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PublishedAugust 28, 2017

Andrei Iancu Nominated For PTO Director

On Friday, the Trump Administration nominated Andrei Iancu to be the next Director of the USPTO.

Mr. Iancu has extensive experience in patent litigation.  This includes work on behalf of both patent owners, representing TiVo against a variety of companies, as well as defendants, including representing B/E Aerospace in litigation over aircraft toilet patents.  He has also participated in inter partes review proceedings, both on the side of the patent owner and on the side of petitioners.  However, he has never worked in government or as in-house counsel in industry.

That fact might present a challenge.  The next Director will enter a Patent Office faced with some imminent legislative needs, including renewal of the PTO’s fee setting authority and authorization for certain telework practices.  Absent renewal, the PTO will lose its authority to set its own fees, which will create new constraints for an agency that relies on user fees for its own budget.

The next Director will also be faced with challenges to the post-grant procedures created by the America Invents Act, including inter partes review, such as the Oil States challenge in the Supreme Court and ongoing attempts by trolls and others who benefit from asserting weak patents to legislatively weaken post-grant review.  Many stakeholders in the patent community will undoubtedly be awaiting Mr. Iancu’s answers at his confirmation hearing regarding his support for these crucially important avenues for review of invalid patents.

Josh Landau

Patent Counsel, CCIA

Joshua Landau is the Patent Counsel at the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), where he represents and advises the association regarding patent issues.  Mr. Landau joined CCIA from WilmerHale in 2017, where he represented clients in patent litigation, counseling, and prosecution, including trials in both district courts and before the PTAB.

Prior to his time at WilmerHale, Mr. Landau was a Legal Fellow on Senator Al Franken’s Judiciary staff, focusing on privacy and technology issues.  Mr. Landau received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.S.E.E. from the University of Michigan.  Before law school, he spent several years as an automotive engineer, during which time he co-invented technology leading to U.S. Patent No. 6,934,140.

Follow @PatentJosh on Twitter.

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