Michael Rodriguez is joining the MPA as senior litigation counsel and director, Americas content protection.

He’ll be the trade and lobbying association’s first content protection litigator based full time in Washington, D.C., where the MPA has its global headquarters. The MPA said he will be coordinating with law enforcement officials across the U.S., Canada and Latin America on enforcement matters like felony-level streaming piracy and other issues. The MPA also said that the focus on Latin America reflects the region’s growth to the industry, as the association recently expanded its regional office in Mexico City.

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Rodriguez will report to Aaron Wais, senior vice president and head of global litigation for the MPA.

Rodriguez previously served as senior lead litigation and enforcement counsel at LinkedIn. Among other things, he worked with authors to address piracy complaints, including Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedowns. He previously served as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the northern district of California. He brought charges for wire and bank fraud, public corruption, aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. He also served as trial counsel in the MPA’s commercial litigation branch.

Wais said in a statement, “Michael has an extensive criminal justice background, which makes him the ideal person to work with government officials and increase prosecutions for online piracy cases. With a presence in DC, he is well positioned to work closely with Justice Department attorneys and law enforcement.”

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