Career series: Regan Smith, US Copyright Office

Tell us about the course of your career.

After studying philosophy and politics at the University of Michigan, I moved to New York in 2000 to work in the film industry, right as the dotcom boom was cresting and the city’s independent filmmaking was arguably at its zenith.

While in New York, I spent a few years working at a startup on projects related to business affairs, production issues, and what was then called “convergence” in the media world (and is now just called “tech”).

It is funny to look back and see how far things have evolved. At a startup, it was easy to develop experience in lots of areas, including the creative development of music and live projects, yet I became drawn to the business and distribution sides.

While most of my friends focused on creative endeavours and were not interested in licensing, I was more interested in figuring out how the system worked, so I decided to go to law school.

My time at Harvard Law School offered a great opportunity to become exposed to alternative perspectives on IP policy and emerging technology issues. I then worked in private practice in Chicago for several years, focusing on transactions and litigation in copyright, patent, trademarks, and other marketing and technology matters.

I found this mix invigorating, as I have always enjoyed working on a variety of projects at once, especially when partnering with clients to assist with the legal aspects of their business strategy.

While I enjoyed working across all aspects of media and technology, I found copyright matters especially fascinating and always had an interest in government.

I joined the US Copyright Office in 2014, at a time when there was interest in copyright reform, and when its regulatory work was beginning to expand. I have been in the office of general counsel for six years, focusing on regulatory matters, litigation, legislative or policy issues and collaborating on a range of agency initiatives.

Outline a typical day in your role.

As I was promised—and warned—I spend every day handling a constant stream of matters. My office always has many things going on at once. The office handles a significant number of litigation matters, most of which are at the appellate or Supreme Court level, so that frequently goes to the top of the pile if we are assisting the Department of Justice on a matter.

Similarly, if there is a matter of Congressional interest where we have subject matter expertise—such as statutory licensing—that also gets elevated.