Pallante out as Register of Copyrights

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the appointment of Maria Pallante as senior advisor for digital strategy and Karyn Temple Claggett as acting register of copyrights. In the role of senior advisor, Pallante will support the Librarian’s agency-wide digital strategy, advising on collecting and preserving digital materials, collections copyright status, licensing opportunities and third-party collaborations related to digital content. Pallante has served as register of copyright since her appointment in 2011 by James Billington. Prior to that appointment, Pallante served as deputy general counsel (2007-2008) and associate register and director of policy and international affairs (2008-2011) for the office. From 1999-2007 she was intellectual property counsel and director of licensing for the worldwide Guggenheim Museums. She also worked for two authors’ organizations in New York, serving as assistant director of the Authors Guild Inc. and as executive director of the National Writers Union. She practiced at the Washington, D.C., law firm and literary agency Lichtman, Trister, Singer and Ross, and completed a clerkship in administrative law for the appellate division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Temple Claggett has served since 2013 as associate register of copyrights and director of policy and international affairs for the United States Copyright Office. In that role, she has overseen the office’s domestic and international policy analyses, legislative support and trade negotiations. She has directed the Office of Policy and International Affairs, which represents the Copyright Office at meetings of government officials concerned with the international aspects of intellectual property protection, and provides support to Congress and its committees on statutory amendments and construction. Prior to joining the Copyright Office, Temple Claggett served as senior counsel to the deputy attorney general of the United States, where she assisted with the formulation of Department of Justice policy on legal issues and helped manage the Department of Justice’s Task Force on Intellectual Property. She also spent several years in the private sector as vice president, litigation and legal affairs for the Recording Industry Association of America and at the law firm Williams & Connolly, LLP. She began her legal career as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division through its Honors Program and also served as a law clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.