The U.S. Copyright Office Discusses “Copyright and the Music Marketplace”

Please join our Washington, DC Chapter for a presentation on the U.S. Copyright Office’s recent music licensing study by attorneys from the Copyright Office’s Office of General Counsel.

In February 2015, The Copyright Office released its comprehensive study, “Copyright and the Music Marketplace,” detailing the aging music licensing framework as well as the ever-evolving needs of those who create and invest in music in the twenty-first century.  In addition to providing an exhaustive review of the existing system, the report makes a number of recommendations that the Office notes would bring both clarity and relief to songwriters, artists, publishers, record labels, and digital delivery services. The Copyright Office’s recommendations address almost every aspect of the music landscape, including the existing statutory licenses, the role of performing rights organizations, terrestrial performance rights for sound recordings, federal protection for pre-1972 sound recordings, access to music ownership data, and the concerns of songwriters and recording artists.  

The Copyright Office’s General Counsel Jacqueline Charlesworth will give an introduction, and the music licensing study will be presented by attorneys Michelle Choe, Rick Marshall, and John Riley.

There will be a brief Q&A after the main program.

Speakers

Jacqueline Charlesworth,  General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights, oversees the legal affairs of the U.S. Copyright Office.  As General Counsel, she has primary responsibility for the legal interpretation of the U.S. Copyright Act.  In addition to supervising the litigation-related and rulemaking activities of the Office, she advises Congress, the Department of Justice, and other agencies on a wide range of copyright-related law and policy matters. Jacqueline was appointed General Counsel in July 2013.  Previously, she served as Senior Counsel to the Register of Copyrights.  She joined the Copyright Office in 2012 from a New York City law firm, where she focused on music and copyright issues.  Before entering private practice, she held the position of Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), representing music publishers and songwriters in litigation, regulatory and other matters.  Prior to that, she served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA). In addition to precedential copyright cases, Jacqueline has handled significant transactional matters within the music industry.  Acting on behalf of publishers and songwriters, she worked with digital media companies and record labels to enable the launch of early on-demand streaming services, successfully negotiating the first rates and terms for those services to be adopted under the statutory licensing provisions of the Copyright Act.  She is also responsible for a long-term, multiparty agreement to improve industry licensing practices. Jacqueline received her J.D. from Yale Law School and holds a B.A. in American Civilization from Brown University.  At law school, she served on the Executive Committee of The Yale Law Journal.  Following law school, she clerked for Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum of the Southern District of New York and Judge Betty B. Fletcher of the Ninth Circuit.

Michelle Choe is an Attorney-Advisor and Ringer Fellow for Office of General Counsel. Michelle earned a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law in 2011, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and a member of the Journal of Transnational Law. She holds a B.A. degree in English literature from Columbia University. As a Ringer Fellow at the U.S. Copyright Office, she works on such issues as music licensing, orphan works, and library exceptions.  Prior to that, she was a senior copyright researcher at Columbia University’s Copyright Advisory Office and an associate at the firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in New York City. She is a member of the New York bar.

Rick Marshall is an Attorney-Advisor for the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Copyright Office. Prior to joining the Copyright Office in 2013, Rick served for several years as Law Clerk and Senior Staff Attorney for the Chief Judge at Florida’s First District Court of Appeal. In 2012, he earned his LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from The George Washington University Law School. His most recent publication: The Quest for Parity: An Examination of the Internet Radio Fairness Act was published in the Spring ‘13 edition of the Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA.

John Riley is an Attorney-Advisor for the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Copyright Office.  Prior to joining the Copyright Office in 2013, John worked as the Senior Manager for Intellectual Property Enforcement at the 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 Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law.  At the Copyright Office, John has contributed to the United States Government’s briefs in the Petrella and Aereo cases before the Supreme Court and has been recognized by the American Intellectual Property Law Association for his distinguished service and contributions in the field of intellectual property law.

Registration Deadline: May 4, 2015

Cost

Members $10

Nonmembers $15

Students FREE Email rebecca@csusa.org for your promotional code

Cancellation Policy: Refunds must be requested in writing at least three business days before the event. Refunds will not be issued after that point. Unfortunately, we will not be able to credit your registration payment toward a future event, but you may allow another person attend in your place.

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