Obama Urged To Balance IP Picks
Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn urged the Obama administration on Tuesday to employ "a nuanced, balanced" approach to naming key intellectual property posts in the federal government. President Obama has yet to name a White House IP enforcement coordinator, as mandated by a law that passed the 110th Congress, or Patent and Trademark Office director. She told the World Copyright Summit that the IP czar should not be a policymaker but instead must focus on harmonizing efforts by a range of agencies that have enforcement authority. "There needs to be someone to get them all on the same page," Sohn said, lauding the work of the Bush administration's key IP officer Chris Israel who was stationed at the Commerce Department. "We don't think the job should change -- it just has more gravitas," she said.
Copyright Alliance Executive Director Patrick Ross, who regularly finds himself at odds with Sohn's viewpoint, agreed that filling vacant IP positions are important and he has been pleased with the administration's appointments to date. His group, which represents major IP owners and content creators, was pleased to see two entertainment industry lawyers -- Thomas Perrelli and Donald Verrilli -- join the Justice Department. Sohn's group, the Computer and Communications Industry Association, the Consumer Electronics Association and other tech stakeholders complained in a letter to Obama that both previously represented "the concentrated copyright industries" and future appointments should be more evenhanded.
Join the Discussion
The National Journal Group has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate.
Comments powered by Disqus