Ann Chaitovitz

Ann Chaitovitz is an attorney with more than 15 years of copyright experience representing songwriters, publishers and recording artists. From 2005 to 2007, Ann was an attorney-advisor for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), specializing in domestic and international copyright law. Prior to the USPTO, Ann worked as a labor associate at the New York law firm Milgrim, Thomajan & Lee, then as a staff attorney at ASCAP, where she practiced copyright law, and finally, as the national director of sound recordings at AFTRA, the labor union representing recording singers, as well as performers and broadcasters in radio and television. At AFTRA, Ann worked on domestic and international copyright issues. She worked to repeal the amendment to the "work made for hire" definition of the U.S. Copyright Law, to ensure the direct payment of digital performance fees to artists and to change the structure of SoundExchange, so that artists would share control. She also focused on the rights of U.S. performers internationally and negotiated with foreign countries' collecting societies to ensure that U.S. performers receive their share of royalties. Ann has served on the boards of directors of the Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies (AARC) and SoundExchange.