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IP Lawyer Who Represented TiVo Is Trump's Pick As USPTO Chief (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: President Donald Trump has selected Andrei Iancu, the managing partner of a major Los Angeles law firm, to be the next head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Iancu has been a partner at Irell & Manella since 2004 and was an associate at the firm for five years earlier. His most notable work in the tech sector is likely his representation of TiVo Corp. in its long-running patent battles with companies like EchoStar, Motorola, Microsoft, Verizon, and Cisco. TiVo ultimately succeeded in compelling those defendants to pay up for its pioneering DVR patents, and payments to TiVo ultimately totaled more than $1.6 billion, according to Iancu's biography page. Iancu also had a hand in Immersion Corp.'s $82 million jury verdict against Sony Computer Entertainment, in which a jury found that Immersion's patent claims on tactile feedback technology were valid and infringed. Those big wins aside, most of Iancu's work has been on the defense side. He's represented eBay in a case against Acacia Research Corp., a large, publicly traded non-practicing entity, and he worked for Hewlett-Packard when it defended against Xerox patent claims. He's also worked in the medical device area, enforcing patents for St. Jude Medical on vascular closure devices.
It's good that he probably understands what the problems are. Maybe less so that he is used to profiting by them.
Nullius in verba
Sounds like a person who is actually knowledgable about the patent system. Would be nice if we knew something about his opinions, though.
Who else but a patent troll would you think Trump would appoint to run the USPTO?
There has never been an administration this corrupt, this "pay-to-play", this openly and wantonly willing to break ethics laws. I'm not even sure there's anyone in second place. I mean, all the way down to over-charging the Secret Service for golf cart rentals when they take the frequent trips to Trump properties to make sure no one disturbs the royal golf games.
You are welcome on my lawn.
It's good that he probably understands what the problems are. Maybe less so that he is used to profiting by them.
Both valid points.
But profiting by patents- either defending for them or against them (which he did both), doesn't necessarily mean he likes the system the way it is, only that he understands the rules/problems. He might very well support patent reform (as many of us on Slashdot do) but we just don't know.
Software patents, especially, are far too vague/generic, and often obvious. They have caused all kinds of stupid litigation that has hurt companies and consumers, alike.
What, Daryl McBride wasn't available? Wait, no, should've pardoned Martin Shkreli and tapped him for the post.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
agreed - My tone was unnecessarily negative. The guy deserves the benefit of any doubt.
Nullius in verba
The candidate must be
a) a true Trump believer that thinks all the bad press Trump has gotten is just partisan fear mongering.
b) they think they are smart and independent and strong-willed enough to run the department credibly in spite of any shortcomings Trump or the rest of his crew might have.
c) the increase in prestige of high office will do more for their reputation than association with Trump will hurt it.
d) the entire structure is going to come crashing down regardless and the best plan is to be has high up on it as you can so you land on top and not underneath.
Any other options? Any bets?
... is a virtue.
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
They hate freedom and open source so of course Trump loves them because only hateful thieves love that TiVo garbage that steals from content creators. Too many of them staved to death because of that TiVo garbage. Anyone that owned a TiVo is a Trumpster that wants TV to suck by chocking off their money. Chocking off their money.
I meant to add a ">" when quoting your original line in my reply... sorry about that :) I can't tell you how many times I wish I could correct things after they are posted.
Anyway, in some ways it is a lot like people complaining about "the rich" using loopholes to lower their taxes. It isn't their fault the loopholes are there (at least I believe it isn't), and they would be stupid NOT to use them. Or people complaining about a President not winning the popular vote- that isn't the rules of the game, the electoral college is. There is nothing unethical or wrong about playing the games by the rules.
But now he's a racist.
It isn't their fault the loopholes are there (at least I believe it isn't)
Yeah. It *is* their fault. Not so much the regular rich. The "upper middle class", and the "lower upper class" if you will. They just work within the laws that they are given. But the ultra rich ... they do help write the law, and have a lot of sway in creating the loopholes, and exert a lot of influence in protecting them.
There is nothing unethical or wrong about playing the games by the rules.
There is nothing illegal about playing games by the rules. There can be plenty wrong and unethical with it.
And government is not a game; people don't get to shake hands and go home win or lose. Citizens are banned from serving in the military. Family members of citizens are barred from visiting because they come from given country. Rascist cops are given presidential pardons while the news is busy with a hurricane disaster. Missile strikes are given less focused attention than the cake at dessert. And while he's clearly enjoying playing president of the hurricane... even that wasn't enough for him to take a break from his campaign trail for 2020... bragging about winning Missouri in 16 mere moments after talking about the Texas situation.
Here we have living proof of the phenomenon where, when confronted with proof their belief is wrong, people will just dig in further.
Dude, patent trolls by definition are Non-Practicing Entities. Meaning they don't make products, just sue people for infringing on low-value patents. That description in no way describes TiVo or Immersion.
Hey, guess what, Immersion DOES have the rights to "tactile feedback technology." THAT'S WHAT A PATENT IS! That's why Nintendo designed their Rumble Pak to work differently: Immersion had a patent on the rumble method Sony and Microsoft used.
If you don't like patents, that's fine, but that has nothing to do with this guy.
Maxim: People cannot follow directions.
Increases in truth directly with the length of time spent explaining them
There are still some 32,000 patents filed in the 1980s and 90s that haven't issued some even further back. I believe the oldest known unexamined patent application is over 40 years old. What does this plan on doing about that? They need to go through those old patent applications as a priority. You may old patent applications so what but what if there are patents on things like mpeg, USB, HDTV, or smartphone technology .. if such a submarined patent applications suddenly issues everyone using a smartphone or the technology in question may owe a huge amount of back royalties.
agreed - My tone was unnecessarily negative. The guy deserves the benefit of any doubt.
He does. In your defense, it is said that the pessimist is rarely disappointed.
THE SOFTWARE, IT NO WORKY!!!
I'm just saying that being 45 has hardly worked at all while in Office; he'd need a Paid Time Off manager, LOL.
Anyway, in some ways it is a lot like people complaining about "the rich" using loopholes to lower their taxes. It isn't their fault the loopholes are there (at least I believe it isn't), ...
Well, they pay a fortune in "Campaign contributions" nee bribery every election cycle to get those loopholes injected, so......
I meant to add a ">" when quoting your original line in my reply... sorry about that :) I can't tell you how many times I wish I could correct things after they are posted.
You can also use <quote> and </quote> to quote another post...
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.