The Ella Project will present a free Zoom webinar on copyright and royalties for the music community on Wednesday, May 18, from 2-4 p.m. Central Time. Holland Gormley and John Riley will lead a discussion on intellectual property rights, how to access royalty streams and specifically the Music Modernization Act mechanical royalties.

Gormley is a public affairs specialist at the US Copyright Office, where she specializes in outreach to creative communities. Prior to joining the Copyright Office, Holland held communications and project management positions at private, nonprofit, and governmental arts organizations, including the State Department’s Hip Hop Diplomacy Program and the music division of the National Endowment for the Arts. She holds a BFA in Studio Art and Art History from UNC-Chapel Hill, a Masters in Arts Management from American University and certificates in International Art Business (Sotheby’s | London), Leadership Communications (Harvard) and Social Media Communications (Georgetown). She is a former Presidential Management Fellow and in her spare time mentors young people interested in government service.

Riley is Assistant General Counsel in the Copyright Office where he has contributed to federal government submissions in the petrella and Aero Supreme Court cases, Copyright Small Claims, Copyright and the Music Marketplace, Section 1201 of Title 17, and Software-Enabled Consumer Products policy, and, among other regulatory work, drafted rules implementing the Music Modernization Act, Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (“CASE”) of 2020 and the GRAM registration option.

Prior to joining the Copyright Office in 2013, Riley worked as Senior Director of Intellectual Property Enforcement at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center. Riley received her LLM in Intellectual Property Law from George Washington University Law School and her Juris Doctorate from Penn State University’s Dickinson School of Law. He has been recognized by the American Intellectual Property Law Association for his distinguished service and contributions to the field of intellectual property law.

To register for the Zoom webinar, send an email [email protected] for the link.

the Project Ella was launched in 2004 as a partnership between the Arts Council of New Orleans, the Tipitina Foundation, and Tulane Law School to provide direct pro bono legal services to Louisiana artists, musicians, and nonprofit income-generating organizations moderate. In 2016, with over 3,000 clients served, The Ella Project became an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization, with an expanded commitment to providing pro bono legal assistance, arts business services, and advocacy to the cultural community.