Karyn A. Temple to Join the Motion Picture Association as Global General Counsel
Copyright Expert and Industry Leader to Oversee Association’s Worldwide Legal Affairs and Content Protection Operations
Washington, DC; December 9, 2019 — Karyn A. Temple, one of the world’s leading authorities on copyright, has been named Senior Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel at the Motion Picture Association, Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin announced today.
Temple will join the association in January after serving more than eight years in the U.S. Copyright Office, most recently as the Register of Copyrights, where she fulfilled her statutory authority to administer U.S. copyright law and advise members of the U.S. Congress, federal courts, and executive branch agencies on issues of copyright law and policy.
Temple brings expertise in overseeing an office that serves the public including both the creators of content and users and has supported the Office’s recent efforts toward modernization and increased transparency.
“I can think of no better person than Karyn Temple, one of the world’s leading experts on copyright, to help us advocate for our members’ global film, television and streaming businesses at this pivotal time of transformation in the industry,” said Mr. Rivkin. “Strong copyright is the foundation of the creative economy, and Karyn’s knowledge and expertise will ensure that we continue to protect and promote the industry’s ability to successfully share their stories with audiences around the world.”
The Motion Picture Association today is active in every region with its global headquarters in Washington, D.C. and a presence in 27 countries. Temple will oversee all of the Association’s legal affairs and content protection efforts around the world as part of Rivkin’s efforts to build a more globally integrated organization.
“The film industry has seen a tremendous amount of change recently, with new business models and huge growth around the world. I look forward to joining the wonderful team at the Motion Picture Association as it continues to explore new and innovative ways to support and sustain the film community on a global scale,” Temple said.
For the last three years, Temple has led the 400 person U.S. Copyright Office across eight divisions representing law, policy, international affairs, financial operations, registration practice, public records, and outreach and education. In this role, she testified multiple times before both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and oversaw the Office’s policy and legal departments, among others.
Prior to leading the USCO, Temple headed its Office of Policy and International Affairs, which includes a staff of attorneys focused on domestic and international copyright law matters. Temple served on both U.S. delegations for the most recent WIPO treaties (the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances and the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Public Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled).
As part of the Obama Administration, Temple served in a senior policy role at the U.S. Department of Justice as Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General of the United States. While there, she helped manage the Department’s Task Force on Intellectual Property. She also previously served as a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the Department of Justice through its prestigious Honors Program.
In addition to her public and government service, Temple was Vice President, Litigation and Legal Affairs for the Recording Industry Association of America where she managed a wide variety of content protection litigation matters on behalf of its member companies. She also spent several years as a litigation associate at the prominent DC based law firm, Williams and Connolly LLP. Immediately after law school, Temple served as a law clerk for The Honorable Nathaniel R Jones, United State Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Temple has served in several prominent volunteer positions in the copyright community, including as an elected Trustee for the Copyright Society of the USA, co-chair of the International Chapter of the Copyright Society of the USA, a steering committee member of the DC Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Law Section, and Chair of the Copyright Committee of the DC Bar’s IP Law Section.
She received her JD from Columbia University School of Law where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, Senior Editor of the Columbia Law Review, and Chairperson of the Columbia Black Law Students’ Association. She received her BA in English from the University of Michigan.
Temple will join the Motion Picture Association on January 13, 2020 and report to Mr. Rivkin.
About The Motion Picture Association
The Motion Picture Association, Inc. (MPA) serves as the global voice and advocate of the motion picture, home video, and television industries. It works in every corner of the globe to advance the creative industry, protect its members’ content across all screens, defend the creative and artistic freedoms of storytellers, and support innovative distribution models that bring an expansion of viewing choices to audiences around the world.
Its member studios are: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Netflix, Inc.; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Universal City Studios LLC; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Charles Rivkin is Chairman and CEO.
-###-
Media Contact:
Emily Lenzner, Motion Picture Association
Emily_Lenzner@motionpictures.org
Tom Zigo, Motion Picture Association