Obama IP Czar Heads To The Hill
Former U.S. Assistant Trade Representative Victoria Espinel who was tapped in September by President Obama to serve as the first White House intellectual property enforcement coordinator will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Espinel, who taught at George Mason University after leaving USTR in the Bush administration, is expected to easily win approval of the panel, which is considering an appeals court judge and several district judges the same day.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy received letters in support of Espinel's nomination from a range of stakeholders including the Copyright Alliance, National Music Publishers' Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association, International Trademark Association, Motion Picture Association of America, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others.
The Chamber called Espinel's confirmation "an important step towards fulfilling the promise of the PRO-IP Act," an IP enforcement bill that Congress passed and Bush signed into law last year. MPAA Chairman Dan Glickman called her an "excellent choice" for the office and said his experience with her at USTR was top notch. AIPLA hailed her "impressive and substantive background."
Espinel was the top candidate for months, but the administration was unsure of where to put her. They eventually settled on the Office of Management and Budget. If confirmed, one of her 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.
Some interesting tidbits from Espinel's committee questionnaire: She was born in Richmond, Va., and is married to John William Stubbs, a managing partner at Romulus Global Issues Management. Her Hill experience was not limited to testimony on IP issues before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. She interned for House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel way back in 1991. Read the full questionnaire here.
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