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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.
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.
I despise Trump and everything he stands for, too, but I'm still willing to consider that he might have stumbled into a decent pick. Do we have concrete examples of where Andrei Iancu is monstrously bad (or for that matter, pretty good) about IP and IP reforms?
Finding God in a Dog
Learn to read, this guy *fought* trolls, and represented "practicing entities". No idea if he'll be good for the patent system, but I at least know he isn't a troll.
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?
Who else but a patent troll would you think Trump would appoint to run the USPTO?
This guy defended companies against patent trolls. But it appears you don't need factual info to form your opinion.
Does that sound like someone who is "defending against patent trolls to you?
Well, you conveniently snipped your quote to omit the case where he defended eBay again Acacia, for one. Here are some others:
1. Defended LG against Imperium IP Holdings.
2. Defended RIM against Advanced Display Technologies of Texas.
3. Defended RIM against Negotiated Data Solutions.
4. Defended RIM against Unified Messaging Solutions.
5. Defended RIM against Golden Bridge Technology.
Yes, he's TiVo's patent lawyer. You know, the company that successfully sued Dish Network over technologies that predate TiVo's founding, but that TiVo was merely the first to popularize.
It's in the summary.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
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!!!