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19 June 2017Copyright

WIPR survey: Speculation over Michelle Lee’s replacement continues

Speculation over who will replace Michelle Lee as director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has continued since Lee stepped down from the role on June 6.

A day after Lee resigned, Joseph Matal, an associate solicitor at the USPTO, was named as interim director of the office.

Wilbur Ross, US secretary of commerce, nominated Matal, who will perform the functions and duties of the under secretary of commerce for IP and director of the USPTO during the nomination and confirmation process for a new director.

WIPR asked its readers who they thought would be a good replacement for Lee, a former Google lawyer.

Phil Johnson, former senior vice president of IP at pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson was praised as an excellent candidate by a number of lawyers.

In a recent WIPR  follow-up, Ron Cahill, a partner at Nutter McClennen & Fish, hailed Johnson as a “terrific candidate”.

Before Lee’s nomination, Johnson was floated as a nomination but the choice was questioned by some.

While the White House had championed patent reform to curb frivolous litigation by non-practising entities, Johnson had publicly opposed reform as a representative of the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform.

One reader suggested a pro-business IP leader would be a good replacement for Lee.

Another individual that could be in the running for the role is former judge Randall Rader.

Rader, who served as chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, announced his retirement from court in 2014.

Krish Gupta, senior vice president of IP and IP litigation at Dell Technologies, was also mentioned last time as a candidate, according to the Computer & Communications Industry Association, an organisation of which Amazon, Google, Facebook and Microsoft are members.

For this week's survey story we ask: The US Supreme Court has held that the ban on registering disparaging trademarks is unconstitutional in Lee v Tam.  Did the court make the right decision?

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More on this story

Patents
8 June 2017   Joseph Matal, an associate solicitor at the US Patent and Trademark Office, has been named as interim director of the office following the departure of Michelle Lee.
Patents
8 June 2017   After the news broke that Michelle Lee was stepping down from her role as director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), speculation began over who should be next to take on the role.