Intellectual Property Law

Obama Taps 5th RIAA Lawyer to Justice Dept.

By Ryan Singel, Kevin Poulsen, Sarah Lai Stirland, Kim Zetter, and David Kravets

President Barack Obama is tapping another RIAA attorney into the Justice Department.

Monday's naming of Ian Gershengorn, to become the department's deputy assistant attorney of the Civil Division, comes more than a week after nearly two-dozen public interest groups, trade pacts and library coalitions urged the new president to quit filling his administration with lawyers plucked from the Recording Industry Association of America.

The move makes it five RIAA lawyers Obama has appointed to the Justice Department.

Gershengorn, left, a partner with RIAA-firm Jenner & Block, represented the labels against Grokster (.pdf) and will be in charge of the DOJ Federal Programs Branch. That's the unit that just told a federal judge the Obama administration supports monetary damages as high as $150,000 per purloined music track on a peer-to-peer file sharing program.

In addition to Gershengorn, the other Jenner & Block attorneys appointed to the Justice Department include:

*Donald Verrilli, associate deputy attorney general ? the No. 3 in the DOJ, who unsuccessfully urged a federal judge to uphold the $222,000 file sharing verdict against Jammie Thomas.

*Tom Perrilli, as Verrilli's former boss, the Justice Department's No. 2 argued in 2002 that internet service providers should release customer information to the RIAA even without a court subpoena.

*Brian Hauck, counsel to associate attorney general, worked on the Grokster case on behalf of the record labels.

*Ginger Anders, assistant to the solicitor general, litigated on the Cablevision case.

See Also:

• Obama: Stop Filling Administration With RIAA Insiders
• Obama Sides With RIAA, Supports $150000 Fine per Music Track ...
• EFF Wonders: Did Obama Violate Copyright Law With iPod Gift ...
• RIAA, MPAA Converging on Political Conventions
• Obama Administration Declares Proposed IP Treaty a 'National ...

Full post as published by Threat Level on April 13, 2009 (boomark / email).