Obama Announces Kappos as Nominee for Director of the Patent Office
Yesterday, President Obama announced his intent to nominate David J. Kappos as the next Director of the Patent and Trademark Office, also known as Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property. Kappos is currently IBM's Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Intellectual Property. Kappos earned a degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of California Davis and received his law degree from Berkley. Here is some of Kappos biography from President Obama's press release on the pending nomination:
Mr. Kappos serves on the Board of Directors of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Intellectual Property Owners Association, and the International Intellectual Property Society. He is also the Vice President of the Intellectual Property Owners Association. He has held various previous leadership positions in intellectual property law associations in Asia and the U.S. He has spoken widely in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. on intellectual property topics. Mr. Kappos received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California Davis in 1983, and his law degree from the University of California Berkeley in 1990. He joined IBM in 1983 as a Development Engineer and has served as an Intellectual Property Law attorney in IBM’s Storage Division and Litigation group, as IP Law Counsel in IBM Software Group, as Assistant General Counsel in IBM Asia/Pacific, IBM Corporate Counsel and as Assistant General Counsel prior to his current position.
For initial reactions from the blogosphere, check out: ChipLaw; IPWatchdog; Patent Law Insights; and Patently-O.
