Obama Picks IBM Exec For PTO Job
This just in... President Obama has announced his intention to nominate IBM Assistant General Counsel David Kappos to become director of the Patent and Trademark Office. His bio, included in the White House announcement, is pasted after the jump. Kappos, who joined the company as a development engineer in 1983, was among several rumored top contenders for the job. Others included American Intellectual Property Law Association Executive Director Q. Todd Dickinson, who was PTO director under former President Bill Clinton, and Jim Pooley, a Silicon Valley attorney who was installed earlier this week as the World Intellectual Property Organization's deputy director general for patents. Look for more in CongressDaily's AM Edition on Friday.
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David J. Kappos, Nominee for Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Mr. Kappos is Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Intellectual Property Law, for IBM Corporation. Based in Armonk, New York, Mr. Kappos directs IBM's Intellectual Property Law function, providing legal counsel over all facets of protecting and licensing IBM's intellectual property assets and leading IBM's engagement of intellectual property law policy issues. In particular, Mr. Kappos is responsible for the management of IBM's patent and trademark portfolios; protecting and licensing intellectual property (patents, copyrights, trademarks, knowhow and technology) worldwide; directing intellectual property law operations relating to the research, services, consulting, computer systems, storage products, semiconductor and technology development, software, marketing and other groups, divisions, and entities within IBM. In addition, Mr. Kappos has responsibility for IP policy and coordination with IBM's litigation and corporate development groups in matters relating to intellectual property. 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.
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