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9 November 2016Copyright

US presidential election: the IP politicians who have been re-elected

After Donald Trump was elected president of the US, WIPR looks at which politicians who have been involved in intellectual property have been re-elected.

Republican Darrell Issa is currently in the lead for the 49th congressional district (California) in the House of Representatives, according to news website  KPBS. He has held the seat since 2000, and at the time of writing his victory had not been confirmed.

Issa is chair of the House’s subcommittee on courts, intellectual property and the internet.

The subcommittee conducts hearings on concerns of the IP sector. In September, it conducted a hearing on the oversight of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Bob Goodlatte, chair of the House’s judiciary committee, and representative of the sixth congressional district of Virginia, has won his 13th term, according to news website  The News Virginian.

He has previously served as vice chairman of the subcommittee on courts, intellectual property and the internet at the House.

In 2015, Goodlatte reintroduced the Innovation Act, a bill aimed at reducing patent lawsuits, but it has yet to pass the House or Senate.

The act “builds on the reforms that were made in the America Invents Act and addresses certain abusive practices taking place in our courts”, said a press release from the judiciary committee.

With 27 co-sponsors, the bill was a reintroduction of the same legislation that failed to be approved in 2013 (despite passing the House with a bi-partisan vote of 325-91).

Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, the longest-serving member of the Senate, won an eighth term, according to  Business Insider.

Leahy has long been involved in the IP arena—and in May this year the Senate passed legislation introduced by Leahy to encourage and reward the use of patented technology to address humanitarian needs.

The Patents for Humanity Program Improvement Act, which Leahy has championed for several years, supports an award programme at the USPTO that recognises patent owners that use their technology to improve the health and quality of life in impoverished nations, said a statement from Leahy’s website.

However, it has yet to be passed by the House.

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