Napster Hires Key Congress Staffer Cooney As Lobbyist

Napster officials confirmed last night that Manus Cooney, the most influential senior staffer dealing with intellectual property issues in Congress, will leave his job at year's end to take a position as chief Washington lobbyist for the company.

As gatekeeper and majority staff director to Judiciary Committee chairman, Sen. Orrin D. Hatch, R-Utah, Cooney has been a major force in helping to craft copyright policy and laws for more than three years. He was instrumental in the success of such legislation as the work-for-hire repeal bill, and has underscored Hatch's stance that record labels and other established entertainment companies should work with new technology companies rather than drive them out of business.