Copyright Office Welcomes New Class of Ringer Fellows
Issue No. 678 - September 11, 2017
The U.S. Copyright Office is pleased to announce that Sarah Gersten and Emma Kleiner are joining the Office as fellows in the 2017–2019 Barbara A. Ringer Copyright Honors Program. Gersten and Kleiner begin their two-year appointments this month and will receive assignments from multiple departments within the Copyright Office, including the Office of the Register, Office of the General Counsel, Office of Policy and International Affairs, and Office of Registration Policy and Practice.
Acting Register of Copyrights Karyn A. Temple appointed Gersten and Kleiner following a highly competitive application and interview process. The program—named for Barbara A. Ringer, who served as Register from 1973 to 1980—offers promising early-career copyright lawyers an opportunity to work on a variety of advanced legal and policy issues. “This year’s class of Ringer Fellows continues the Office’s tradition of bringing on board highly talented lawyers who have a long-standing interest in copyright law,” Temple said. “We know that Sarah and Emma will contribute significantly to the work of the Office over the next two years and will have a very bright future in copyright law thereafter.”
Gersten earned her JD from Harvard Law School in 2016, where she was on the board of the Recording Artists Project and a member of the Journal of Law and Technology. During law school, she worked at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society and at Marvel Entertainment. She received her BA summa cum laude in film studies and communications from Tulane University, where she served as general manager of the community radio station and on the Tulane Media Board. Following law school, she worked as an associate at K&L Gates, where she was actively involved with the firm’s Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project.
Kleiner earned her JD at Stanford Law School in 2016, where she held leadership positions with the Fashion, Art, and Design Law Society, Stanford Intellectual Property Association, and Women of Stanford Law. During law school, she interned for the Office of General Counsel at the Institute of Museum and Library Services and at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. She also contributed articles to the Center for Art Law blog. Kleiner received her BA summa cum laude in art history and history from the University of Arizona, where she was a Flinn Scholar. Following law school, she clerked for the Honorable Richard Taranto of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The Copyright Office launched the Ringer Honors Program in 2013. It offers 18- to 24-month paid fellowships to attorneys who are no more than five years out of law school and have a strong record of achievement and demonstrated interest in copyright law. The application period for 2018–2020 Ringer Fellows closes September 15th, 2017. For more information, please visit https://copyright.gov/about/special-programs/ringer.html.