Friday, September 25, 2009

Obama Taps Espinel For IP Czar Post

[Updated 4:11 p.m.] The White House announced Friday its long-awaited intellectual property enforcement coordinator. Victoria Espinel, who previously served as assistant trade representative for IP, has been the top candidate for months, but the administration was unsure of where to put her. Officials reportedly ruled out placement within the Domestic Policy Council, the National Economic Council and National Security Council, and now the Senate-confirmed IP czar will be housed at OMB. One of the IP coordinator's first agenda items will be drafting a strategic plan to identify "structural weaknesses, systemic flaws or other unjustified impediments" to cracking down on IP crime, according to the 2008 legislation that created the job (CongressDaily / subscription required).

Here's the official White House personnel announcement:

Victoria A. Espinel, Nominee for U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, Office of Management and Budget

Victoria A. Espinel is the founder and President of Bridging the Innovation Divide, a not-for-profit foundation focused on addressing the "innovation divide" and empowering all Americans to obtain the full benefit of their creativity and ingenuity. From 2007-2009, Ms. Espinel was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the George Mason University School of Law. Her areas of teaching and research were intellectual property and international trade. She has acted as advisor on intellectual property issues to the staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate Finance Committee, House Judiciary Committee and House Ways and Means Committee. She also served as an advisor to Romulus Global Issues Management and is a member of the Brain Trust of the Global Innovation Forum. In 2005, Ms. Espinel was asked to serve as the first ever Assistant United States Trade Representative for Intellectual Property and Innovation at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, serving as the chief U.S. trade negotiator for intellectual property and innovation. She testified on numerous occasions before the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ms. Espinel also served as Deputy Assistant USTR for Intellectual Property and as Associate General Counsel at USTR. Before joining USTR, Ms. Espinel was with the law firms of Covington & Burling in London and Washington, D.C., and Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood in New York. She holds an LLM from the London School of Economics, a JD from Georgetown University Law School, and a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.