Jon Festinger | faculty
MDM Faculty
- Master of Digital Media Program
- Centre for Digital Media
Jon Festinger, Q.C. is a Vancouver, British Columbia based counsel and educator. He is a Professor of Professional Practice at Simon Fraser University and a faculty member of the Centre for Digital Media. He is also Honourary Industry Professor in the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London.
Professor Festinger has taught a wide variety of law courses relating to intellectual property, communications, journalism, sports and business over more than 25 years at the law school at UBC, now known as the Allard School of Law, as well as teaching at various times at the UBC Graduate School of Journalism, the Thompson Rivers University Faculty of Law and the University of Victoria Faculty of Law. He is the author of the first edition of Video Game Law published by LexisNexis in 2005, and co-author of the second edition published in 2012. Professor Festinger is a graduate of McGill University's Faculty of Law. While at McGill, Professor Festinger received a Scarlet Key (awarded to outstanding students who have demonstrated distinction and leadership). He was also a Director of the McGill Legal Aid Clinic.
Professor Festinger’s current research interests relate to the relationship between concepts of justice and evolving technologies. In particular the impact of law and regulation on creative endeavours; intersections of copyright fair dealing with freedom of expression particularly regarding video game “mods”; the right to freedom of thought in virtually real environments; and digital ethics. He is also actively committed to open and distance education through the web.
Courses: Foundations of Digital Media