Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has appointed Maria A. Pallante as director of the U.S. Copyright Office and named her the 12th register of copyrights.

Pallante has served as acting register for the copyright office since the retirement of Marybeth Peters at the end of 2010. As the new register, Pallante will focus on adapting copyright law to the current economy and handling the numerous complex issues facing copyright owners as well as users of copyrighted materials.