Victoria Espinel, the nation's copyright czar until two weeks ago, has been named president of an anti-piracy trade group that lobbies governments on behalf of the software industry.
Espinel resigned earlier this month from the key White House post she'd held for four years. The Software Alliance, which goes by the acronym BSA, announced today that Espinel was named president of the group that bills itself as "the world's premier anti-piracy organization."
The association's chairman, Pascal Di Fronzo, who is the general counsel of Autodesk, said, "We are thrilled to have Victoria leading BSA forward in an important phase of growth and evolution for the software industry. Victoria brings an extraordinary wealth of expertise on key issues at the intersection of trade policy, market access and IP protection."
Espinel is best known for playing an active role in secret negotiations between Hollywood, the recording industry and ISPs to disrupt internet access for users suspected of violating copyright law under an initiative generally known as "six strikes."
Congress created the IP czar position in 2008 as part of intellectual-property reform legislation. The position, which remains vacant in Espinel's wake, is on par with the nation's drug czar Congress created in 1982 to wage the War on Drugs.
The Software Alliance consists of some of the world's leading software makers, including Apple, Microsoft and Oracle.
"I am looking forward to working closely with BSA’s member companies to ensure markets around the world provide the enabling environments necessary for technology innovation to continue flourishing. Software drives growth and productivity in all sectors of the global economy, and it enriches modern life," Espinel said in a statement. "BSA will continue to be a forceful and effective advocate on issues central to the next phase of the industry’s growth as rapid changes in the digital landscape create new opportunities and policy priorities."
To be sure, many of the initiatives brought under Espinel's tenure align nicely with the Software Alliance's anti-piracy philosophy.
One program she helped coordinate was the Department of Homeland Security's "Operation in Our Sites," which over a three-year period seized more than 1,700 websites that allegedly streamed sporting events; hawked counterfeit drugs, clothes, and accessories like handbags; and unlawfully allowed the downloading of copyrighted movies and music.
Both the copy right and copy left applauded Espinel in 2010 when she unveiled the President Barack Obama administration's first "Joint Strategic Plan" concerning intellectual-property enforcement -- which gave a big nod to fair use.
But Espinel is best known for her cozy relationship with Hollywood and the music industry's lobbying arms to facilitate the crafting of an historic anti-piracy agreement among the nation's largest consumer internet providers, including AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner and Verizon.
It requires internet service providers, for the first time, to punish residential internet-service customers who media companies suspect are violating copyright rules by downloading copyrighted movies or music from peer-to-peer networks. Among other things, repeat violators could have their internet throttled or briefly suspended.
