David Kappos Confirmed as USPTO Director
 |
Written by Gene Quinn President & Founder of IPWatchdog, Inc. Patent Attorney, Reg. No. 44,294 Zies, Widerman & Malek E-mail | Blog | Twitter | LinkedIn Posted: Aug 8, 2009 @ 2:14 pm 
|
|
Newly confirmed PTO Director, David Kappos
With no notice to the public, and after the Senate was reported to have adjourned for their August recess, on Friday, August 7, 2009, David Kappos was confirmed as Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. While I applaud the quick action by the Senate to get Kappos confirmed, I must admit that I am at the same time shocked and saddened. In my opinion, Kappos is the right person for the job, so I am glad he was confirmed. I think getting him in place sooner rather than later is exactly the right thing to do. Nevertheless, I am not a fan of government rushing so fast that they forget basic principles of open government. Justice Brandeis famously said that sunlight is the best dissenfectant, and he was 100% right. It seems that our government is increasingly rushing to do things, failing to read legislation they enact and not working for the people who hired them. So I am definitely glad that Kappos was confirmed, and confirmed quickly, but the Senate should have given notice of his confirmation vote. Absent such notice the vote should not have been taken. Had the Kappos nomination been controversial there would have been no time for opponents to contact Senators to express their concerns after he was reported out to the full Senate by the Judiciary Committee. Government by ambush is not something to be celebrated, even when I agree with the action taken.
Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke is quoted on the USPTO website as saying:
We are grateful to the Senate for its swift confirmation of David Kappos to lead the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. “It’s no secret that the agency currently faces significant and persistent challenges, but David is the right person to meet them and carry out my top priority for the USPTO — dramatically reducing the unacceptably long time it takes to process patent applications.
Robert Holleyman, president and CEO of the Business Software Alliance (BSA), said in a press release:
David Kappos possesses the deep experience and knowledge needed to tackle problems in the US patent system, and with the help of a willing Congress, he will shepherd in a new era for the USPTO that will streamline its operations and foster US innovation and economic growth.
We can expect in the coming days to hear from many more groups, companies and interested parties about how they are glad that David Kappos is at the helm. Everyone I talk to is very optimistic. Kappos has a lot to live up to, and I hope he can. I suspect he will live up to the expectations and hype, and our patent system will be better off for it.
Speculation will soon turn to what will become of now the former Acting Director John Doll, and the current Acting Commissioner for Patents, Peggy Focarino. To the extent that anyone cares what I think, I am hoping that “Acting” is removed from Focarino’s title and she is once and for all made the Commissioner for Patents. I hope that John Doll steps aside and allows the new leadership team of Kappos and Focarino, who will be advised by special counselor Nick Godici, to usher in the change that is so desperately needed.
I do not know John Doll personally, but there is no avoiding the truth that the overwhelming majority of those in the patent bar believe John Doll is responsible for many of the problems we now face. I am not going to say he did, or he didn’t, but this is the undeniable perception among patent attorneys and agents. Therefore, I think it would be extremely helpful for him to step aside and allow us to be grateful for his stewardship of the Office during the days following Jon Dudas’ resignation and the confirmation of David Kappose. Perhaps Doll can return to a different position at the USPTO outside of the top level management, although I suspect he would be much better off riding off into the sunset and taking one of what will likely be many offers from large law firms to become a special advisor.
I harbor no ill will toward Doll, but if we are going to move forward it is time to turn some pages and start fresh.
About the Author
 |
Eugene R. Quinn, Jr.
President & Founder of IPWatchdog, Inc. US Patent Attorney (Reg. No. 44,294) Zies, Widerman & Malek B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Rutgers University J.D., Franklin Pierce Law Center L.L.M. in Intellectual Property, Franklin Pierce Law Center Send me an e-mail  |
Gene Quinn is a US Patent Attorney, law professor and the founder of IPWatchdog.com. He is also a principal lecturer in the top patent bar review course in the nation, which helps aspiring patent attorneys and patent agents prepare themselves to pass the patent bar exam. Known by many as “The IPWatchdog,” Gene started the widely popular intellectual property website IPWatchdog.com in 1999, and since that time the site has had millions of unique visitors. Gene has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the LA Times, CNN Money, NPR and various other newspapers and magazines worldwide. He represents individuals, small businesses and start-up corporations. As an electrical engineer with a computer engineering focus his specialty is electronic and computer devices, Internet applications, software and business methods.
Related posts (automatically generated):
- USPTO Job Opening: Deputy Commissioner for Patent Policy
Updated: Monday, August 24, 2009 @ 5:12:pm Eastern On Friday, August 21, 2009, the United States Patent and Trademark Office posted a job opening for the position of Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy at USAJobs.gov. See Job Announcement No.: MJM-09-0217-ExRD. Many will undoubtedly recall that when Jon Dudas resigned,... - Kappos Senate Hearing Scheduled for July 29, 2009
The Senate Judiciary Committee has announced that the confirmation hearing for David Kappos, who is President Barack Obama’s nominee to be Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, will be held on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 10:00 am Eastern... - John Doll Announces Retirement from USPTO
I have been saying for months that the logical thing would be for John Doll to retire, and earlier today the United States Patent and Trademark Office announced that after 35 years at the USPTO, Commissioner for Patents John Doll has announced his intention to retire from the agency on... - Rob Clarke Named New USPTO Chief of Staff
Yet another high profile senior level management position has been filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the trend of qualified “get it” people continues. Rob Clarke, who is currently the Director of the Office of Patent Legal Administration (OPLA), has been asked by Director David Kappos... - Kappos Nomination Unanimously Forwarded to Full Senate
Earlier today the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the nomination of David Kappos, former Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for IBM, to be Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, a job that also comes with the title of Director of the Patent and Trademark Office. The vote in... - David Kappos Shines at Senate Confirmation Hearing
To start the confirmation proceedings in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced David Kappos this morning with a lengthy and impressive recitation of Kappos’ credentials and experience. He started out with IBM as an engineer after graduating with highest honors from the University of California Davis with... - Doll Wastes No Time, USPTO Considers Deferred Examination
John Doll has wasted no time moving forward to try and put his stamp on the United States Patent Office. One week ago today Doll, who became Acting Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting Director of the United States Patent & Trademark Office when Jon Dudas resigned, announced...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
“but there is no avoiding the truth that the overwhelming majority of those in the patent bar believe John Doll is responsible for many of the problems we now face. ”
You got that right. From spending USPTO resources on four failed rule packages (and completely ignoring the comments of the patent bar) to configuring the “second set of eyes” to be anti-allowance but pro-rejection which tormented applicants (and attorneys like me who had to deal with the “sorry I can’t allow anything” mentality in certain art units) and bankrupted the USPTO (and the worst is yet to come in around 2015 when 11th year issue fees are due), John Doll was in way over his head. This goes to show that the USPTO director and commissioner should have outside experience because people like Doll never prosecuted a patent in their life and have no clue what we have to deal with on the other side. I’m assuming Kappos will actually read the comments people submit to the USPTO.
The first thing I predict Kappos will do is withdraw the Tafas litigation as wasting court and USPTO resources. If the litigation isn’t withdrawn then I think it will just be serving as a test case for the USPTO so they can see what they can get away with in the future. But I doubt the USPTO is going to proceed in the same direction with those rules.
Yes, let’s hope that David Kappos is all that he has been advertised to be since we are really in need of that. I think there are several important things that he should focus on, but what would be great is for him to give us an idea of what his plans are and what areas he plans to focus on.