Nominating Paul Kaminiski for PTO Director

EDITORIAL NOTE:EDITORIAL NOTE: This post was originally published on October 14, 2008, by the PLI Patent Practice Center Blog. It has since become unavailable, so it is been republished here on IPWatchdog.com.

As the Presidential election continues I want to put forth the name of another person that I think is qualified to be the next Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, otherwise known as the Director of the Patent & Trademark Office.  My second “nomination” is for Paul Kaminski, a 2006 winner of the National Medal of Technology, a former Under Secretary of Defense during the Clinton Administration and an inventor responsible for significant defense and national security inventions.

The US Patent Office website page recognizing the 2006 winners of the National Medal of Technology explains that Dr. Kaminski received the award “[f]or his contributions to national security through the development of advanced, unconventional imaging from space, and for developing and fielding advanced systems with greatly enhanced survivability.”  The page futher explains that Dr. Kaminski “has made a profound difference in the national security posture and the global leadership of the United States.”

Dr. Kaminski served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology from 1994 to 1997, and he is currently the Chairman and CEO of Technovation, Inc., a consulting company dedicated to fostering innovation and the development and application of advanced technology. He is also a Senior Partner in Global Technology Partners, an affiliate of Rothschild North America, providing advice on mergers, acquisitions and investments in technology, defense and aerospace-related companies. Dr. Kaminski also served as an officer in the Air Force, where he was Director for Low Observables Technology, and was responsible for the development and fielding of the nations stealth programs.

Dr. Kaminski is a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Technical Advisory Board, the National Reconnaissance Office Technology Advisory Group, and the FBI Science & Technology Advisory Board. He is a member of the Procurement Roundtable and The Atlantic Council, and serves as a consultant to the Office of Secretary of Defense. Dr. Kaminski is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, and a Senior Fellow of the Defense Science Board. He serves as an advisor to LynuxWorks, Inc., MILCOM Technologies, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, and MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

While I do not personally know Dr. Kaminski, his resume is filled with great accomplishment.  As a former Under Secretary of Defense he possesses the requisite understanding of government, and as a scientist his credentials are impecable.  When deciding who the next Director of the Patent Office should be it seems to me that many of the experiences and professional traits possessed by Dr. Kaminski would be useful for the leader of the USPTO.  It is for this reason that I suggest him for consideration.

About the Author

Eugene R. Quinn, Jr. President & Founder of IPWatchdog, Inc. US Patent Attorney (Reg. No. 44,294)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 is a US Patent Attorney, Law Professor and the founder of IPWatchdog.com. He teaches patent bar review courses and is a member of the Board of Directors of the United Inventors Association. Gene has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the LA Times, CNN Money and various other newspapers and magazines worldwide.