Intellectual Property Law

Obama, Keep Filling Administration with RIAA Insiders

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

The content industry, including the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America, are applauding President Barack Obama's appointments of at least five RIAA lawyers to the Justice Department.

They urged him to continue the trend.

"The hallmarks of your administration's appointees have been competence, substantive expertise, and a commitment to your administration's agenda," the Copyright Alliance, a group of three-plus dozen content owners, wrote the president Monday (.pdf). "We have every confidence these hallmarks will be demonstrated in your future IP policy appointments."

The presidential letter comes as the United States negotiates a global intellectual property treaty and as the president mulls whom to choose as the nation's first copyright czar.

The communication was also in response to a letter the copyleft, represented by about two dozen public interest groups, sent Obama three weeks ago. That missive urged the president to stop tapping RIAA insiders to his administration.

That letter by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge and others fell on deaf ears. Last week, Obama tapped his fifth RIAA lawyer to the Justice Department. The department just wrote in a peer-to-peer music file sharing case that the administration supports monetary damages of up to $150,000 per copyright infringement.

See Also:

• Citing Racism, Walgreens Pulls 'Chia Obama'
• Obama Sides With RIAA, Supports $150000 Fine per Music Track ...
• Obama Releases Torture Memos, Vows Not to Prosecute
• Obama Sides With Bush in Spy Case
• Legal Scholar: Obama Breaking Promise for Online Transparency ...
• Scholars Reject Obama's Stance on Warrantless Cell-Phone Records ...
• Obama Promises New Era of Openness -- Update
• Obama Administration Supports Telco Spy Immunity

Full post as published by Threat Level on April 21, 2009 (boomark / email).