Thomson Reuters Interviews Copyright Litigation Handbook Author Ray Dowd

Interview reprinted with permission from ePublished magazine, a Thomson Reuters publication for West Key Authors.


Author Profile- Ray Dowd Thomson Reuters Westlaw author Ray Dowd is an avid social media user and uses his blog Copyright Litigation Blog to promote his publication Copyright Litigation Handbook. In a recent interview with attorney editor they discussed how he uses social media to both increase his legal knowledge and raise his own professional profile.
Copyright Litigation Handbook came about because “the treatises out there really were more interested in the ‘why’ of copyright law, and not really the ‘how,’” Dowd said. He recalled standing in court during a trial before Judge Denny Chin, S.D.N.Y., and staring down at a stack of books on the table.  “I needed a reference book. Copyright Litigation Handbook is part of a desire to have a quick, easily accessible cheat sheet.”

The book is designed to help practitioners manage client interviews, deal with the copyright office pre-litigation, file a complaint, and navigate court proceedings. It received praise in the New York Law Journal, and Dowd is proud of his colleagues’ positive feedback as well.

The blog promotes the book, and it has topped the Google search rankings for months because Dowd identified a niche and carefully selected a name for it.  “I went out there and identified a specific need, and I simply called it something different…. Folks out there are writing about ‘copyright law’—very few are writing about ‘copyright litigation,’” he noted.

His blogging advice for authors: Use targeted, logical keywords.

Dowd also recommends Twitter for legal authors.  Don’t underestimate “the intellectual firepower of the members of the legal profession who are tweeting,” said Dowd, who belongs to a list of IP lawyers who tweet on legal issues. “You can process a massive amount of information in a matter of seconds. It’s focused on exactly what you’re looking for.” Dowd uses Twitter streams to follow certain search terms, link to documents, and receive updates that supplement his Westclips service.

 “I’m very excited about this new collaboration and the real hands-on approach I’ve gotten from my attorney editor and Thomson Reuters Westlaw’s in-house social media coordinator,” said Dowd.  “We’ve entered this world that’s a lot like the film The Matrix, where we are connected whether we like it or not.”

 www.dunnington.com
 Copyright law, fine art and navigating the courts. All practice, no theory.Copyright Litigation Handbook (Thomson Reuters Westlaw 2012-2013) by Raymond J. Dowd