Posts Tagged: "President Barack Obama"

President Obama nominates Karen Gren Scholer to Eastern District of Texas

Karen Gren Scholer has been nominated to serve on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. If confirmed, Scholer, who was born in Tokyo, Japan, will become the first Asian American to serve as a federal district court judge in Texas or any of the courts encompassed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, a territory that encompasses Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

The Rise of Emoji

Millions of people, from talk show hosts to world leaders, have engaged in a dialog about and with emoji and what it means to communication. Emoji are becoming an increasingly pervasive communication instrument, increasingly used in advertising, to discuss social issues and advocacy, and to even a bridge communication tool between generations. There are even emoji related patents owned by Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and others. Many commentators have speculated on the future of the emoji with an overwhelming consensus: this trend is here to stay.

Merrick Garland’s deference to federal agencies should be concerning to patent owners

Given the fact that the IPR processes at PTAB have been worrisome for many patent owners, the possibility that Merrick Garland would continue his longstanding deference towards federal agencies should cause at least some concern. Many believe the procedures creating the post grant challenges implemented by the America Invents Act (AIA) are not only one-sided against the patent owner, but fundamentally unfair to the point where due process has been compromised. Rubber stamping agency decisions, as the Federal Circuit is doing with the USPTO, would be a terrible mistake and further erode already tattered patent property rights.

President Obama should nominate Judge Raymond Chen to the Supreme Court

Chen, an Obama appointee, was confirmed only several years ago by a vote of 97-0. Born in 1968 he is 47 years old, meaning he could easily serve on the Court throughout the next generation, in modern times an important consideration for a Presidential nomination to the High Court. Chen also comes from the Federal Circuit, which is anything but politically controversial, primarily responsible for handling patent appeals. Chen would also become the first Asian American to serve on the Supreme Court, another potentially important consideration for President Obama, who has shown throughout his term in Office that he likes breaking glass ceilings with appointments and nominations. Thus, Chen would have virtually all the same upside as would Srinavasan without any of the baggage that would make confirmation difficult, if not impossible.

Beware the Ides of March: How Surrogates Will Set Patent Policy

In 2008 the surrogates did at least increase the emphasis on having some form of post grant challenge procedure in the bill that would pass Congress and be signed into law. Their work began to surface in March 2008 by way of surrogates speaking at public and private events focused on innovation related issues. While the campaigns today may not spend many bytes on patent policy soon enough surrogates will be convening at events around the country to discuss innovation policies. If innovation policies or broader tech issues matter the time to get involved is now. As the field of candidates continues to narrow it will become increasingly more difficult, and more costly, to influence policy.