The Motion Picture Association of America has appointed Ben Sheffner as content protection counsel, where he will litigate anti-piracy cases on behalf of the MPAA’s member studios.
Sheffner is a widely published copyright guru who has contributed analysis on entertainment and media legal matters for various publications, including Billboard, Slate, and THR, Esq. Since December 2008, he has gained notoriety in the industry for the insight posted on his blog, Copyright & Campaigns, where he broke the news of his new position yesterday. He has decided to suspend blogging activity, citing privilege, confidentiality and potential conflicts.
For the past two years, Sheffner has also been working in the legal affairs department at NBC Universal, primarily responsible for drafting and negotiating program and talent contracts in NBC Universal Television Group. Before that, he was special counsel to John McCain‘s 2008 presidential campaign. He’s also spent time at Fox Entertainment Group, an associate at O’Melveny & Myers, a law clerk for Ninth Circuit justice Margaret McKeown, and a staff writer at Roll Call Newspaper. Good luck to him.
