Todd Dickinson Leaves AIPLA

Earlier this morning Wayne Sobon, President of the American Intellectual Property Lawyers Association, sent an e-mail to members announcing that Todd Dickinson will step down as Executive Director of the AIPLA. The announcement suggest this will be effective immediately, and provides no reason for Dickinson’s departure, although the announcement says Dickinson will remain engaged within the IP community.

Dickinson has been rumored to be on various short lists for appointments throughout the Obama Administration. Perhaps Dickinson is stepping down because he is being vetted for an appointment, or perhaps he just needs a break. In any event, for what it is worth, I think Dickinson appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to replace the now retired Judge Randall would be extremely well received within the industry.

The e-mail sent by Sobon is reproduced below.

Dear AIPLA Members,

As President of AIPLA, I want to let you know that after nearly six years with AIPLA, Q. Todd Dickinson has decided to step down as Executive Director. In the time he has been with AIPLA, he has been a leader in AIPLA’s advocacy efforts before Congress, including the enactment of the America Invents Act (“AIA”), its amicus activity in the courts, and its global outreach.

“It has been a great honor for me to serve as Executive Director of AIPLA,” Dickinson said. “I am very proud of what we’ve accomplished over the past six years, and I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to work with many talented board members, volunteers and staff.” Dickinson added that he looks forward to continued engagement in the intellectual property community.

We want to thank Todd for his dedicated service and wish him well in his future endeavors. His contributions to AIPLA have been significant, and we will miss him. AIPLA is a thriving organization and will continue its strategic efforts in member services, advocacy, global outreach and public education. I, along with the rest of the Executive Committee, will provide additional oversight as the search for a successor begins. The Board has complete confidence in the current staff’s ability to handle on-going work of the Association.

Meghan Donohoe, Chief Operating Officer, will continue to run the day-to-day operations. Vincent E. Garlock, Deputy Executive Director, will manage, among other duties, AIPLA’s external advocacy efforts and communications. The Board will be initiating a search for a new Executive Director.

Sincerely,

Wayne P. Sobon
President