Eric Priest researches in the area of intellectual property law, with a focus on copyright law in the information age and creative industry ecosystems in the U.S. and China. Professor Priest currently serves on the U.S.-China IP Cooperation Dialogue, organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Renmin University in China. The Dialogue is a multi-round interchange between U.S. and Chinese experts on the most challenging intellectual property issues facing China. The National Committee on U.S.–China Relations named Professor Priest a 2014–2016 Public Intellectuals Program Fellow. From 2006–2007, he was a fellow in residence at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
Before entering the law field, Professor Priest spent a decade as a music producer and songwriter with a couple of gold and platinum credits by obscure European artists. Since 1999, he has worked sporadically in the Chinese music industry as a consultant, Web entrepreneur, songwriter, and producer. Most recently, he wrote and produced the theme song for the Chinese television drama 'Emotional Barcelona' (情陷巴塞罗那).
Professor Priest's recent scholarship includes 'Copyright and Free Expression in China's Film Industry' (Fordham Intellectual Property, Media, and Entertainment Law Journal, 2015); “Acupressure: The Emerging Role of Market Ordering in Global Copyright Enforcement” (SMU Law Review, 2015); and “Copyright Extremophiles: Do Creative Industries Thrive or Just Survive in China’s High-Piracy Environment?” (Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, 2014).
Professor Priest holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School, a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law (where he served as Editor-In-Chief of the Chicago Kent Law Review), and a B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota.
Read Professor Priest's scholarship here.
