IP and the 113th Congress: The Republicans of the House Subcommittee on Intellectual Property

Earlier this week House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (VA-6) announced the House Judiciary Committee’s Republican subcommittee assignments for the 113th Congress. The subcommittee from the House of Representatives that has jurisdiction over matters relating to intellectual property is the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet. This subcommittee has jurisdiction over copyright, patent, trademark law, information technology, antitrust matters, as well as other appropriate matters as referred by the Chairman. It is this House Subcommittee on IP that will be one of the primary focal points for any new legislation that deals with intellectual property over the next two years.

Without further ado, meet the Republican Members of the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet. To see the Democrats please see Democrats on the House Subcommittee on Intellectual Property.

Howard Coble (NC-6), Chairman

Representative Coble was born in Greensboro, NC, March 18, 1931. He served in the United States Coast Guard for over 5 years and later in the Coast Guard Reserves for 22 years. He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives prior to being elected to Congress in November 1984. In addition to being named the chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, Representative Coble has received his other subcommittee assignments on both of his full committees. Congressman Coble will serve on a total of five subcommittees on the Judiciary and Transportation and Infrastructure panels.

Tom Marino (PA-10), Vice-Chairman

Representative Marino was born born August 13, 1952, in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. After graduating law school he practiced law for several years before being elected to two terms as District Attorney of Lycoming County, where he served from 1992-2002. He later was selected to served as U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania by President George W. Bush. He was elected to Congress in November 2010. He is a two-time cancer survivor.

Jim Sensenbrenner (WI-5)

F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., was born in Chicago and later moved to Wisconsin with his family. He graduated from the Milwaukee Country Day School and did his undergraduate studies at Stanford University, where he majored in political science. He then earned his law degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1968. After serving ten years in the Wisconsin State Legislature, he ran for a U.S. House seat and was elected in November, 1978. Representative Sensenbrenner is a former Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and has been a long established, strong record on intellectual property issues. Over the years he has been a strong advocate for the patent system.

Lamar Smith (TX-21)

Representative Smith was born on November 19, 1947. He is a graduate of Yale University (1969) and SMU Law School (1975). He was first elected to Congress in November 1986. He currently serves as Chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, which has jurisdiction over programs at NASA, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Representative Smith is also a former Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Ethics Committee and a former member of the Budget Committee. He was instrumental in passing the America Invents Act (AIA), which in long form carries his name — The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act.

Steve Chabot (OH-1)

Representative Chabot was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on born January 22, 1953.  He is a 1973 graduate of LaSalle High School. He went on to earn his undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary, and then returned to Cincinnati to teach at St. Joseph’s School in the West End while studying at Northern Kentucky University’s Salmon P. Chase College of Law in the evening. He was first elected to Congress in November 1994. He was defeated in November 2010 by Representative Steve Driehaus. In a rematch with Driehaus in November 2012, Chabot emerged the victor and reclaimed a seat in the House of Representatives. His additional Committee assignments include the Subcommittee on the Constitution, the Committee on Small Business and Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Darrell Issa (CA-49)

Representative Issa was born November 1, 1953.  As a senior in high school, Issa enlisted in the United States Army. Through his Army service, he received an ROTC scholarship and graduated with a degree in business from Sienna Heights University in Adrian, Michigan. Upon graduation, Issa was commissioned as an Army officer, and ultimately obtained the rank of captain. He completed his active-duty military service in 1980. At the height of his private sector career, Issa served as CEO of California-based Directed Electronics, a company Issa founded in the mid-1990s, which became the nation’s largest manufacturer of vehicle anti-theft devices. In 1994, Issa was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. Magazine, Ernst & Young and The San Diego Union Tribune. He is also a prolific inventor; holding 37 patents in his name. He was elected to Congress in November 2000.

Ted Poe (TX-2)

Representative Poe was born September 10, 1948, in Temple, Texas. He was elected to Congress in November 2004.  Prior to be elected to Congress, Representative Poe served in the United States Air Force Reserves, taught high school and college classes and earned a law degree from the University of Houston. Soon after graduation, he accepted a position as a prosecutor in Houston, Texas. He later became one of the youngest judges ever appointed in Texas. Subsequently, then Judge Poe was elected six times, spending more than 20 years on the bench.

Jason Chaffetz (UT-3)

Representative Chaffetz was born March 26, 1967, in Los Gatos, California. He grew up in California, Arizona, and Colorado. He was invited to Utah in the mid-1980s by Brigham Young University football coach LaVell Edwards to be a placekicker.  After a successful football career that included two years as the starting placekicker he earned a degree in communications. Prior to running for Congress he was Campaign Manager for Jon Huntsman, Jr., who was running for Governor at the time; he later served as Huntsman’s Chief of Staff. On November 4, 2008, Representative Chaffetz was elected by a 37-point margin to represent Utah’s Third Congressional District.  On February 8, 2011, I interviewed Representative Chaffetz regarding the Patent Office and his role on the House Subcommittee for Intellectual Property. See IP Exclusive: An Interview with Congressman Jason Chaffetz.

Mark Amodei (NV-2)

Representative Amodei was born June 12, 1958, in Carson City, Nevada. He obtained a law degree from McGeorge Law School in 1983. Prior to passing the bar he enlisted in the Army. Upon passing the bar he was reassigned to the JAG Corps. Prior to running for Congress Amodei spent several years as a member of the Nevada Assembly, and 12 years in the Nevada Senate. Representative Amodei was elected to Congress in September 2011, winning a special election to fill the vacant seat of Dean Heller, who was appointed to serve in the United States Senate after then Senator John Ensign resigned. In addition to being on the House Judiciary Committee, he is also on the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Veteran Affairs.

Blake Farenthold (TX-27)

Representative Blake Farenthold is a lifelong resident of South Texas. Born December 12, 1961, he was raised in Corpus Christi.  Prior to being elected to Congress his career included working as a conservative radio contributor, seven years of law practice, and founding Farenthold Consulting LLC, a computer consulting and web design firm. Representative Farenthold was elected by beating incumbent Democratic Rep. Solomon Ortiz by 799 votes, a margin that held up even after the recount requested by Ortiz. Farenthold’s victory was considered an upset because Ortiz had never faced serious opposition and had represented the district since its creation in 1982.

George Holding (NC-13)

Representative Holding was born April 17, 1968, and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. He obtained a law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law.  In 1998, he left the practice of law to serve as legislative counsel to U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms in Washington. In 2002, Holding joined the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. In September 2006, Holding was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the U.S. Attorney. He resigned as U.S. Attorney in 2011 and announced he would run for Congress. He was elected to Congress in November 2012, and sworn in on January 3, 2013. Representative Holding has been named to the House Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs for the 113th Congress.

Doug Collins (GA-9)

Representative Collins was born August 16, 1966.  He is formerly a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, and a Wing Chaplain in the 94th Airlift Wing.  Representative Collins does not have his biography on his website. Instead, he invites those coming to his website to contact his staff in Washington, DC, to obtain a copy of his biography. Perhaps this is because he a newly elected Member of the House. He was elected in November 2012 and sworn in January 3, 2013.

Ron DeSantis (FL-6)

Representative DeSantis was born September 14, 1978, in Jacksonville, Florida. He attended Yale University, where he earned a bachelor of arts, magna cum laude, and was the captain of the varsity baseball team. He also graduated with honors from Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, he earned a commission in the United States Navy as a JAG officer. During his active duty service, he served as a military prosecutor, supported operations at the terrorist detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and deployed to Iraq during the 2007 troop surge as an advisor to a U.S. Navy SEAL commander in support of the SEAL mission in Iraq. His military awards include the Bronze Star Medal (meritorious service) and the Iraq Campaign Medal. Representative DeSantis was elected to Congress in November 2012 and sworn in January 3, 2013.

Keith Rothfus (PA-12)

Representative Rothfus was born April 25, 1962, in Endicott, New York. He attended the State University of New York College at Buffalo for his bachelor’s degree in Information Systems. He later earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1994. After graduating law school he spent much of his legal career as a corporate attorney working for private companies. From 2006 to 2007, he worked in the Department of Homeland Security, creating and heading the office that was set up to work with faith-based organizations to provide disaster relief after Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. He initially ran for Congress in 2010, but was defeated by Jason Altmire. In 2012, he ran in the redrawn Pennsylvania 12th District, this time beating incumbent Mark Critz in the general election, who had defeated incumbent Jason Altmire in the Democratic primary.