RIAA's Favorite Lawyer Tells Senate Committee He Hopes DOJ Can Focus More On IP

from the here-it-comes dept

We've been talking about how the various favorite lawyers of the big content lobbying organizations all seem to be ending up in the Justice Department. Some have pointed out that these lawyers will most likely be focused on other DOJ business, since IP issues aren't a major issue within Justice. They also point out that folks in the Justice Department have very little impact on policy. That may be true... but at the hearings to confirm Tom Perrelli as associate attorney general, he did talk quite a bit about IP issues, saying that he hopes the Justice Department will bring renewed focus on the issue, while noting that existing US intellectual property laws "don't seem to be addressing the problem." As a starting point, that's not a great sign, especially since he focuses on the supposed "problem" when it's not even clear that there is a problem. He claims it's "counterfeiting" and "piracy" but we've already seen that piracy isn't a problem -- smart business models address that. And, as for counterfeiting, both the OECD and the GAO have made it clear that any "problem" has been massively exaggerated by industry lobbyists -- such as those Perrelli used to work for.

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Obama Appoints Former RIAA Lawyer To Associate Attorney General

from the good-lawyer,-bad-client dept

Amidst a number of high profile appointments today was the position of associate attorney general. The high-ranking position has been awarded to Tom Perrelli of the prominent law firm Jenner & Block. By all accounts, Perrelli has led an impressive legal career spanning public service and private practice. However, his most recent tenure in private practice has had him representing the recording industry. Although specifics are hard to come by, according to his official biography, "Mr. Perrelli regularly represents the recording industry in cutting-edge intellectual property, technology, and anti-piracy litigation. He has represented the recording industry in a host of cases arising under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), as well as in copyright infringement and digital piracy litigation. He has also represented the record industry and recording artists in a series of copyright royalty proceedings before the Copyright Royalty Board."

Of course, Mr. Perrelli's job was to represent the interest of his clients, but given the questionable legal tactics the RIAA has pursued in its litigation and the problems with the Copyright Royalty Board, there is reason to pause regarding his appointment. But, as Matt Yglesias writes, since the RIAA has relied so heavily on litigation, it's probably a good bet that they chose the best lawyers they could.

Kevin Donovan is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Kevin Donovan and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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