ITechLaw to Hold 40th Anniversary Celebration in San Francisco

Linux Creator Linus Torvalds to Be Named Recipient of Inaugural ITechLaw Achievement Award at Association’s 2011 World Technology Law Conference and Annual Meeting to Take Place May 12-13

WAKEFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The International Technology Law Association (ITechLaw) today announced it will hold its 2011 World Technology Law Conference and Annual Meeting in San Francisco, May 12-13, at the Four Seasons Hotel. With members in more than 60 countries, ITechLaw will be celebrating its 40th anniversary as the premier worldwide organization for legal professionals practicing in the global technology sector.

“A high point of our year-long, 40th anniversary commemoration will be the 2011 Conference and Annual Meeting and first Achievement Award”

In addition to a special 40th anniversary tribute, the 2011 conference will honor the recipient of the inaugural ITechLaw Achievement Award, which is being given to the individual who has made a significant and demonstrable achievement in technology. The recipient of the 2011 award is Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel and current Linux Foundation fellow who oversees the open source development of the widely-used Linux operating system.

Accepting the award on Torvalds’ behalf will be conference keynote speaker Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation. Zemlin works with the world’s largest technology companies, including Google, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Nokia and others, to help define the future of computing on the server, in the cloud and on a variety of new mobile computing devices. His work at the vendor-neutral Linux Foundation gives him a unique and aggregate perspective on the global technology industry.

ITechLaw's popular conferences showcase legal topics presented by top lawyers and leading speakers in the field of technology law. Conference sessions at the two days of exceptional educational programming in San Francisco will include a retrospective of the last 40 years of technology law ‒ plus a look to the future for the next 40 years. Additionally, the 2011 World Technology Law Conference and Annual Meeting will feature panel discussions and roundtable breakout sessions on hot technology law issues in key practice areas, including: protecting information in the cloud, managing data privacy, social networking and e-commerce, among many others.

“A high point of our year-long, 40th anniversary commemoration will be the 2011 Conference and Annual Meeting and first Achievement Award,” said Sandra A. Jeskie, president of ITechLaw, partner at Duane Morris LLP and a leading technology lawyer. “As IT attorneys, we have a huge respect for what Linus Torvalds has achieved at a technical level. But, we also see the related benefits that open source development continues to bring and the way Linux has changed the way we contract for software and influenced licensing trends in general.”

The World Technology Law Conference and Annual Meeting also will offer attendees a variety of networking opportunities and social gatherings. Beyond the strong educational content offered at the event, part of the vibrancy of this conference is the diversity of the attendees and speakers from a wide cross section of the technology law sector.

ITechLaw’s conferences are geared toward technology lawyers, private practicing attorneys and in-house counsel, business managers focusing on the global economy, government officials, law professors and law students. For more information about the ITechLaw 2011 World Technology Law Conference and Annual Meeting, visit http://www.itechlaw.org/sanfrancisco2011/, or contact [e-mail].

About the International Technology Law Association

Founded in 1971, ITechLaw is the world's premier organization representing lawyers in the technology sector. The organization's global membership spans six continents, and embodies a broad spectrum of expertise. In addition to serving as a forum for members to discuss a wide range of legal issues, the association regularly organizes conferences that explore cutting-edge issues and trends in both information technology and intellectual property law. For more information, visit www.ITechLaw.org.

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