Copyright and Theft Issues in the Digital Age
NCSL Annual Meeting - Nashville, Tennessee
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
10:15 am – 11:30 am
Mitch Bainwol
Chairman and CEO
Recording Industry Association of America
Washington, DC
Mitch Bainwol is Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the organization representing the nation’s major record companies. A seasoned and respected policymaker, strategist and advisor to Washington’s most powerful Congressional leaders, Mr. Bainwol possesses a unique blend of political, legislative, and communications skills. Since joining the RIAA in September 2003, Mr. Bainwol has helped lead the music industry’s campaign to curb online piracy and transition its $12 billion business to the digital world. During the past couple of years, the RIAA won a seminal U.S. Supreme Court Grokster decision that protects intellectual property rights in the digital age and also secured Congressional reforms that update the nation’s anti-piracy laws. Before joining the RIAA, Mr. Bainwol led The Bainwol Group, a lobbying firm in Washington. During his career, Mr. Bainwol has managed two successful statewide campaigns and advised on numerous others. With an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from Rice University, Mr. Bainwol began his career as a budget analyst in President Ronald Reagan's Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He went on to become chief of staff for U.S. Senator Connie Mack, U.S. Senate leadership staff director from 1993-97, chief of staff of the Republican National Committee in 1998, and then a top lobbyist for the management consulting firm Clark and Weinstock in 1999.
Representative Rob Briley
Tennessee
Representative Rob Briley is a native of Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy in 1985 before attending the University of Colorado, from which he graduated in 1991 with a degree in Political Science. Representative Briley received his J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School in 1997, and then completed a judicial clerkship with Circuit Judge Thomas W. Brothers. Since that time, he has practiced in Nashville handling a broad spectrum of civil litigation as part of a general practice. In 2004, he was a founding member of the Briley Law Group, PLLC with his brother, David Briley. In 1998, he was first elected to represent the 52nd Legislative District in the House of Representatives of the 101st Tennessee General Assembly where he continues to serve today. He is the House Majority Floor Leader. Representative Briley currently serves on the following Committees: Judiciary; Finance, Ways and Means; Ethics; Rules; Joint Workers Compensation Oversight; and Calendar and Rules. He also serves as Chairman of the Civil Practice and Procedure Sub-Committee of the House Judiciary Committee.
Angela Miele
Vice President State Government Affairs
Motion Picture Association of America
Washington, DC
Angela Miele has been with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for 10 years and is responsible for reviewing, analyzing and recommending action on legislation and regulatory proposals in the fifty states and territories, affecting all aspects of MPAA member company business interests and operations including production, distribution and exploitation. She testifies before state legislatures and meets with gubernatorial and state officials on issues relating to anti-piracy and other intellectual property and taxation, including streamlined sales tax issues. She directs grassroots campaigns with entertainment industry related associations, unions and guilds and with state film commissioners to combat adverse legislation and provide support to states in developing or advancing motion picture production tax incentives. Prior to joining the MPAA, Ms. Miele was a lobbyist in the New York State legislature on behalf of three New York City Mayors, promoting the City’s legislative agenda in Albany. She also worked for the New York City Economic Development Corporation and began her career working as an analyst for the New York State Senate Finance Committee. Ms. Miele holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the State University of New York at Albany.
Veronica A. O'Connell
Senior Director, Government Affairs
Consumer Electronics Association
Virginia
Veronica O’Connell joined the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) in 2001. CEA represents more than 2,100 corporate members involved in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and integration of audio, video, mobile electronics, wireless and landline communications, information technology, home networking, multimedia and accessory products, as well as related services that are sold through consumer channels. As Senior Director of Government Affairs, Ms. O'Connell serves as an advocate for the consumer electronics industry on a number of public policy issues, such as telecommunications policy, technical mandate, digital television, spectrum reform and copyright issues. Prior to joining CEA, Ms. O’Connell served as the Manager of Government Relations for the Direct Selling Association. She also served as the Deputy Campaign Manager for the Re-Elect Nancy Johnson to Congress Committee. Ms. O’Connell received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Trinity College.
Gigi B. Sohn
President, Public Knowledge.
Washington, DC
Gigi Sohn is the President and Co-Founder of Public Knowledge. An internationally known communications policy attorney, Ms. Sohn seeks to apply her constituency-building and advocacy expertise to intellectual property policy. From May 1999 to January 2001, she served as a Project Specialist in the Ford Foundation’s Media, Arts and Culture unit. In that capacity, she oversaw grantmaking in the Foundation’s media policy and technology portfolio, and advised the Foundation on the future direction of the portfolio. While at Ford, Gigi teamed up with her Public Knowledge Co-Founders, Laurie Racine (President of the Center for the Public Domain) and David Bollier in examining the need for a public interest intellectual property rights organization. Prior to joining the Ford Foundation, Ms. Sohn served as Executive Director of the Media Access Project (MAP), a Washington, DC based public interest telecommunications law firm that represents citizens’ rights before the Federal Communications Commission and the courts. In recognition of her work at MAP, President Clinton appointed Gigi to serve as a member of his Advisory Committee on the Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters (“Gore Commission”) in October 1997. In that same year, she was selected by the American Lawyer magazine as one of the leading public sector lawyers in the country under the age of 45. Ms. Sohn is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, where she teaches a class entitled “Music Technology, Copyright and Public Policy.” She is also a Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne Faculty of Law, Graduate Studies Program in Melbourne, Australia. In 2001, she was an Adjunct Professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, in New York City. Gigi holds a B.S. in Broadcasting and Film, Summa Cum Laude, from the Boston University College of Communication and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Senator Jeff Wentworth
Texas
Senator Jeff Wentworth is serving his fifth term in the Texas Senate where he was president pro tem in 2004-2005 and where he was inaugurated as Governor of Texas for a Day on November 20, 2004. Senator Wentworth, a fourth-generation Texan, was first elected to the Texas Senate in 1992. The Republican senator from San Antonio represents more than 700,000 Texans in six counties located in the heart of the state. He is chairman of the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence and serves on the Administration; Intergovernmental Relations; and Transportation and Homeland Security committees. He chairs the Texas Legislative Tourism Caucus and serves on the Board of Directors of the Natural Resources Foundation of Texas. Prior public service includes five years in the Texas House of Representatives, one year as a university system regent, six years as a county commissioner, two years as a city attorney, three years as a Congressional assistant, and three years as a United States Army counterintelligence officer. Senator Wentworth graduated from Alamo Heights High School, Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University School of Law. Senator Wentworth is a member of the National Executive Committee of the Council of State Governments. He also serves as chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures' Legislative Effectiveness and State Government Committee. Senator Wentworth, a practicing attorney, is a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, as well as the San Antonio Bar Foundation. He is admitted to practice law in both the District of Columbia and Texas.
|
