Karyn A. Temple Is Named Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Policy and International Affairs
Issue No. 489 - January 30, 2013
Register of Copyrights Maria A. Pallante announced today that she has appointed Karyn A. Temple to the position of Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Policy and International Affairs.
Temple served most recently as Senior Counsel for Policy and International Affairs where, since March 2011, she has worked on a wide array of the Office's policy and international initiatives, including legal solutions for users of orphan works, institutions engaged in mass digitization, and persons who require accommodations because of print disabilities. She was a member of the U.S delegation to Beijing in June 2012, where member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization concluded a treaty for the protection of audiovisual performances.
"Karyn is a natural leader and a talented copyright lawyer," said Pallante. "She will be a tremendous asset to the Register's office and the Congress."
In her new role, Temple will be a key member of the Register's senior team and a top advisor on domestic and international copyright issues. She will work closely with Congressional offices, represent the Copyright Office and U.S. government in international delegations, oversee studies and reports, assist with legislative analysis and negotiations, and engage both public and private sector stakeholders. She will supervise the policy and international affairs department and expert staff.
"I am honored to have been asked to serve at such a critical yet exciting time for copyright policy," said Temple. "Balance has always been the hallmark of American copyright law, and I am eager to work with authors, users of copyrighted works, and innovators of all kinds as we explore ways to improve and update the copyright law for the 21st century."
Immediately prior to joining the Copyright Office, Temple 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 intellectual property and other sensitive legal issues, and helped manage the Department's Task Force on Intellectual Property. She was also an attorney for the Recording Industry Association of America and an associate with the Washington law firm Williams & Connolly, LLP. She began her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, after which she joined the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division through its prestigious Honors Program.
Temple earned her law degree from Columbia School of Law, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, Senior Editor of the Columbia Law Review, and chair of the Columbia Black Law Students Association. She also holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Michigan.
The Policy and International Affairs group was previously led by Michele J. Woods who left the Office last May to become the director of the Copyright Law Division for the Culture and Creative Industries Sector at the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva,
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