FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: James Edmund Datri, ASMP CEO
San Francisco, California — Today, the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) announces the promotion of Thomas Maddrey to Chief Legal Officer & Head of National Content and Education. Tom joined ASMP full-time in March of 2021 as General Counsel & Head of National Content and Education.
“The Chief Legal Officer title better reflects Tom’s role heading ASMP’s extensive and industry-leading work defending the legal rights of photographers and content creators,” said ASMP CEO James Edmund Datri. “ASMP has the most robust and comprehensive legal advocacy program for photographers in our space, and Tom is at the tip of the spear in that work. Put simply, photographers and creatives would not have the rights that they do today without Tom’s tireless and successful work.”
In his role as ASMP’s General Counsel, Maddrey has been Counsel of Record in the industry’s efforts to support ASMP Member Lynn Goldsmith in her landmark lawsuit against the Andy Warhol Foundation, now before the U.S. Supreme Court. Tom regularly briefs the Supreme Court and other courts around the nation on issues affecting creatives, with a focus on copyright and licensing issues. As lead counsel he has won dozens of matters preserving the rights of individual photographers. He was also instrumental in the creation of the ASMP Academy Powered by Sony, a one-of-its-kind educational platform available exclusively to ASMP Members to help them create & build their businesses and protect their work. Prior to his legal career, Maddrey was a commercial and editorial photographer specializing in nature and wildlife images. Currently, Maddrey serves on the Board of the Copyright Alliance in Washington, D.C., as well as the Board of Directors of The Dallas Opera, and further serves as the Chair of the Entertainment, Art, and Sports Law section of the Dallas Bar Association, among other leadership positions.
ASMP Board Chair Michael Shay said, “ASMP has always been the leader in this space of protecting and investing in photographers’ rights, going back to the passage of the Copyright Act of 1976, which placed ownership of a photographer’s creative work back in the photographer’s hands. We have an experienced on-the-ground lobbyist in Washington, and a CEO who among many things formerly served as the executive director of the Democratic Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. The promotion of Tom to this new role is a further commitment to our leadership on behalf of our Members and the industry in these important arenas of the courts and public policy.”
“We won’t ever rest on our laurels. There are still big fights ahead and we are ready for them. I am committed as ASMP’s Chief Legal Officer to making sure photographers get the full protections they deserve, and to continue innovating the tools we provide to ASMP’s Members to enforce those rights in their work and businesses,” said Thomas Maddrey.
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Image: Thisbe Grace Photography