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Singing The Intellectual Property Tune
by Heather Greenfield
Kathryn Wagner has been signed as the new vice president for the National Music Publishers' Association. NMPA President and CEO David Israelite said Wagner has extensive intellectual property and litigation experience.
Wagner will help manage NMPA's litigation efforts on behalf of music publishers and songwriters. "I value creative work and look forward to representing the interests of music publishers and songwriters as the industry continues to evolve," Wagner said.
Wagner joins the NMPA after 10 years as a lawyer at Pryor Cashman, where she specialized in intellectual property, corporate and securities litigation, and alternative dispute-resolution proceedings. She has litigated numerous high-profile cases involving copyright infringement, trademark law, unfair competition, and music publishing and film-distribution contracts.
Jamie Marotta, meanwhile, has been promoted to director of member relations and NMPA's political action committee. Marotta also will focus on the recently unveiled NMPA Gold and Platinum Composition Award. NMPA further has added a new executive assistant to its staff -- Elizabeth Young, who just graduated from George Washington University.
"These recent hires and promotion mean new energy invigorating our efforts," Israelite said.
Manufacturers Celebrate Choice Of 'Czar'
National Association of Manufacturers President John Engler is celebrating unanimous Senate confirmation of one of the group's own -- Woody Sutton to serve as the Commerce Department's new manufacturing "czar."
Sutton was an officer of the NAM's Council of Manufacturing Associations, which plays a lead role in NAM policy development and legislative advocacy. Engler said President Bush "could not have made a better choice for this important position." Sutton's official title will be assistant Commerce secretary for manufacturing and services.
"Woody Sutton has a strong background in manufacturing and is extremely well-qualified to serve as the federal government's lead advocate for manufacturing," Engler said. "He has an exemplary reputation among industry and government leaders. We look forward to working with him as he assumes his new responsibilities."
Sutton is a highly decorated former U.S. Navy rear admiral and previously served as president of the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute.
Senate confirmation isn't always easy. In May, NAM's executive vice president, Michael Baroody, withdrew his nomination to be chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Baroody asked to be removed from consideration after Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., placed a procedural "hold" on his appointment.
House Panel Gets New GOP Staff Chief
The House Energy and Commerce Committee minority has a new chief of staff. David Cavicke, who has served as Republican general counsel, is being promoted to the top job.
"I'm happy that David has agreed to accept the top Republican staff job on our committee," said panel ranking Republican Joe Barton, R-Texas. "He has big shoes to fill, but it's hard to imagine a person so uniquely qualified to fill them."
Before becoming general counsel in 2005, Cavicke was chief counsel for the Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee. On the full committee he helped author the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to overhaul financial services, and he led congressional investigations into financial fraud at Andersen Consulting and the Enron energy firm.
Energy and Commerce also credits Cavicke with for his work on the development of the Securities Litigation Reform Act, which was the most significant set of changes to commercial litigation in 50 years.
"In his 12 years with Energy and Commerce, David has done everything but sweep the floors, and done each job with grace and success," Barton said. "He brings diplomacy, humor and a powerful intellect, and I'm pleased to have him with us."
Before coming to Capitol Hill, Cavicke worked at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in New York City, where he specialized in banking and securities transactions.
Internet Pioneer Joins New America Foundation
Sascha Meinrath has been described as a "community Internet pioneer" and "wireless broadband visionary." But his new official title will be research director for the New America Foundation's Wireless Future Program.
Meinrath served as a policy analyst for Free Press and as the director for municipal and community networking for the Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis at the San Diego Supercomputer Center.
"Sascha is the rare policy intellectual who has actually designed wireless broadband software and climbed up on rooftops to install community networks," said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program. "He knows the technology, the policy, and most of the important community wireless activists across the country and around the world."
"This is a defining moment in telecommunications history, and we have an opportunity to improve the very foundation of digital communications and positively impact our world for generations to come," Meinrath said. "I am honored to be working with New America's top-notch team and look forward to leading our program's R&D efforts."
Meinrath is also a co-founder and executive director of the CUWiN Foundation, one of the world's leading "open source" wireless research and development initiatives.
An IP Claim For Patton Boggs
Patton Boggs has acquired a smaller intellectual property law practice, adding two new partners for its growing intellectual property services at the firm's Northern Virginia office.
Mark Shanks and Toni-Junell Herbert were founding partners of the IP firm Shanks & Herbert, where they provided counsel to clients on IP and patent litigation, auditing and due diligence, licensing and technology transfer, and corporate issues in pharmaceutical drug development.
Herbert will assist clients in identifying and developing IP protection strategies, overseeing the preparation and prosecution of patent applications before the Patent and Trademark Office, and serving as lead counsel in interference proceedings and trial counsel in patent-infringement actions. Shanks will focus on representing parties involved in IP litigation, including pharmaceutical brands in infringement actions brought against generic drug makers.
"We are pleased that Toni and Mark have joined our expanding IP group," said Scott Chambers, chair of Patton Boggs' intellectual property department.
Quote Of The Week
"Kevin knows I have a lot of respect for him, but it's on an a la carte basis."
-- Marc Nathanson, vice chairman of Charter Communications, speaking to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin at an Aspen Institute conference on media and society.
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