Copyright Office Welcomes New Ringer Fellow
Issue No. 780 - October 9, 2019
The U.S. Copyright Office is pleased to announce that Cassandra Sciortino has joined the Office as a fellow (2019–2021) in the Barbara A. Ringer Copyright Honors Program. She started her two–year appointment 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, Office of Public Information and Education, and Office of Registration Policy and Practice.
Register of Copyrights Karyn A. Temple appointed Sciortino after a 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. “Cassie continues the Office’s tradition of bringing on board highly talented lawyers who have a long–standing interest in copyright law,” Temple said. “We are pleased to have her here, contributing to numerous legal, regulatory, and policy issues that the Copyright Office is working on during these very busy and exciting times.”
Sciortino earned her JD at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in 2019, where she was a research editor for the George Mason Law Review and a board member of the George Mason Moot Court Board. During law school, she worked in the George Mason Arts & Entertainment Clinic, and interned at the U.S. Copyright Office as well as the National Music Publishers’ Association. Sciortino received her BA magna cum laude in English and philosophy from the University of Mary Washington, where she served as music director for one of the coed a cappella groups, received departmental honors in philosophy, and was awarded the Philosophy and Law Prize.
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. For more information, please visit https://www.copyright.gov/about/special-programs/ringer.html.