
Shira Perlmutter
Photo: Library of Congress
Recording Academy Welcomes Shira Perlmutter As The Next Register of Copyrights
On behalf of its membership and the music community it serves, the Recording Academy welcomes the 14th Register of Copyrights to office, Shira Perlmutter. On Sept. 21, Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden announced Perlmutter as the next Register of Copyrights and her service at the U.S. Copyright Office will begin next month.
“The Recording Academy congratulates Shira Perlmutter on her appointment as Register of Copyrights and extends our gratitude to Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden for this selection," the Academy said in a statement. "The Academy appreciated Register Perlmutter’s leadership and efforts on behalf of music creators in her previous role at the United States Patent and Trademark Office and welcomes the opportunity to work with her again. Register Perlmutter is no stranger to copyright matters for music creators, and the Academy looks forward to working with her on copyright modernization issues related to the Music Licensing Collective and safe harbor issues within the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.”
Perlmutter previously served as the Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs at the US Patent and Trademark Office and is a renowned copyright expert. She will now fill the vacancy that was held by Acting Register of Copyrights Maria Strong, who has served in a temporary capacity since the departure of former Register Karyn Temple earlier this year. The Library of Congress also released a statement detailing the role and its selectee.
"Ms. Perlmutter has been an associate professor of law at the Columbus Law School of the Catholic University of America, where she taught courses on both national and international copyright and trademark law," the LOC's statement reads. "She also served as the copyright consultant to the Clinton administration's Advisory Committee on the National Information Infrastructure. Prior to her work at Catholic University, Ms. Perlmutter was an associate attorney with the law firms of Cowan, Leibowitz & Latman and also Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York."
No stranger to music, Perlmutter studied voice performance as a graduate student at Temple University from 1979-1980 after earning her A.B. degree in linguistics from Harvard University. She went on to earn her J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1983. Perlmutter began her career with two different private law firms, where she honed a specialty in copyright and trademark law.
Today, she serves on three editorial or advisory boards for professional journals: the Bureau of National Affairs' Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law Journal; the Journal of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A.; and the American Intellectual Property Association (AIPLA) Quarterly Journal. She is also a member of the executive committee of the Association Litteraire et Artistique Internationale, which focuses on international issues relating to authorship.
“Shira brings to this role a deep knowledge of domestic and international copyright law and policy and a background in negotiating international intellectual property agreements. She has experience working with a wide range of stakeholders and finding common ground on complex issues,” added Hayden. "I appreciate Maria for stepping into the role of acting Register and for providing excellent leadership to the U.S. Copyright Office.”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Chairman Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA) also congratulated and welcoming Perlmutter, saying, "Ms. Perlmutter will bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the position, having worked in private practice, industry, academia, and most recently, serving as the Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office." Chairman Nadler also extended thanks to Maria Strong for servicing as Acting Register for the past nine months and helping guide the office through the COVID-19 pandemic and the CARES Act.
As the Academy and its members continue to raise the collective voice of the music community in support of creators' rights and fair compensation for their work, we welcome Perlmutter to her new role and look forward to working together on the critical copyright issues affecting music makers and beyond.
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