Maria Strong

Maria Strong is the Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Policy and International Affairs for the United States Copyright Office. She was appointed to this position effective April 23, 2019.

Strong advises the Register on the policy functions of the Copyright Office, including domestic and international copyright analyses, legislative support, and trade and treaty discussions. She directs the Office of Policy and International Affairs (PIA), which provides support and technical advice to Congress and represents the Copyright Office at meetings of government officials concerned with the international aspects of copyright protection and enforcement.

Strong also served as the Acting Register of Copyrights from January 5, 2020, through October 24, 2020, having been appointed by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. During that time, Strong led a 440-person workforce to administer the many aspects of the Copyright Act and continue office IT modernization efforts, all during pandemic operations. She also served as Acting Assistant Register and Director of Operations from November 7, 2021, to March 26, 2022. Prior to her April 2019 appointment as director of PIA, Strong served as its deputy director since January 2015. She also served as acting general counsel from April to July 2013. She joined the Copyright Office as senior counsel for policy and international affairs in 2010.

Before joining the Office, Strong spent nineteen years in private practice in Washington, DC, where she represented clients in the media, technology, and entertainment sectors and provided analyses and advocacy on global and domestic issues involving copyright law, enforcement, trade policy, and e-commerce. She began her legal career as a staff attorney at the Federal Communications Commission.

Strong earned a JD from George Washington University Law School, an MA in communications management from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communications, and a BA in communication studies from UCLA.