Copyright and the California Coast: The Register of Copyrights’ Annual Address

Join us for “Copyright and the California Coast,” the annual premiere Los Angeles copyright address given by the Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office, Shira Perlmutter.  To present our program to the widest possible audience, and to protect the health of attendees in Los Angeles at the planned live luncheon, the Copyright Society will now present this year’s edition exclusively online via Zoom.

Ms. Perlmutter and Robert Kasunic, Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Registration Policy and Practice, will bring the latest in copyright law at the highest level in the United States to our audience, including crucial developments in legislation, litigation, and recent U.S. Copyright Office updates in a comprehensive presentation and discussion that is unique in scope and approachability.

The Los Angeles Chapter of the Copyright Society presents this annual event as an important connection between Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Copyright Office and the California creative and legal community. Please join us for this essential and unique opportunity to be part of the copyright community!

SPEAKERS:

Shira Perlmutter is the Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office. She was appointed to the position effective October 25, 2020. Perlmutter leads a workforce of over 400 employees, advises Congress on copyright policy, and directs the administration of important provisions of the United States Copyright Act, Title 17. Prior to her appointment as Register, Perlmutter had served since 2012 as Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In that position, Perlmutter was a policy advisor to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and oversaw the USPTO’s domestic and international IP policy activities; legislative engagement, through the Office of Governmental Affairs; education and training, through the Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA); global advocacy, through the IP Attaché Program; and economic analysis, through the Office of the Chief Economist. Before joining the USPTO, Perlmutter was Executive Vice President for Global Legal Policy at the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). Prior to that, she held the position of Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Intellectual Property Policy at Time Warner. Perlmutter previously 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. She was the copyright consultant to the Clinton Administration’s Advisory Council on the National Information Infrastructure in 1994 and 1995. Perlmutter is a research fellow at the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre at Oxford University. From 1990 through 1995, she was a law professor at The Catholic University of America, teaching copyright law, trademark and unfair competition law, and international intellectual property law. Previously, she 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 and has published numerous articles on copyright issues. Perlmutter received her AB from Harvard University and her JD from the University of Pennsylvania.

Robert J. Kasunic is Associate Register of Copyrights and director of registration policy and practice for the United States Copyright Office. He was appointed to the position effective April 16, 2013. In his position, Kasunic heads the Office of Registration Policy and Practice, which administers the U.S. copyright registration system and advises the Register of Copyrights on questions of registration policy and related regulations and interpretations of the copyright law. He is a recognized copyright expert and is one of four legal advisors to the Register. Kasunic joined the Copyright Office in 2000 as a senior attorney in the Office of General Counsel and was appointed deputy general counsel in 2010. Prior to arriving at the Office, he worked in private practice on a variety of copyright, trademark, and cyberlaw issues. He has been an adjunct professor of law for over twenty-five years and currently is an adjunct professor at American University’s Washington College of Law and was previously on the adjunct faculty of the Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Baltimore School of Law. Kasunic earned his JD from the University of Baltimore School of Law and his BA in political science from Columbia University.

With introductory remarks by:

Corey Field

Founder, Corey Field Law Group, P.C. in Los Angeles and
Former President of The Copyright Society

Naomi Jane Gray

Copyright Society President and
Founder, Shades of Gray Law Group, P.C.

REgistration:

Copyright Society Members: $55
Non-Members: $95
Student Member: Free

CLE Credit:

The Copyright Society is a Certified CLE Provider in New York and California. Program will satisfy 1.0 NY CLE credit and 1.0 CA participatory credit. The intermediate program is transitional and appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys.  Instructions for verifying attendance will be emailed to registrants prior to the program.

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