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Obama Taps IBM Open Source Advocate For USPTO

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the baby-steps dept.

langelgjm writes "President Obama has announced his intent to nominate David Kappos, a VP and general counsel at IBM, to head the US Patent and Trademark Office. This move is particularly notable not only because of IBM's much friendlier attitudes towards open source compared with some of their rivals, but also because Kappos himself is open source-friendly: 'We are now the biggest supporters of the open source development project,' explains David. 'Admittedly this policy is not easily reconcilable with our traditional IP strategy, but we are convinced that it is the way to go for the future.' Not just a lawyer, Kappos earned an engineering degree before working in the legal field. Kappos has been described as 'critical of the American approach to patent policy.' Given his background, could this mean a new era for US patent policy?"

4 of 88 comments (clear)

  1. Some other points... by langelgjm · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Really, my summary is hyped up a bit. I doubt that Kappos will usher in a new era on his own; so much of patent law depends on Congress and the courts anyway. However, given the views of his predecessor (Dudas is on record as saying that "we must also actively educate the world that it [our patent system] is fundamentally the best system"), Kappos is on record as saying that in the U.S., "Trivial patents are being granted. By contrast, the system is better in Europe."

    I think Kappos' background is also notable. He's really the first director of the computer generation: got an engineering degree, began working at IBM as an engineer, and then went over to law as a patent lawyer. By contrast, previous directors have either not had technical backgrounds, or have jumped around in the IP fields (Q. Todd Dickinson began work at Baxter, a healthcare company). I think Kappos having been brought up in IBM will make him more open to (or at least less skeptical of) open source-type ideas than any of the other former directors, and his computer/engineering background will also make him more critical of our patent system, and not as focused on ratcheting protections up as far as they can go. Imagine, on the other hand, if the appointee had been someone from PhRMA.

    It is not unusual that a patent lawyer would hold an engineering degree; in fact, to sit for the patent bar, one needs typically needs an engineering or science degree, and some patent lawyers have advanced degrees in their areas of specialty. However, I thought it worth mentioning given that the former director of the USPTO, Jon Dudas, did not have any engineering or science background, but rather a degree in finance.

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    1. Re:Some other points... by sribe · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Really, my summary is hyped up a bit. I doubt that Kappos will usher in a new era on his own; so much of patent law depends on Congress and the courts anyway.

      A lot of what we think of as the really bad stuff, was undertaken by the patent office on its own with neither authorization from Congress nor truly applicable court ruling, but at the direction of an ambitiously expansive director.

  2. "could this mean a new era for US patent policy?" by John+Hasler · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Maybe. The USPTO must operate within the constraints set by Congress and the courts. Software patents were forced on them by the First Circuit: they opposed them initially.

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  3. Spare Change? by fm6 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Since you're the rare Obama critic who doesn't see Pure Evil in his every move (such as his choice of condiments!) perhaps you could share some of your list of O's "many mistakes". I think he's actually done surprisingly well.

    But more to the point, I crave an intelligent argument with a right-winger whose rhetoric goes beyond infantile insults and weird conspiracy mongering. When the conservatives were in charge, their abuse of logic and rhetoric would drive me up the wall. But now that they're out of power, their arguments are just a depressing sign of intellectual sloth. I guess they've had it too easy for too long.

    People, get it together! It's your job as the opposition to keep us liberals honest! And it's a job you're not doing! Come one! Start pulling your weight! Isn't Personal Responsibility one of those Bennettish Virtues you keep harping on?