Kimberley Isbell Appointed Acting General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights

Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter today announced the appointment of Kimberley Isbell as Acting General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights at the United States Copyright Office, effective December 5, 2021. Isbell will serve on an interim basis while the Copyright Office finalizes the appointment of a permanent general counsel.

Isbell joined the Copyright Office in 2015 as senior counsel in the Office of Policy and International Affairs and has served as deputy director of policy and international affairs since September 2019. As deputy, Isbell shares responsibility for managing the department and handling an active portfolio of domestic and international legal and policy matters. During her time at the Office, she has co-led a number of important studies, on topics including the making available right, moral rights, and section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and has helped to negotiate international legal instruments, including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

“Kim brings a wealth of experience to this position,” said Perlmutter. “She has greatly contributed to the Office’s successes on a number of fronts, and I look forward to working with her in this new role.”

Before joining the Copyright Office, Isbell spent several years in the private sector, as in-house counsel to a medical publishing society, a fellow at a Harvard University research institution, and in private practice. She earned her JD from Harvard Law School and her BA in social and behavioral science from the Johns Hopkins University.