David O. Carson was a member of the Copyright Claims Board (CCB) in the U.S. Copyright Office from July 2021 to March 2026. Established by the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2020, the CCB provides an efficient and user-friendly forum to adjudicate lower-monetary value copyright disputes for participants who have opted to have them resolved by the Board.

Previously, he had served at the Copyright Office as General Counsel (1997-2006 and 2009-2012) and Associate Register of Copyrights for Policy & International Affairs (2007-2008). From September 2014 until July 2021, he was Senior Copyright Counsel in the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, where he led the copyright policy team.

His private sector experience includes serving as Executive Vice President, Global Legal Policy at IFPI, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, in London from 2012 to 2014 and private practice from 1981 to 1997, first in Beverly Hills and then in New York, where he advised clients on copyright and media law and represented them in the federal district and appellate courts and the Supreme Court.

He retired from the Copyright Office in March 2026.