Faculty Profile: Laurie Hughes

Laurie Hughes, an entertainment and intellectual property attorney, has over twenty-five years experience in business affairs, business development, and licensing strategies for both copyright owners and digital content providers. Her current law practice includes licensing and rights clearances, copyright and trademark prosecution for music, film, entertainment, technology and other clients, and mentoring and advising digital music startup companies.
Formerly VP of Business Affairs and General Counsel at TouchTunes Interactive Networks, the world's largest out of home entertainment network, Laurie's group obtained licenses from and distributed royalties to all of the major and thousands of large and small independent record labels and music publishers in the US, Mexico and Canada.
As AVP of Business Affairs at ASCAP, Laurie a led teams that negotiated industry-wide agreements growing existing licensing revenue and developing new revenue streams. Before ASCAP, Laurie was General Counsel and VP Legal and International Affairs at SESAC. She appeared as counsel in Copyright Royalty Tribunal distribution proceedings and testified at numerous state legislative hearings on bills concerning copyright licensing and enforcement.
She has been a speaker on rights and licensing at numerous trade and industry association conferences including the Intellectual Property Law Section of the State Bar of California, and the World Intellectual Property Organization and many others. Laurie earned her law degree at the University of Memphis School of Law, and her B.A. at Smith College.