Posts Tagged: "director"

There are no shortage of opinions about what Director Iancu should do now that he is at the helm of America’s innovation agency. To contribute to the advice Director Iancu is no doubt receiving from many corners already, I’ve asked a panel of industry experts to weigh and give their advice about what should be on top of the Iancu agenda.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced that Andrei Iancu began his first official day as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. Mr. Iancu, who was nominated by President Trump last August, was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Monday. In his new role, Mr. Iancu will provide leadership and oversight to one of the largest intellectual property offices in the world, with over 12,000 employees and an annual budget of over $3 billion. Mr. Iancu will also serve as the principal advisor to the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, on domestic and international intellectual property policy matters.

Andrei Iancu was confirmed by the United States Senate to become Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The Iancu vote, as expected, resulted in a unanimous confirmation. The final vote in the Senate in favor of Iancu’s nomination was 94 to 0.

On Monday, February 5, 2018, the United States Senate will hold a confirmation vote on Andrei Iancu, President Trump’s pick to become the next Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

On the afternoon of Wednesday, November 29th, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing to consider the nomination of four political appointees from the Trump Administration. Included among the days’ nominees was Andrei Iancu, President Trump’s selection to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Though the nomination hearing was brief and Iancu’s remarks were very measured, there would be reason for patent owners to think that a more balanced playing field at the USPTO could start to form should Iancu be confirmed as Director of the agency.

It is no secret that the fortunes of Mountain View, CA-based tech conglomerate Alphabet Inc. are largely based upon the advertising revenues accrued through its subsidiary Google and its incredibly popular search engine. The company’s most recent earnings report for the third quarter of 2017 shows that, of the company’s $22.5 billion in revenues for the quarter, $19.8 billion came from Google advertising revenues. That’s nearly 90 percent of Google’s entire revenues for the third quarter; the rest comes from Google’s other revenues ($2.4 billion) and Alphabet’s Other Bets ($197 million). The name of the corporation may be Alphabet but that entity is nothing without Google and its advertising revenues.

There is growing speculation among Capitol Hill watchers that the Judiciary Committee may soon be ready to hold a nomination hearing to vet Iancu’s credentials to serve as USPTO Director, perhaps as soon as this month. Although there’s a strong chance that the hearing would focus on recent developments like the Allergan-St. Regis Mohawk Tribe patent arbitrage deal, the hearing will be the patent world’s first true glimpse into Iancu’s vision for the role of the USPTO in promoting America’s innovation economy… Some additional details have begun to emerge thanks to a public response to a questionnaire submitted by Iancu to the Senate Judiciary Committee. This filing and attached documents help to flesh out many of the details surrounding the patent attorney’s experience as well as his viewpoints on certain trends affecting patent system stakeholders as outlined in articles and speeches given by this individual.

To fix the current incarnation of the U.S. patent system and reinvigorate the American economy, Judge Michel called upon the House IP subcommittee to adopt seven specific action items. Five of the action items relate to improvements to patent law for the strengthening of patent rights while optimizing PTAB procedures already in place, while two other action items focus on the administration of the USPTO.