Adjunct Professor William Roberts Sworn in as New Copyright Royalty Judge
George Mason University Adjunct Professor William J.
Roberts was sworn in today as one of three
individuals to serve as the first copyright royalty judges. The Copyright
Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2004, which became effective on May
31, 2005, phased out the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel system and replaced
it with the Copyright Royalty Board made up of three permanent copyright royalty
judges. The duties of the judges include determining and adjusting the rates
and terms of the copyright law’s statutory licenses and determining the
distribution of royalties from the statutory license royalty pools administered
by the Library of Congress.
The Chief Copyright Judge sworn in today is James S. Sledge. Mr. Sledge
recently retired as a United States bankruptcy judge in the Northern District
of Alabama, where he served since 1991. As a federal judge in Northern Alabama,
Judge Sledge presided over a heavy volume of cases, while he worked with national
judges’ organizations.
The other judge sworn in today is Stanley C. Wisniewski who has expertise
in economics. Dr. Wisniewski has more than thirty years of
experience as an economist, attorney, entrepreneur, educator, arbitrator, and
manager. He has served as an expert economic witness in federal courts and
before private arbitration panels. He has also prepared and presented expert
testimony before several committees of the United States Senate and House of
Representatives.
William J. Roberts has taught Copyright Law at George Mason School of Law
since 2000. Mr. Roberts began his legal career in the Copyright Office in 1987.
A native of Connecticut and a graduate of the University of Virginia School
of Law, he served as an attorney advisor in the Copyright General Counsel’s
Office and was promoted to Senior Attorney for Compulsory Licenses shortly
after Congress abolished the Copyright Royalty Tribunal and replaced it with
the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel process. He was a Copyright Arbitration
Royalty Panel attorney for the entire twelve-year history of the Copyright
Arbitration Royalty Panel. Since its inception in May, he has served as the
senior attorney for the Copyright Royalty Board.
Related Links:
Announcement from Librarian of Congress on Copyright Royalty Panel
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