Obama Taps IBM Attorney to Lead Patent and Trademark Office
June 20, 2009
Michael Atkins

The White House June 18 announced its nominee for Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the PTO: David J. Kappos. Mr. Kappos is Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Intellectual Property Law for IBM Corp. I like his profile — he has been responsible for protecting and licensing all aspects of IBM’s intellectual property, including managing its trademark portfolio. He also has overseen IBM’s IP litigation. Mr. Kappos got his law degree from Berkeley in 1990. If confirmed, he’s got a lot of work ahead of him. I wish him the best.

Feb. 2007 patent-oriented interview here; PTO press release here.

Photo credit: PTO

Article originally appeared on Michael Atkins (http://seattletrademarklawyer.com/).
See website for complete article licensing information.