Appointment of new Copyright Czar

September 2009

On September 25, 2009, President Obama appointed Victoria A. Espinel to be the new U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, a position created last year with the passage of the PRO IP ACT/Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008

The intellectual property coordinator, also known as the Copyright Czar, is charged with overseeing the government's anti-piracy efforts and the enforcement of intellectual property laws within the U.S. In addition, the czar will look to strengthen protection of U.S. intellectual property abroad.

In 2005, Espinel was appointed to be the first Assistant United Sates Trade Representative for Intellectual Property and Innovation at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and served as the chief U.S. trade negotiator for intellectual property and innovation. She has also acted as an advisor on intellectual property matters for staff of the Senate Judiciary and Finance Committees and House Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees. Espinel is the founder and president of Bridging the Innovation Divide, a nonprofit organization that looks to further creativity and innovation among Americans, and was a visiting assistant professor at George Mason University School of Law.