Digital Assets / Rights Management Expert Witnesses: 5

Chris Silver Smith is an Internet Marketing Expert who has served in lawsuits involving search engine optimization (SEO), search advertising (Pay-Per-Click advertising / PPC), social media, domain names, and more.

Mr. Smith bears the distinction of long occupying the topmost organic rankings for searches for "SEO Expert Witness", establishing that he is a not only able to speak to the theory of search engine optimization, but is also able to practice it. Smith's legal work has enabled his clients collectively to be awarded more than $94 million in their court cases, and his clients prevailed in the majority of cases he has served upon.

Litigation Support - Mr. Smith helps large companies and large brand names protect their marks in trademark infringement cases and online defamation cases. He has served as an expert on behalf of PODS Enterprises, Starbucks, Versace, GoDaddy, Adidas, and others. He does not assist companies involved with gambling, porn, recreational pharmaceuticals, tobacco, alcohol, multi-level marketing, or cults.

Specializations:

Background Experience - Mr. Smith has a diverse background as he was self-taught programming in high school, and was first trained in hypertext, the protocol subsequently succeeded by HTML, which continues to be the dominant markup language for webpages. Smith also learned higher-level C programming language in college, and later went on to work for a decade for Verizon where he ultimately was head of the technology department for one of the company's largest websites. In his roles at Verizon, Mr. Smith performed software development in multiple internet programming languages that included a proprietary Verizon language, PERL, PHP, and JAVA. 

Mr. Smith also provided user-interface design and served as an analyst. He was promoted to overseeing multiple developers and teams for usability research, search engine development, SEO, graphic design, internet analytics, advertising system design, and advanced research. As the company's pioneer in SEO research, Mr. Smith was awarded the company's highest honor, the Individual Excellence Award, for increasing search engine referral traffic and associated revenues. Smith's contribution also resulted in multiple patents awarded for search and presentation technologies.

After leaving Verizon, Mr. Smith worked for a couple of prominent and exclusive internet marketing companies before founding his own agency at Argent Media™.

Chris Silver Smith has long been a writer for Search Engine Land, one of the industry's top news and information websites for search engine marketing, and he has spoken at numerous conferences on his areas of expertise. 

View Argent Media™ Consulting Profile.

Nicolas ("Nick") A. Bax, PhD, is a seasoned Cryptocurrency Forensics Researcher with over 7 years of experience. His journey in blockchain forensics began in 2017, spurred by his personal encounter with crypto theft. Nick holds a PhD in structural biology from Stanford University, where he concurrently honed his skills in blockchain forensics, working for multiple VC-backed startups. Currently, he is the Director of Analytics at Unciphered LLC, a company specializing in crypto wallet recovery.

Nick's expertise extends to publishing research on diverse cryptocurrency-related subjects, including statistical detection of market abuse, NFT data analysis, and the tracing of anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrency transactions. His work has not only gained recognition in industry circles but has also been featured in major media outlets. His unique blend of in-depth knowledge of the crypto world, advanced data engineering skills, and a solid scientific research background enables him to conduct thorough forensic investigations. He adeptly extracts meaningful insights and delivers powerful testimony on complicated topics, making them accessible to various audiences.

Areas of Expertise:

Litigation Support - Nick's approach to forensics is comprehensive and detailed. His engagements generally require correlating blockchain data with a range of other data sources, such as private communications, social media, contracts, and more. This multi-dimensional analysis has proven invaluable in a wide array of investigations, encompassing fraud, market manipulation, and tracking hackers of varying sophistication levels. His Chainalysis Reactor Certification and access to a broad spectrum of both peer-reviewed and proprietary tools, methodologies, and data sources equip him to tackle the most challenging of cases with precision and effectiveness.

With his extensive background and proven track record, Nick stands as a leading expert in the field, adept at navigating the complexities of cryptocurrency and delivering results with clarity and authority.

Jacob Sharony, PhD, MBA, has over 25 years of experience in Mobile and Wireless Technologies. He is currently an adjunct professor at Columbia University, teaching wireless technologies and applications. He also served as a faculty member of the electrical and computer engineering department and director of the Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology at Stony Brook University. Dr. Sharony held engineering and management positions in diverse technology disciplines at Time Warner Cable, Motorola, BAE Systems, NEC Research Institute, and IBM Research. He has over 50 US patents (pending and issued) and has served on several government expert panels.

Litigation Support - Dr. Sharony provides Patent and Class Action litigation support and expert consulting in mobile and wireless technologies. This includes patent infringement and invalidity analysis, FRAND analysis, writing expert reports, and deposition, and testimony in court. His deep knowledge of target markets, including telecom, healthcare, logistics, transportation, government, hospitality, mobile commerce and supply chain management, combined with extensive expertise in wireless and mobile technologies ensure innovative and successful solutions.

Areas of Expertise:

View Dr. Sharony's Consulting Profile.

Shawn H. Malone, CISSP, CTPRP, CTPRA, is an award winning Information Security and Cyber Risk Expert.  He has over 35 years of experience delivering Cybersecurity Solutions and Third-Party Risk Management Programs to the financial services, insurance, consulting / advisory, and defense industries.  

Mr. Malone has degrees in Electrical Engineering Technology and Network Security.  He co-developed industry leading Third Party Risk Management professional certification. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Third Party Risk Professional (CTPRP) and Certified Third-Party Risk Assessor (CTPRA). 

Litigation Support - Shawn Malone provides effective consulting and advisory support including expert witness services in Cybersecurity and Third Party Risk matters.   His service are available to attorneys for plaintiff and defendant and include high quality reports, depositions, and trial testimony.

Areas of Expertise:

View Security Diligence, LLC's Business Consulting Profile.

Bruce Weiner is an Information and Internet Technology executive with over 30 years of in-depth experience managing product and software development for contracting companies and Fortune 100 companies.

Mr. Weiner is a Princeton trained computer scientist and electrical engineer, and a patent holder. Over his career, he has gained extensive experience in Information Systems management, program/project management, software development, software architecture, internet delivery, business applications, technology vendor selection, IT Outsourcing, and customer contact center operations.

Litigation Consulting Services: Mr. Weiner has experience as a consulting and/or testifying expert witness in software development, patent infringement, and commercial litigation matters for both plaintiffs and defendants. He is adept at translating complex software, patent, and technology issues for the lay person audience. He consulted on industry transforming anti-trust cases in the travel industry.

Industry Experience:

• Travel Industry Technology - Former technology leader for American Express Travel and Chief Technology Officer of United.com;
• Loyalty Industry Technology - 30 years experience in the technology that powers loyalty programs, working on Membership Miles, Thank You Rewards, Mileage Plus, #1 Gold, eRewards, MyPoints, Blockbuster Rewards, and AAdvantage
• Financial Services Technology – 30 years experience working with Financial Services Companies on credit card and banking technology.