Maria A. Pallante (born February 5, 1964) is the president and chief executive officer of the Association of American Publishers, a publishing industry trade association. Pallante is an American attorney who previously served as the 12th United States

Register of Copyrights The Register of Copyrights is the director of the United States Copyright Office within the Library of Congress, as provided by . The Office has been headed by a Register since 1897. The Register is appointed by, and responsible to, the Librar ...

. She was appointed acting register effective January 1, 2011, succeeding Marybeth Peters, who retired effective December 31, 2010. On June 1, 2011, she was permanently appointed to the position. Prior to her appointment, Pallante had served in the

Copyright Office The United States Copyright Office (USCO), a part of the Library of Congress, is a United States government body that registers copyright claims, records information about copyright ownership, provides information to the public, and assists ...

as Associate Register for Policy and International Affairs (2008–2010); Deputy General Counsel (2007–2008); and Policy Advisor (1996–1997). Pallante had been a resident of

Westville, New Jersey Westville is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,264, a decrease of 24 (−0.6%) from the 2010 census count of 4,288, which in turn reflected a d ...

. Aside from working for the Copyright Office, Pallante had been intellectual property counsel for the

Guggenheim Museums The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Museums in this group include: * The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Ne ...

(1999-2007), Executive Director of the

National Writers Union National Writers Union (NWU) is a trade union in the United States for freelance and contract writers founded on 19 November 1981. NWU is affiliated with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the International Authors Forum (IAF), a ...

(1993-1995), and Assistant Director of the

Authors Guild The Authors Guild is the United States' oldest and largest professional organization for writers and provides advocacy on issues of free expression and copyright protection. Since its founding in 1912 as the Authors League of America, it has coun ...

(1991-1993). Shortly after becoming the Register of Copyrights, Pallante proposed an ambitious plan to reinvent and update copyright law and move the Copyright Office into the 21st century. In her paper, titled ''The Next Great Copyright Act'' she states in part "it is difficult to see how a twenty-first century copyright law could function well without a twenty-first century agency". In a letter to congressman

John Conyers John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. Conyers was the sixth-longest serving member of Congress and the lo ...

Jr. she said that the copyright office should no longer be part of the library, citing several concerns including "mounting operational tensions." On October 21, 2016, Pallante was abruptly removed from her position. Librarian of Congress

Carla Hayden Carla Diane Hayden (born August 10, 1952) is an American librarian who served as the 14th librarian of Congress. Hayden was both the first African American and the first woman to hold this post. Appointed in 2016, she was the first professional ...

said she had been appointed senior advisor for digital strategy, an appointment made without Pallante's prior knowledge. Rather than accept the position, Pallante submitted her resignation on October 24, 2016. Recording artist

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician who is a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, for whom he is the drummer and co-lead vocalist, as well as its sole continuous member. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles ...

said Pallante’s ouster was “an enormous blow” to artists, and that Pallante was "a champion of copyright and stood up for the creative community." Pallante was criticized by public interest groups for having supported controversial legislation such as the

Stop Online Piracy Act The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) was a proposed United States congressional bill to expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement to combat online copyright infringement and online trafficking in counterfeit goods. Introduced on October 26, 20 ...

, having objected to a proposal by the FCC to enable an open platform for television set-top boxes, based on consultation with the content industry, and the Office having spent $12 million over five years on a failed attempt to implement a new computer system at the Copyright Office.

Karyn Temple Karyn A. Temple (previously Karyn Temple Claggett) is an attorney who served as the 13th United States Register of Copyrights, appointed to the position on March 27, 2019. Temple was Acting Register of Copyrights from October 21, 2016, to March ...

became acting register of copyrights. In January 2017, Pallante was named president and CEO of the

Association of American Publishers The Association of American Publishers (AAP) is the national trade association of the American book publishing industry. AAP lobbies for book, journal and education publishers in the United States. AAP members include most of the major commercial ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pallante, Maria A. 1964 births George Washington University Law School alumni Living people Misericordia University alumni People from Westville, New Jersey United States Registers of Copyright