Lawyer to lead Aussie Government push for Digital Economy

By Stuart Corner
Sunday, 14 September 2008 10:31

Government Tech Policy

iTWire has learnt that Mia Garlick, an Australian lawyer who was most recently product counsel for YouTube, has been appointed to head the Australian Government's drive for the digital economy future, as assistant secretary in the Department of Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy (BCDE)

Her appointment is linked to communications minister Stephen Conroy's announcement this week of plans to prepare Australia for the future 'digital economy'. In preparation for this initiative the department advertised in May for "a talented and highly motivated senior manager to lead the Digital Economy Branch within the Department...[to provide] leadership and strategic direction to a branch with responsibility for the development of the digital economy in Australia."

The department sought "a person with vision and drive with preferably both a technical and commercial perspective on the workings of the digital economy...able to demonstrate excellent communication skills, a capacity for innovative thought and a proven record of developing productive working relationships with stakeholders."

The advert explained that: "The successful applicant will provide high level policy advice to the minister, secretary and senior executive on a range of issues relating to the long-term direction of the digital economy, particularly in terms of the impact of convergence on the broad development of the digital economy."

Garlick joins the Government from the post of product counsel for Google subsidiary, YouTube, based in the US.  Her role involved providing advice on a range of product design matters related to copyright, privacy and other issues. Prior to joining YouTube, in February 2007, she spent two years as general counsel for Creative Commons, also based in the US where she oversaw implementation of the domestic and international legal strategy for Creative Commons and advised on ongoing legal issues in relation to Creative Commons licenses and activities. The organisation provides free tools that let authors, scientists, artists, and educators mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry.

She joined Creative Commons after working in the Silicon Valley office of the law firm Simpson Thatcher and Bartlett on a range of shareholder and securities, antitrust and intellectual property litigation matters. Prior this, in 2003, she completed a Masters of Law at Stanford, specialising in law, science, and technology. Before her Stanford studies, she worked as an IP associate in the Sydney office of Gilbert & Tobin Lawyers.

She obtained a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales in 1998 and is admitted to practice in New South Wales and in California.