IP Notes

by Sarah Lai Stirland

The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) on Monday named
former Justice Department Deputy Chief of Staff David Israelite as its
new president and CEO.
Israelite takes the job after four years at Justice. One of his
last tasks there was to chair the task force on intellectual property,
which late last year published recommendations on how the federal
government can improve intellectual property enforcement.
NMPA joined the Motion Picture Association of America and Recording
Industry Association of America in petitioning the Supreme Court to hear
the copyright case Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios v. Grokster. The high
court will hear oral arguments March 29.
"David's outstanding legislative and political background combined
with his tremendous knowledge of the issues surrounding intellectual
property made him the obvious choice for this role, as the U.S. music
publishing industry moves forward to confront the challenges and
opportunities of the 21st century," Irwin Robinson, the chairman of
NMPA's board and chairman and CEO of Famous Music Publishing, said in a
statement.
Before joining Justice, Israelite worked as director of political
and governmental affairs for the Republican National Committee. As a
senior adviser to the committee chairman, he was responsible for the
GOP's campaign operations, government affairs, research and presidential
liaison divisions.
Israelite also worked as administrative assistant to Sen.
Christopher (Kit) Bond, R-Mo., from 1997 to 1998 and served as his

# posted by John @ 8:54 PM