Author: Gene Quinn

History shows our patent system can recover, but current leaders lack vision In many parts of the world on April 26, there was reason to celebrate World Intellectual Property Day. In the United States, there should be less celebration and more reflection on how elected leaders, appointed officials and learned jurists are allowing the engine of U.S. economic dominance to be disassembled. However, there could be much to celebrate in America if a few decisions in the past 11 years are reversed to put the United States on exceptionally solid footing. Positive signs Though the U.S. patent system is...

Trump’s order is a start; now he must make USPTO more patent friendly. On February 24, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that directed agencies to review all regulations in a search for those that are outdated, unnecessary or ineffective. The goal is to streamline regulations by eliminating those that inhibit job creation, eliminate jobs, or are inconsistent with government initiatives and policies. Michelle Lee—finally confirmed in March as director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office after a couple months’ uncertainty as to whether she would continue in the role following Trump’s inauguration—recently formed the Regulatory...

America still No. 1 in IP protection, Chamber Index says   The United States was again the top-ranked country for intellectual property protection in the recently released U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global IP Index for 2017, but the rankings for the economies of America, the U.K., Japan and the European Union ranked more closely together than ever. No doubt this was significantly due to the United States tumbling to 10th from first on patent system strength. The United States continues to take steps backward due to a variety of self- inflicted wounds. Among them: the omnipresent threats of more...

D.C. panel discusses IP issues, future under Trump     The first panel at the recent LeadershIP conference in Washington, D.C., addressed IP policy in the Trump Administration. At times, the diverse voices and viewpoints were as controversial as the president himself.   Panelists were F. Scott Kieff, commissioner on the International Trade Commission; Professor Mark Lemley of Stanford Law School; Dan Schneider, the executive director of the American Conservative Union; and Deanna Tanner Okun,   partner at Adduci, Mastriani & Schaumberg, and former chair of the U.S. International Trade Commission.   Kieff explained that if we shift our frame...