MPA Hires Former Federal Prosecutor as Senior Litigation Counsel & Director for Content Protection in Americas
Michael Rodriguez Is Latest Addition to MPA’s Legal Team
WASHINGTON – The Motion Picture Association (MPA) announced today that former federal prosecutor Michael Rodriguez has joined the organization as Senior Litigation Counsel & Director – Americas, Content Protection.
Rodriguez is the first content protection litigator to be based full time at the MPA’s global headquarters in Washington, D.C. In his role, he will closely coordinate with law enforcement officials across the United States, Canada and Latin America on critical content protection matters such as felony streaming in the U.S. and other online piracy prosecutions throughout the western hemisphere. Rodriguez will be responsible for the day-to-day legal coordination of the MPA’s content protection actions in this part of the world with a focus on Latin America, underscoring the importance of this region’s growth to the entertainment industry. This new position builds on a recently expanded MPA regional office in Mexico City.
Rodriguez started today and reports to Aaron Wais, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Litigation for the MPA.
“Michael has an extensive criminal justice background, which makes him the ideal person to work with government officials and increase prosecutions for online piracy cases,” said Wais. “With a presence in DC, he is well positioned to work closely with Justice Department attorneys and law enforcement. I’m thrilled to welcome Michael to our team.”
“I’m confident Michael will make great strides in enhancing the MPA’s content protection litigation efforts across the Americas,” said Karyn Temple, Senior Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel at the MPA. “This year alone, the MPA’s anti-piracy arm, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, has shut down numerous content piracy sites throughout Latin America, and Michael will be a great asset in supporting litigation efforts in the region.”
Rodriguez previously served as Senior Lead Litigation and Enforcement Counsel at LinkedIn. Among other responsibilities, he led the platform’s anti-piracy and copyright enforcement strategy by working with authors to address piracy complaints, overseeing Digital Millenium Copyright Act takedowns and meeting with partners to combat innovations in digital piracy. Prior to LinkedIn, Rodriguez was Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. In this role, he prosecuted violations of federal criminal law in the Northern District of California, including bringing charges for wire and bank fraud, public corruption, aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. He also served as a trial counsel for the Department of Justice’s Commercial Litigation branch.
“The global media and entertainment landscape has changed dramatically over the past several years, which poses an ever-evolving threat to the integrity of intellectual property,” Rodriguez said. “Now more than ever, it is critically important to identify and prosecute criminal acts that infringe upon the rights of the MPA studio members. I am proud to join the MPA in its fight to protect this content and help build the global creative economy.”
Rodriguez earned his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography – Environmental Resource Management from the University of Austin at Texas.
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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 Netflix Studios, LLC; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Universal City Studios LLC; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Charles Rivkin is Chairman and CEO.
U.S. Media Contact
Pamela Corante, Motion Picture Association
pamela_corante@motionpictures.org
LATAM Media Contact:
Cesar Castillejos, Motion Picture Association
cesar_castillejos@motionpictures.org