Threat, or Menace?

The Law and Regulated Gambling

Examples:

  • Making Sure You Don’t Accidentally Implement Illegal Gambling in Your Game
  • What It Takes to Conduct Lawful Gambling in Your Game

Basically Anything To Do With Technology And The Law

Examples:

  • CLE Presentations on Blockchain/Cryptocurrencies for Bar Association Educational Programs
  • Basic Privacy Considerations for Customer or User Data and Small Business
  • Legal Requirements for Data Security

I can speak to audiences at any level of knowledge, from students to experienced professionals. My speaking style includes a lot of dry humor, the occasional terrible pun, and a lot of audience engagement. If you’d like me to speak at an event or put on a presentation for a specific audience, here are the basics:

  1. I don’t charge to speak at pop culture conventions, but if I am invited I do require a free day pass. If you want me to travel, basic expenses are required.
  2. For all other engagements, I charge a reasonable speaking fee, which varies with the requirements of the speaking engagement but starts at $500.00 for a one-hour talk plus reasonable time for questions. Travel expenses outside the Chicago/Milwaukee metro area must be covered. Reduced rates are available for charities/nonprofits.
  3. If you ask that I speak for free because it will be “good exposure,” or a “marketing opportunity,” you must include in your request precise demographics for the audience and a detailed explanation of how I should expect to benefit from the engagement. “People might want to hire you” is not a detailed explanation. Lots of people want to hire me, thank you for asking.

I can provide speaking engagement references upon request.

The easiest way to inquire about having me speak is to email me at marc@legalinspiration.com. I’m pretty good about answering emails, but if you don’t like email, or you are in a rush, here are the other ways you can get a hold of me.

Phone:  (708) 846-1065 Cell

Skype:

marc_whipple (Clicking this will open Skype and initiate a call if you have Skype installed.)

Mailing Address:

Marc Whipple

1050 Prairie Drive
Algonquin, IL 60102