Iancu to Receive 2022 Paul Michel Award at IPWatchdog LIVE in Texas

(Photo by Jay Premack/USPTO)

In consultation with Chief Judge Paul Michel, IPWatchdog is pleased to announce that Andrei Iancu, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, and current partner at Irell & Manella, has been selected as the 2022 recipient of The Paul Michel Award. He will be presented with the award on Sunday evening, September 11, 2022, at IPWatchdog LIVE 2022.

The Paul Michel Award, created with the blessing of Chief Judge Paul Michel (CAFC, ret.), is awarded annually to someone within the IP community who has selflessly served the best interests of the industry and its members as a respected leader, mentor, and advocate on behalf of fairness and for the best interests of the intellectual property system.

Over the last year since leaving government, Iancu has worked tirelessly to continue to raise the importance of intellectual property issues; few were as publicly vocal over just how bad an idea the TRIPS IP waiver would be for COVID-19 vaccines, for example. Illustrative of his efforts, in 2021, Iancu co-founded the Renewing American Innovation Project at the bipartisan Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). CSIS, known inside the beltway for expertise on all-things related to national security, has given him a platform to raise intellectual property as a national security issue.

Iancu was also instrumental in pushing back against the Biden Administration proposal to return to a position that would favor no injunctive relief for owners of standard essential patents (SEPs) even if implementers held out. Building a coalition of former government officials from the Bush, Obama and Trump Administrations, a well-orchestrated and tireless effort to educate through writing and speaking engagements paid dividends. The Biden Administration chose a neutral position, withdrawing the 2019 policy statement of DOJ/NIST/USPTO, but also allowing the 2013 policy statement to remain withdrawn as well.

IPWatchdog LIVE, our annual meeting that brings together all elements of our community, will take place this year at the Renaissance Dallas Richardson hotel September 11 – 13, 2022. The presentation of the award, together with a keynote speech from Iancu, will take place immediately prior to the opening cocktail reception. For more information on timing and the program, please see the Agenda and our Confirmed Speakers.