By Donald Zuhn --
Yesterday, as President-elect Barack Obama addressed hundreds of thousands of Chicagoans in Grant Park and millions of viewers around the world, we took a look back at a number of prior Patent Docs reports that discussed some aspects of the President-elect's technology platform, including his positions on patent issues and follow-on biologics (see "A Second Look at President-elect Obama's Technology Platform"). Not surprisingly, a number of organizations and members of the patent community issued statements and comments today in the aftermath of Tuesday's historic election.
BIO Congratulates President-elect
In a statement released by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), President and CEO Jim Greenwood congratulated Senator Obama on his victory on behalf of BIO's more than 1,200 member biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers, and related organizations. Mr. Greenwood, who represented Pennsylvania's Eighth District in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 1993 through January 2005, also congratulated all newly elected and returning members of Congress, governors, and other elected officials across the U.S.
The BIO President noted that President-elect Obama would "enter office facing a daunting array of complex challenges threatening the well-being of our nation and the environmental health of our planet," and that "[b]iotechnology is uniquely suited to help provide answers to these challenges." Mr. Greenwood also noted that "[b]iotechnology is one of the most promising sectors of America's burgeoning innovation economy," and pledged that BIO would work with the President-elect and the 111th Congress "to ensure that we have the proper public policies that promote and facilitate continued innovation." He also asserted that the U.S. "must maintain strong protections for intellectual property -- the key to an innovation economy -- while enhancing patent quality and the objectivity, predictability, and transparency of the patent system." Mr. Greenwood concluded by stating that "[t]ogether, we can implement the public policies necessary to help heal, fuel, feed and clean our nation."
IPO Discusses Timetable for USPTO Shake-up
In its e-mail newsletter on Wednesday, the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) predicted that "[i]f tradition holds," Senator Obama's election would lead to the departure of Undersecretary of Commerce and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Jon Dudas by January 2009. The IPO noted that "[a]n outgoing President normally asks his appointees to submit their resignations by January 19, the day before the inauguration of the new President and resignations normally are accepted." The IPO newsletter also noted that Deputy Director Margaret Peterlin had already announced her resignation earlier this year (see "Deputy Director Peterlin Announces Resignation"). However, the IPO stated that Commissioner for Patents John Doll and Commissioner for Trademarks Lynne Beresford were appointed for five-year terms, and that it was not known whether the Obama administration would reappoint them when their terms expire.
Professor Wegner: Patent Practitioners Actively Involved in Obama Campaign
Harold Wegner, a partner at Foley & Lardner LLP and professor at George Washington University Law School, noted in a Wednesday newsletter to his e-mail subscribers that "[s]everal Foley members, particularly in Washington, D.C., and Chicago, have been actively involved with the Obama campaign." In particular, Prof. Wegner mentioned that Chicago-based Foley partner Sharon Barner (at left) has been both "actively involved" in the Senator Obama's campaign and, in addition, has "the longest association with President-elect Obama of any of the Foley team members involved in the Obama campaign." For those in the patent community who have been worried that the President-elect might be getting his patent advice solely from law school professors, Prof. Wegner's disclosure should come as a welcome relief.
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