John R. Riley

John R. Riley is an Assistant General Counsel at the U.S. Copyright Office where he focuses on music, artificial intelligence, and other policy issues.  He has contributed to the U.S. Government’s Supreme Court briefs in ABC v. Aereo and Petrella v. MGM and lower court briefs in Thaler v. Perlmutter and Eight Mile Style v. Spotify. He hasco-authored Copyright Office policy reports including Copyright and the Music Marketplace, Copyright Small Claims, and Unclaimed Royalties: Best Practice Recommendations for the Mechanical Licensing Collective. He has authored rules implementing the Music Modernization Act (“MMA”) and Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (“CASE”) Act of 2020 as well as the Group Registration for Works on an Album of Music (“GRAM”) registration option. Among other regulatory work, he has recently promulgated rules addressing Fees for Late Royalty Payments Under the MMA and Termination Rights, Royalty Distributions, Ownership Transfers, Disputes, and the MMA. He frequently advises Congress, other federal agencies, and foreign officials on copyright law and policy.

Prior to joining the Copyright Office, John worked as the Senior Manager of Intellectual Property Enforcement at the United States Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center. John earned his LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from the George Washington University Law School and his JD from the Dickinson School of Law. He holds BA degrees in Political Science, English, and Communication Arts & Sciences from Penn State University.  He has been recognized by the American Intellectual Property Law Association for his distinguished service and contributions in the field of intellectual property law. He previously served as co-chair of the Copyright Society’s Washington, DC Chapter.