This program offers 2 participatory MCLE credit.

From the Register
Register Shira Perlmutter will discuss the Office’s priorities and major initiatives, including how the Office is implementing changes in copyright legislation and regulation, and the modernization of copyright practice.

Break  12:30 PM – 12:40 PM

Legislative Overview
An overview of recent copyright law and introduction to the legislative agenda of the new Congress.

Break 1:25 PM – 1:35 PM

Regulatory Update
The Office will review its major regulatory initiatives, including the Music Modernization Act and blanket license availability, CASE Act Implementation, and the 1201 Rulemaking.

Speakers: Shira Perlmutter, Maria Strong, Kimberley Isbell, Kevin Amer, and Anna Chauvet

Moderators: Angus M. MacDonald and John R. Wierzbicki

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Shira Perlmutter is the Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office, appointed as of October 25, 2020.

Prior to her appointment, Perlmutter served as Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Before that, she was the Executive Vice President for Global Legal Policy at the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), was Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Intellectual Property Policy at Time Warner, and worked at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva as a consultant on copyright and electronic commerce. 

In 1995, she was appointed as the first Associate Register for Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Copyright Office, and was also copyright consultant to the Clinton Administration’s Advisory Council on the National Information Infrastructure. Before that, she was a law professor at The Catholic University of America. She also practiced law in New York City, specializing in copyright and trademark counseling and litigation. She is a co-author of a leading casebook on international intellectual property law and policy. Perlmutter received her AB from Harvard University and her JD from the University of Pennsylvania.

Maria Strong is the Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Policy and International Affairs. She was appointed to this position on April 23, 2019.

Strong advises the Register with critical policy functions of the Copyright Office, including domestic and international copyright analyses, legislative support, and trade negotiations. She directs the Office of Policy and International Affairs, which provides support and technical advice to Congress and also represents the Copyright Office at meetings of government officials concerned with the international aspects of copyright protection and enforcement.

Appointed by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, Strong served as the Acting Register of Copyrights from January 5, 2020, through October 24, 2020. During that time, she led the 440-person workforce to administer the many aspects of the Copyright Act and continue office IT modernization efforts, all during pandemic operations. Prior to her April 2019 appointment as director of PIA, Strong served as its deputy director since January 2015. She also served as acting general counsel from April to July 2013. She joined the Copyright Office as senior counsel for policy and international affairs in 2010.

Before joining the Office, Strong spent nineteen years in private practice in Washington, DC, where she represented clients in the media, technology, and entertainment sectors and provided analyses and advocacy on global and domestic issues involving copyright law, enforcement, trade policy, and e-commerce. She began her legal career as a staff attorney at the Federal Communications Commission.

Strong earned her JD from George Washington University Law School, her MA in communications management from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communications, and her BA in communication studies from UCLA.

Kimberley Isbell is the deputy director of policy and international affairs at the United States Copyright Office. She was appointed to the position effective September 1, 2019.

In her position, Isbell assists the Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Policy and International Affairs with critical policy functions of the Office, including domestic and international policy analyses, legislative support, and trade negotiations. The Office of Policy and International Affairs represents the U.S. Copyright Office at meetings of government officials concerned with the international aspects of copyright protection and enforcement and provides regular support to Congress and its committees.

Prior to her appointment, Isbell served as senior counsel for policy and international affairs for the United States Copyright Office since April 2015. Before joining the Office, Isbell worked as in-house counsel to a medical society and as an associate in private practice focusing on trademark and copyright protection and enforcement at area law firms. Isbell also spent time as a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society of Harvard University, where she worked on issues of law and policy affecting new media startups.

Isbell is a graduate of Harvard Law School where she was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Law Record. She received her undergraduate degree with honors in social and behavioral science at Johns Hopkins University.

Kevin R. Amer is deputy general counsel for the United States Copyright Office. He was appointed to the position effective March 3, 2019.

In his position, Amer assists the General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights in providing legal guidance to the Office’s divisions, promulgating regulations governing the administration of the copyright system, advising congressional offices and other federal agencies, and developing legal positions in copyright litigation and other matters.

Amer joined the Copyright Office in 2013 as counsel in the Office of Policy and International Affairs, and served as senior counsel in that office from 2015 to 2019. Before joining the Office, he spent several years in private practice in Washington, DC, focusing on appellate litigation. Previously, he served as a law clerk to the Hon. Charles R. Wilson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Amer earned his JD from Yale Law School. He earned his AB in history and literature from Harvard University.

Anna B. Chavet is the Associate General Counsel at the U.S. Copyright Office and works on a wide range of legal and policy matters pertaining to copyright.  Most recently, she spearheaded four rulemakings to implement provisions of the Orrin G. Hatch–Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act (MMA) relating to the new blanket license regime and pre-1972 sound recordings.  She provides legal guidance to the various divisions and programs of the Copyright Office and counsels the U.S. Department of Justice regarding positions to adopt in federal copyright cases.  Prior to joining the Office, Anna worked for more than eight years in private practice, representing entertainment, banking, and technology clients on copyright, trademark, and/or patent matters.