Marta Belcher Explained

Marta Belcher
Occupation:Technology attorney
Education:Stanford Law School, University of California, Berkeley
Nationality: American

Marta Francesca Belcher is an American technology attorney who has been called a pioneer in the area of blockchain law.[1] [2]

Early life and education

Belcher was born in Pasadena, California and grew up in La Cañada Flintridge, California.

Belcher received a B.A. in rhetoric, summa cum laude, from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.

During college and law school, she served as the executive director of No Worries Now, a national nonprofit, for which she received numerous awards, including being named Huffington Post's Greatest Person of the Day.[3]

At Stanford Law School, Belcher and two other students delivered a crowdsourced commencement speech written using an online wiki.[4] [5] [6] [7]

Career

Belcher serves as general counsel of Protocol Labs, chair of the Filecoin Foundation, and special counsel to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. She was previously an attorney focusing on blockchain and emerging technologies at Ropes & Gray in San Francisco.[8] [9]

She has spoken about blockchain law around the world, including presenting three times in Davos during the World Economic Forum,[10] [11] testifying before the New York State Senate,[12] [13] and speaking in European Parliament, the OECD, the Horasis Global Meeting,[14] and United States Congress.[1] [15]

Belcher serves as general counsel for one of the largest cryptocurrency projects, defended one of the first patent litigations against a blockchain company, and was recognized by the Financial Times Innovative Lawyer awards in 2018 for her pioneering work on the first blockchain-transferable software license and in 2019 for her work on the Protocol Labs Permissive License Stack.[16] She also represents major blockchain industry groups and civil liberties organizations—including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Blockchain Association—in matters relating to blockchain and public policy.[17] [18] [19]

Belcher has also represented public interest organizations in high-profile matters involving technology and civil liberties, including submitting briefs on behalf of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Center for Democracy and Technology, Open Technology Institute, National Consumers League, and Cato Institute in the United States courts of appeals and Supreme Court of the United States.[20] [21] [22]

Belcher received the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization's Web3 Pioneer Award at the United Nations in 2022, celebrating her as a trailblazer and innovator in her field. The prestigious award, also recognized by the US Congress, highlights women entrepreneurs and the meaningful impact they are having on the world[23]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisacohn/2019/09/25/how-blockchain-will-change-companies-qa-with-blockchain-expert-marta-belcher/ Forbes, "How Blockchain Will Change Companies: Q&A with Blockchain Expert Marta Belcher" (September 25, 2019)
  2. https://www.eff.org/about/staff/marta-belcher-0 Electronic Frontier Foundation, "Staff: Marta Belcher, EFF Special Counsel"
  3. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/huffpost-greatest-person-marta-belcher-no-worries-now_n_885595 Huffington Post, "HuffPost Greatest Person Of The Day: Marta Belcher and 'No Worries Now' Give Teens A Unique Prom" (June 27, 2011)
  4. https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2015/05/15/8-stanford-men-vied-for-glory-she-didnt-guess-who-won Forbes, "8 Stanford Men Vied for Glory. She didn't. Guess who won?" (May 15, 2015)
  5. https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/in-a-silicon-valley-innovation-student-crowdsources-her-stanford-law-graduation-speech/56681 Chronicle of Higher Education, "Silicon Valley Innovation: Stanford Law Student Crowdsources Her Graduation Speech" (May 18, 2015)
  6. https://www.law.com/therecorder/almID/1202726664699/Stanford-Law-Students-Are-Crowdsourcing-Graduation-Speech/ The Recorder, "Stanford Law Students Are Crowdsourcing Graduation Speech" (May 15, 2015)
  7. https://abovethelaw.com/2014/11/on-campus-with-elie-wiki-commencement/ Above The Law, "On-Campus With Elie: Wiki Commencement" (Nov. 13, 2014)
  8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsMyLTD_y40 Exploring Minds with Michelle Carroll, "Marta Belcher - Blockchain Law & Intellectual Property" (September 16, 2018)
  9. https://soundcloud.com/user-520492710/episode-32-talking-blockchain-patents-with-ropes-gray Bloomberg Law Code & Conduit Podcast, "Talking Blockchain Patents with Ropes & Gray" (August 2018)
  10. https://www.ropesgray.com/en/newsroom/news/2018/01/At-Davos-World-Economic-Forum-Intellectual-Property-Litigator-Speaks-at-Cryptocurrency-Event Ropes & Gray, "IP Litigator Speaks on Blockchain Law During the World Economic Forum in Davos" (January 30, 2019)
  11. https://www.ropesgray.com/en/newsroom/news/2019/01/IP-Litigator-Speaks-on-Blockchain-Law-During-the-World-Economic-Forum-in-Davos Ropes & Gray, "At Davos World Economic Forum, Intellectual Property Litigator Speaks at Cryptocurrency Event" (January 29, 2018)
  12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecQMr8O1uxc&t=10302 Marta Belcher New York Senate Testimony (June 4, 2019)
  13. https://www.ropesgray.com/en/newsroom/news/2019/06/Attorney-Marta-Belcher-Testifies-at-New-York-Senate-Hearing-on-Online-Privacy Ropes & Gray, "Attorney Marta Belcher Testifies at New York Senate Hearing on Online Privacy" (June 6, 2019)
  14. https://www.ropesgray.com/en/newsroom/events/2019/05/Marta-Belcher-Chairs-Cryptocurrency-Program-at-International-Summit-in-Portugal Ropes & Gray, “Attorney Marta Belcher Chairs Cryptocurrency Program at Horasis Global Meeting in Portugal” (May 8, 2019)
  15. https://www.ropesgray.com/en/newsroom/events/2019/07/Ropes-Gray-Attorney-Marta-Belcher-Speaks-in-US-Congress-on-Blockchain-Policy Ropes & Gray, "Two Ropes & Gray Attorneys Testified on Capitol Hill on Issues Impacting Technology Companies" (July 22, 2019)
  16. https://www.ft.com/content/1286c4d8-049d-11ea-a958-5e9b7282cbd1
  17. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/02/secs-action-against-decentralized-exchange-raises-constitutional-questions Electronic Frontier Foundation, "SEC’s Action Against Decentralized Exchange Raises Constitutional Questions" (Feb. 12, 2019)
  18. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/eff-and-open-rights-group-defend-right-publish-open-source-software-uk-government Electronic Frontier Foundation, "EFF and Open Rights Group Defend the Right to Publish Open Source Software to the U.K. Government" (June 10, 2019)
  19. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/05/why-outlawing-cryptocurrency-purchases-terrible-idea Electronic Frontier Foundation, "Why Outlawing Cryptocurrency Purchases Is a Terrible Idea" (June 10, 2019)
  20. https://www.cato.org/publications/legal-briefs/georgia-v-publicresourceorg Cato Institute, "Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org" (Oct. 16, 2019)
  21. https://cdt.org/insight/cdt-joins-eff-and-ncl-in-amicus-brief-defending-cy-pres-awards/ Center for Democracy & Technology, "CDT Joins EFF and NCL in Amicus Brief Defending Cy Pres Awards" (Sept. 2018)
  22. https://www.ropesgray.com/en/newsroom/news/2019/03/Fourth-Circuit-Extensively-Quotes-Ropes-Gray-Amicus-Brief-in-Important-Privacy-Ruling Ropes & Gray, “Fourth Circuit Extensively Quotes Ropes & Gray Amicus Brief in Important Privacy Ruling” (March 8, 2019)
  23. Grace Meng (NY). "WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP DAY 2022". Congressional Record 117: 178 (November 17, 2022). p. E1163. https://www.congress.gov/117/crec/2022/11/17/168/178/CREC-2022-11-17-pt1-PgE1163-4.pdf

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